From performing on stage to starring on the small screen, Shaun Cassidy was a star of the '70s.
It's no wonder the pop star and actor grew up to be so talented after being raised by a famous set of parents. He is the son of Academy Award-winning actress Shirley Jones, and Tony and Grammy Award winner Jack Cassidy, who fathered Shaun's famous half-brother, The Partridge Family actor David Cassidy.
Shaun made a name for himself in Hollywood on the popular adventure series, The Hardy Boys Mysteries. However, the star stepped away from music in the '80s and pivoted in the industry to a successful behind-the-scenes role.
"I didn’t love being a public figure. I didn’t really like being famous. I tend to be an introvert who can pretend to be an extrovert," he told AARP last year.
© Getty Images for Tony Awards ProFind out what the star is up to today.
Behind-the-scenes success
While he rose to fame in front of the camera, Shaun recently revealed writing was his "calling". The actor transitioned to being a writer in the '90s while working in theatre on Broadway. During the decade, he created the 1995 horror drama series, American Gothic, followed by the fantasy series Roar, starring Heath Ledger, in 1997.
But perhaps his most notable project came two decades later. Shaun contributed as a writer and executive producer for five years on the wildly popular medical drama, New Amsterdam, which premiered in 2018 and wrapped up in 2023.
"My father, my mother, my brother, my entire family. If everyone’s in plumbing, you know a bit about plumbing, and they say, “Hey, you should be a plumber!” I had some success plumbing, but I quickly discovered I really didn’t want to be a plumber. I wanted to be a writer," he told AARP.
"I did a lot of work with playwrights, and I just thought, “This is the greatest job in the world.” I’d been a magician as a young teenager, and writers were like magicians. They made stuff out of the air. You have a dream, and six months later, 300 people have a job."
He's returned to the stage
© John Atashian/Getty ImagesShaun was known for hit tracks like Do You Believe in Magic and Da Doo Ron Ron in the 70s. Then he stepped away from the stage.
The pop star made his triumphant return with his first live tour in 45 years, which kicked off in September 2025. The Road to Us Tour, which is still stopping across North America in 2026, features both old and new music in the star's career.
Before embarking on his tour, the star revealed he had to take guitar lessons since it had been so long since he picked up the instrument. “I had to relearn songs I had written. I didn't know how to play them,"
He explained his return: "For years, I was like, I don't want to [tour] because I'll just be trying to replicate some version of myself at 20, which I always thought would be embarrassing and why try?" Shaun told People. "But I discovered, and the audience told me this, that I didn't need to do that because I had actually all these other cards I could play. Now I'm a storyteller."
Married with kids
© Getty ImagesAfter growing up in a famous family, Shaun has gone on to have a big family of his own with eight children across three marriages.
"It’s great to be a Dad! And an Uncle, and a Father-in-Law, and a man who gets to share the joys of family with so many great people," Shaun gushed on Instagram for Father's Day last year.
The star gained a stepdaughter named Jessica when he married Ann Pennington in 1979. The former couple also share a daughter, Caitlin, and son, Jake. Shaun then welcomed a daughter named Juliet with his second wife, Susan Diol.
The actor has been married to television producer Tracey Lynne Turner since 2004 and has four children with her: sons Caleb and Roan, and daughters Lila, 17, and Mairin.
Shaun's Instagram feed features the occasional family update and photo of his wife and children. In March, he celebrated his son Caleb's milestone 21st birthday with a wholesome throwback photo of his wife Tracey with their son when he was a baby. "One of my favorite pictures. The love in Tracey’s eyes for our baby boy who’s twenty-one today. Happy birthday Caleb!" he wrote.
