Aurora Starchild
Tim Allen was known to play a boy-dad on Home Improvement, but in reality, he’s a father to two daughters. The comedian has been married twice and had one child with each marriage. He was married to his college sweetheart, Laura Deibel, from 1984 to 2003, and has been married to actress Jane Hajduk sine 2006. His daughters’ names are Katherine and Elizabeth. Meet the leading ladies in Tim Allen’s life!
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Tim Allen Immediately Found Hollywood Success as a Comedian
Tim Allen was born on June 13, 1953, in Denver, Colorado. His parents had six children together before his father, Gerald Dick, died in a car accident when he was 11. Tim’s mom, Martha Katherine, remarried to her high school sweetheart two years later. Tim’s family moved with his new stepdad and his three kids to Michigan, making their family a pack of nearly a dozen.
Tim Allen studied music, piano, and theatre at Seaholm High School. He graduated from Western Michigan University in 1976 with a Bachelor of Science in Communications and a split minor in Philosophy and Design. His first try at comedy was while still in college in 1973. His friends told him he should stand up at Mark Ridley’s Comedy Castle (a Detroit comedy club). Allen moved to Los Angeles to pursue his career in comedy and found a successful gig doing stand-up.
He’s Most Known for Home Improvement, The Santa Clause, and Toy Story Franchises
Tim Allen’s comedy gig paid so well (rare for a newbie in show business) that he turned down two offers from ABC to star in a sitcom. But by 1991, he made the leap as the star character in Home Improvement. Allen played Tim Taylor from 1991 to 1999 and by 1996 he was also the executive producer. In 1994, he played Scott Calvin in The Santa Claus, which would lead to sequels and a spin-off TV miniseries in 2022 in which he also served as executive producer.
In 1995, Allen became the official OG voice of Buzz Lightyear in the Toy Story franchise. He voiced Buzz Lightyear in numerous films and spin-offs until 2019 and a videogame in 2022 but was eventually replaced by Chris Evans in the movie Lightyear. He returned as Tim Taylor and executive producer in the series Last Man Standing from 2011 to 2021.
Tim Allen is the recipient of numerous awards and accolades. He won a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a TV Series for Home Improvement in 1995. He’s been nominated for an Emmy for the same show. But Allen is first and foremost a people’s man. He’s been nominated for 4 People’s Choice Awards and won 3 of those nominations.
Tim Allen’s First Wife, Laura Deibel, Stood by Him When He Was in Prison
Tim Allen fell into a heap of trouble when he was just getting his career started. At the age of 25 in 1978, an undercover cop busted him at the Kalamazoo International Airport in Michigan. Allen was carrying 650 grams of cocaine and arrested on the spot. He faced life in prison for drug trafficking but made a deal for a reduced sentence in exchange for naming others involved. He was sentenced to 3 to 7 years in prison and served 2 years and 4 months at Sandstone, Minnesota prison until he was paroled in 1981.
One of Allen’s biggest supporters at the time was his college sweetheart, Laura Deibel. Deibel was born on November 12, 1956, and attended Western Michigan University. She currently serves as the CEO of Tim Amman Signature Tools. The two dated for 5 years including while Allen was behind bars and married on April 7, 1984. “We loved each other. It was that simple,” Deibel told People.
Katherine Allen Was Born in 1989
Tim and Laura had a daughter, Katherine, in December 1989. Her birth came just before Allen became a household name from Home Improvement. Tim Allen’s work life, unfortunately, became a strain on his wife and family, which he later admitted he “let slide.” “I let my family slide,” he told The Detroit News in 1998 (per People). “I never see my daughter at all.”
In 1997, Allen found more trouble when he was arrested in Michigan for drunk driving and got a DUI. He entered into rehab the following year and has since been sober. But it seems that between his substance issues and busy work schedule, his love life was taking a hit.
Just four days after the premiere of Toy Story 2 on November 13, 1999, Laura Deibel filed for divorce. She and Katherine (who went by Kady at the time) were present with Tim at the premiere event in LA, which resulted in much shock when fans later discovered they were having problems. Deibel and Allen quickly separated and their divorce was finalized in 2003.
Tim Allen’s Second Wife Is Actress and Producer Jane Hajduk
Allen remarried to actress and producer Jane Hajduk. Hajduk was born on October 26, 1966, making her about 13 years younger than Allen. Her first film credit dates back to 1993 and she’s since worked on numerous projects with her husband, including Zoom and The Shaggy Dog. Tim and Jane were married on October 7, 2006, at an intimate ceremony in Grand Lake, Colorado. Allen’s daughter Katherine was present at the wedding and was 17 at the time.
Elizabeth Allen-Dick Was Born in 2009
Elizabeth Allen-Dick, Tim Allen’s second child and first daughter with wife Jane Hajduk was born in 2009. Just after her birth, Hajduk told People that Allen is “an incredible dad.” Allen said he felt more relaxed with the second try at fatherhood. “I like it. I like it even better the second time,” he admitted to reporters. “I’m not so worried as I was the first time.”
Allen has stayed true to this sentiment, it seems, as a father to his younger daughter. “I’m not the same guy I was the first time [I was married], when I was hiding and doing what people who drink too much do,” he told Closer in 2017. “I was not connecting.” The star added that he had remained sober for almost 20 years at that point.
Tim Allen Has Said That Being a Father Has Helped Him Develop His TV Characters
Allen also noted that his relationship with his kids has made his fictional character Tim Taylor a more relatable parent. “Tim gets to fully be the loving father and husband he is, which is so genuine in him. It’s what makes him so lovable,” he said. He’d previously admitted that he doesn’t think his acting range is very broad and needs to draw his creativity from real life. He’s quoted as calling his characters “strictly limited. I can only play a part if I can draw on personal experience.”
Elizabeth, now a young teenager, has already made several TV appearances. She also played Sandra on The Santa Clauses last year alongside her father. She and her older sister Katherine are often seen accompanying Tim and Jane to red carpet events, especially those for Toy Story.
When asked by People what their thoughts were on their dad being the voice of Buzz Lightyear, Elizabeth and Katherine had totally different responses. “It’s cool, I like it,” said Elizabeth. Katherine was a bit more nonchalant, as she had watched her father’s Toy Story career through its entirety. “I am so used to it, he has been a toy since I was 6,” she said. Both of his daughters were beaming from ear to ear though!
He’s Trying to Do a Better Job at Parenting the Second Time Around
Apart from supporting her famous father at his appearances, Katherine has remained out of the spotlight. It’s clear that Tim has probably played a part in protecting his daughters from the paparazzi as well, as no one in the family posts photos of family life to social media.
When asked about fatherhood the second time around, Tim Allen told Parade that he’s learned how to be more present with Elizabeth. “I was gone so much in my first marriage. I love the moments when I engage with my youngest daughter now,” he said. “It’s not my thing to sit on the ground and play tea party, but I’ll do it because it’s a moment that will stick with me forever.”
Allen also said that he’s found that girls are easier to raise “until about 16. Around that time, boys kind of calm down and start focusing their testosterone. Girls get a little challenging, especially for fathers.”
As for his life with his his wife Jane, Tim Allen painted a picture of a typical family household. “My wife and I will go to church; then, if we’re lucky, we’ll get a sitter and play golf. We have a nice early dinner, and I end up watching TiVo’d Meet the Press or Fox or CNN. That’s a great Sunday,” he said.
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