Tom Selleck's Ranch Life: 'It Keeps Me Sane'
Tom Selleck has played a cowboy countless times on screen. Films and series like Quigley Down Under (1990), The Sacketts (1979) and The Shadow Riders (1982) allowed the actor to saddle up in front of the camera, but did you know that he’s something of a cowboy in real life? Well, sort of.
In 1988, Selleck purchased a 63-acre ranch in California. After his run on Magnum, P.I. came to an end, the star was seeking out some quiet away from the hustle and bustle, where he could raise a family away from the spotlight. Their Hidden Valley property was purchased for about $5 million, as reported by The Los Angeles Times, and was at one point owned by singer Dean Martin! Selleck has stayed put on the property since purchasing it, and despite his fame and fortune over the years, working the land is something that has kept him grounded. Here, read all about Tom Selleck’s ranch—It was once a booming avocado farm!
Tom Selleck opens up about ranch life
In a 2015 interview with AARP, both Selleck and his wife, Jillie Mack, opened up about life on their little slice of heaven, with Mack sharing that “It’s the best place to raise a child.” She continued, “It was such the wisdom of Tom. He knew he needed to buy back his anonymity, to replenish the soul.”
Selleck got candid during the conversation about the way in which his home brings him a sense of peace, revealing at the time that he worked it himself. “This ranch is a great counterpoint to the acting business, which is an abstraction. You do something, it’s up on a piece of film, and everybody argues whether it is good or bad. You dig a hole and plant an oak tree—and I’ve probably planted a thousand of them—it’s real. It’s there, and you can watch it grow. It’s a lot different from being famous, and it keeps me sane.”
Selleck was an avocado farmer
Selleck’s ranch was once a fruitful avocado farm, but a drought sadly destroyed much of the crop, as well as several hundred-year-old oak trees. “That just breaks your heart,” Selleck opened up to Peoplein 2024. “But with the rain we’ve had, the sick ones are getting better, and they’re all sprouting a lot of healthy growth.” Despite no longer having the harvest he once did, he revealed to Paradethat they still have a small one each year.
Though the avocados might no longer keep him as busy as they once did, Selleck still enjoys other aspects of his property, telling People about his wildflowers. “I’ve planted them for years and they bloom in cycles,” he shared. “When it’s coldest, one of them blooms and then another one comes in. I know it sounds stupid, but I just watch them grow.”
With an impressive career behind him and an exciting one still ahead, Tom Selleck has treasured the life that this ranch has given him—one that allowed him to bring joy to the world on screens while also maintaining privacy and a quiet life with his family away from the spotlight.
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This story was originally published June 26, 2026 at 6:30 PM.