Meet Jeremy Jackson’s Parents: Jolanna Dunn and Ryan Jackson

Jeremy Jackson, best known for his role as Hobie Buchannon on the globally popular television series Baywatch, achieved early fame that later gave way to significant personal challenges.

Born Jeremy Dunn Jackson on October 16, 1980, in Newport Beach, California, he is an American actor and singer. He is 45 years old.

Jackson grew up in coastal Southern California, an environment that strongly influenced his love for surfing and naturally aligned with his future on-screen identity. He was raised primarily by his mother, Jolanna Dunn, in Newport Beach, in a single-parent household following his father’s absence.

His father, Ryan Jackson, struggled with substance abuse and was largely uninvolved during Jeremy’s childhood. Jackson has a younger sister, Taylor Jackson, and spent part of his early years in Vancouver, Canada, after relocating there at age eight with his mother and sister. During that period, he attended Ideal Mini School.

Of Caucasian background, Jackson’s surname reflects paternal roots often associated with English or Scottish heritage, combined with his mother’s Dunn lineage. He has not publicly identified with a specific religion, though his later reflections during recovery periods have suggested a generally spiritual outlook.

He began working in the entertainment industry at the age of six through commercial appearances, eventually transitioning into acting roles that culminated in his long-running success on Baywatch.

Standing approximately 5 feet 9 inches (1.75 meters) tall, Jackson became widely recognizable at a young age, a visibility that later intersected with struggles involving addiction and public controversy.

In his personal life, Jackson was married to former fitness model Loni Willison from 2012 until their divorce in 2014. He has no children.

His family background, marked by early responsibility, parental separation, and exposure to instability, provides important context to both his rise to fame and the personal difficulties that followed, shaping a life story defined by both opportunity and adversity.

Jolanna Dunn

Jolanna Dunn is Jeremy Jackson‘s mother and the primary figure in his life. As a dedicated single parent, she supported Jeremy‘s entry into the entertainment industry from a very young age.

He began appearing in commercials at six years old, and Dunn was instrumental in nurturing his early career, including the move to Vancouver for a period when he was eight.

Living in Newport Beach, she provided a stable foundation amid the demands of child stardom, helping him navigate auditions, modeling, and eventually his breakthrough role on Baywatch. Dunn has remained largely private, out of the media spotlight, but her influence is clear in Jackson‘s accounts of his supportive California roots.

Ryan Jackson

Ryan Jackson is Jeremy Jackson‘s father. His involvement in Jeremy‘s life was limited, as personal struggles with addiction led to his absence during much of Jeremy‘s childhood and adolescence.

This contributed to the single-parent dynamic led by Jolanna Dunn. While details about Ryan Jackson remain sparse in public records, his absence has been referenced by Jeremy as a factor in his own later battles with substance issues.

The family surname Jackson comes from his father’s side, complementing Jeremy‘s middle name Dunn from his mother.

Though Jeremy Jackson‘s parents have not often been in the public eye, their roles—his mother’s supportive presence and his father’s notable absence—helped shape the environment in which he grew from a child actor into the public figure he is today.