Dr. Phil's Oldest Son Jay Has Seriously Transformed

Dr. Phil McGraw, who became a household name back in 1998 when he made his "The Oprah Winfrey Show" debut, has been a fixture of the small screen for decades. Over the years, viewers have gotten to know the daytime talk show host's family, including Dr. Phil's two sons, Jay and Jordan McGraw. The world has witnessed Dr. Phil's son Jordan seriously transform, and the same certainly can be said about Jay.

Born on September 12, 1979 to Robin and Phil McGraw, Jay grew up with the guidance and tough love his father became known for. In Dr. Phil's book "Family First: A Step-by-Step Plan for Creating a Phenomenal Family," he dug into his personal approach to parenting: "I want my kids to know and feel they are loved for who they are, that I am proud of them and that I will always be there for them. I may not endorse everything they do, but I will never reject them."

Over the years, Dr. Phil's eldest kid, Jay McGraw, has clearly embraced being the son of a star. As he said on "Larry King Live" all the way back in 2003, "You know it's been real fun having Dr. Phil, I guess he's called now, as a dad. You know I've been given some great opportunities living with him." From his early college experiences to establishing his career and eventually starting his own family, Dr. Phil's oldest son Jay has seriously transformed over the years.

For years the question of whether or not Dr. Phil McGraw is a real doctor has lingered in the ether. The answer? No, the television doctor is not an actual medical doctor or psychiatrist — and in fact, he lost his license to practice psychology in 2006 when he did not renew it. However, the television personality did once practice clinical psychology and had qualifications before he achieved fame. Dr. Phil attended the University of North Texas where he earned his doctorate in clinical psychology. After he graduated with his doctoral degree, he took a postdoctoral fellowship in forensic psychology at the Wilmington Institute.

School has long been one of Dr. Phil's top priorities. "I've always told our boys that they had two jobs that I really wanted 'em to do: Job one was to get an education and job two was to have a lot of fun. Those were the two jobs, in that order," he told ABC News in 2003.

Like his father, when it came time for Jay McGraw to head to college in 1998, he also picked a school in his home state of Texas. After he graduated high school from Greenhill School, Dr. Phil's oldest son went to college and graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in psychology in 2001. After his undergraduate studies, Jay then enrolled in law school and graduated in 2004 from Southern Methodist University.

When Dr. Phil McGraw's oldest son, Jay McGraw, was still a college student, he began writing self-help books for teenagers. Jay published his first book, "Life Strategies For Teens" in 2000 and went on to write six books in total. In 2001, the television psychologist's son published two more books, "Closing the Gap: A Strategy for Bringing Parents and Teens Together" and "Daily Life Strategies for Teens." Dr. Phil even collaborated with his son and wrote the introduction for one of his books that aims to help children with bullying, "Jay McGraw's Life Strategies for Dealing with Bullies." 

In 2003, Jay put out yet another hit book, "The Ultimate Weight Solution for Teens: The 7 Keys to Weight Freedom, Life Strategies For Teens." The guide, which Jay co-wrote with his dad, hit the top spot on the New York Times best sellers list.  That same year,  Dr. Phil released "The Ultimate Weight Solution," which raised some questions about the amount of research that went into the book and whether or not the diet plans were too broad. 

While promoting his own book on "Larry King Live," Jay said his dad's book inspired him to write something that was geared toward a younger audience. "I said, OK, you know what? I've talked to a lot of teenagers on the show and when I was at the University of Texas working on my undergrad in psychology, and I dealt with that a lot. And I said I think that you got something that definitely translates to teenagers, but it does need to be translated," he said. Jay also insisted his book was not about dieting. "It's just a lifestyle book," he said.

It was not long before Jay McGraw pivoted to a career as a television producer. Jay may not be one of the nepo babies who quietly changed their names to achieve success on their own merits, but Dr. Phil McGraw's oldest son did take advantage of the fact that his father is a star in the television industry. 

Jay first appeared on television in 2004 as the host of "Renovate My Family" on Fox, but his very first production credits came about thanks to "Dr. Phil Primetime Specials" in 2005. Jay continued to build a career as a television producer and has since worked on numerous projects, both with his father and without. In 2006, he was an executive producer alongside his dad and others on the reality show "Moochers," and he was part of "Decision House" the following year. 

In 2013, Jay worked on "The Test," a talk show aimed to resolve disputes between loved ones, as an executive television producer for dozens of episodes, a show that was not explicitly associated with his father. Similar to Dr. Phil, Jay's TV lane is reality shows, and he was also part of the short lived reality series "The Amber Rose Show." 

While some celebrity kids might try to distance themselves from their famous parents, time and time again Jay McGraw has teamed up with Dr. Phil McGraw. The father and son duo even co-created a production company together called Stage 29 Productions, and Jay has been the president and CEO of the company since May 2004. The company name is an homage to the "Dr. Phil" show since the television show was first filmed on stage 29 at the Paramount Pictures lot.

The media production company produces many of the shows Dr. Phil and Jay are involved with, including the shows "Dr. Phil," "The Doctors," and "House Calls with Dr. Phil." Stage 29 Productions also produced the reality shows "Daily Mail TV" where Jay has worked, "Face the Truth," and "The Test." Stage 29 Productions branched out from reality television and talk shows and produced the scripted show "Bull," which the production company collaborated with CBS Television Studios on. 

In a 2017 interview with Deadline, Jay discussed hiring Julia Eisenman to head the scripted television department at Stage 29. "Adding a scripted executive of Julia's stature, experience and expertise is critically important for Stage 29's aggressive development agenda," Jay said. Stage 29 Productions later went on to produce the scripted show "So Help Me Todd" that ran from 2022 until 2024.

In his aforementioned 2003 "Larry King Live" interview, Dr. Phil McGraw's eldest kid shared that he looked forward to settling down. "I very much admire the relationship and the lifestyle that my parents have. I think it looks — I think that's the way to do it," he said when asked if he hoped to get married and start a family one day. Only a few short years later, he would do just that. 

On August 12, 2006, Jay McGraw's personal life transformed when married his wife, actor and model Erica McGraw (née Dahm). Jay first met his wife when he was the host of the show "Renovate My Family" and Erica, along with her two identical triplet sisters, joined the show as construction consultants.  He proposed in 2005, the year after he met his now wife. Erica, along with her sisters Jaclyn and Nicole Dahm, were all former Playboy Playmates who appeared in the December 1998 issue of the magazine; Jaclyn and Nicole were Erica's bridesmaids on her big day.

The happy couple's wedding party also involved the groom's family in a major way. Dr. Phil McGraw was Jay's best man, and the ceremony was hosted at Dr. Phil and Robin McGraw's home. It was a relatively small event, as there were only 70 people in attendance. As Jay and Erica's wedding planner, Michael Gapinski told People, "They wrote the entire ceremony and their vows themselves. It was a very intimate and beautiful ceremony." The reception at the Beverly Hills Hotel, on the other hand, was a different story: Jay and Erica welcomed a cool 400 guests to celebrate their nuptials with them. 

Jay McGraw has not only worked on multiple shows with his dad, but has also earned some major accolades. The controversial tough love therapy talk show "Dr. Phil" was nominated over two dozen times for a Daytime Emmy award, and the talk show host himself was nominated for his work on the series. Although the program never actually took home any Emmys, Dr. Phil McGraw did win two Daytime Emmy awards for his work as an executive producer on "The Doctors" and "Daily Mail TV" — and so did his oldest son.

Throughout Jay's career in the television industry, he has been nominated a total of five times. Like his famous father, Jay was nominated for and won a Daytime Emmy award for his work as a creator and executive producer on the show "The Doctors" in 2010 in the category of Outstanding Talk Show/Informative. Almost a decade later in his career, Dr. Phil's kid was again up for an award. Jay won for his work on "Daily Mail TV" in the category of Outstanding Entertainment News Program in 2019 along with his father.

A few years after Jay McGraw married Erica McGraw (née Dahm), their family grew in size. Jay became a first time dad on March 18, 2010 when his wife gave birth to their first child, Avery Elizabeth McGraw. The next year on September 1, 2011, the couple welcomed their second child, London Phillip McGraw, who shares a birthday with his grandfather, Dr. Phil. 

In 2018, Dr. Phil spoke to Closer Weekly about how much he enjoys being a grandparent. "Popsicles are in endless supply and bedtimes are floating," he said, admitting he clearly spoiled his grandchildren when they were younger. "Jay's a great dad, and I tried to lead by example, by showing him [the importance of] investing time in your kids," Dr. Phil said. The television personality is clearly obsessed with his grandchildren — so much so, that Rachael Ray once pointed out that he regularly shared photos of the little ones whenever he stopped by the "Rachael Ray Show." As Dr. Phil quipped, "I've become that guy."

Avery and London's father is just as proud of them, often posting Instagram pictures of his children to commemorate birthdays, holidays, and family vacations. As of 2026, Dr. Phil's oldest son lives in Los Angeles with his family of four to be close to work and his parents. 

Dr. Phil McGraw and his oldest son have embarked on many business journeys together, including co-creating an app. Despite the fact that Dr. Phil is not an accredited doctor, he and Jay McGraw created and launched the app Doctor on Demand in 2012 along with Adam Jackson. The app connects patients with doctors, therapists, and psychiatrists, including more medical professionals in specialized fields like dermatology and lactation consulting. The virtual health platform provides  24/7 care to people with and without insurance through telehealth visits.

In a 2015 interview with ABC News, Dr. Phil dug into the app's mission to make it more convenient for people to have access to medical care in nonemergency situations, especially parents. "You've got to get in your car, you might have to get your children covered with some kind of child care, you've got to take off work, you've got to drive down there," he said. "Or [with the app] ... you can get on your smart phone, your tablet or your laptop, your desktop, hit a button and, usually within about 30 seconds, you're face to face with a board-certified physician." In 2021, Doctor on Demand merged with another telehealth platform, Grand Rounds, but the app still provides the same care as before. Jay remains Chairman of the Board for the company.

Dr. Phil McGraw has certainly dealt with criticism and bad press over the years. For starters, there were times when Dr. Phil took things way too far on his show. On top of that, there have been toxic workplace allegations Dr. Phil could not escape. And by all accounts, Jay McGraw has stuck by his father through thick and thin.

In a 2015 interview with USA Today, Dr. Phil and Jay spoke about how they have managed to work together for so long while also maintaining a strong relationship. At one point, Dr. Phil joked that he would ground his oldest son if he misbehaved. The TV star then went on to say that their working relationship is a healthy one, and their different skill sets complement each other. "We don't argue or fight," Jay chimed in.

While Dr. Phil has shared wisdom with his son, he has also been open to advice from Jay when it comes to work-related matters. Dr. Phil shared some words of wisdom offered to him by his son in a 2016 interview with Business Insider: "You have to ask yourself this question: If someone is only ever going to see one 'Dr. Phil' episode in their life, would you be okay with it being this one? If the answer is 'no,' don't do it."

Daytime talk show host Dr. Phil McGraw and his son Jay McGraw sure seem to spend a lot of time together, whether they are at work or off the clock. Dr. Phil's oldest son has remained close with his father over the years, and they celebrate one another's achievements as adults. At the end of February in 2020, Jay was at the ceremony when his dad got his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Jay shared the moment on Instagram and wrote, "So proud of my dad for receiving his much deserved star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame! Great day of celebrating him with family and friends!"

The father and son duo also bond over their shared love of sports; the two often hit the green to golf together and play tennis against one another. Dr. Phil and Jay have attended outings to baseball games with one another, and they share a more adventurous side when they scuba dive in tropical waters with one another. Dr. Phil's eldest kid is vocal about his love for his father and celebrates his dad on Father's Day each year. In 2023, Jay shared a selfie of him next to his father on Instagram as a tribute on Father's Day and wrote, "I love every minute with you!"