What Family Ties Star Tina Yothers Has Been Doing Since Leaving Hollywood In The Rearview

Tina Yothers became a household name thanks to her role on "Family Ties." From 1982 through 1989, she starred alongside Michael J. Fox, Michael Gross, Meredith Baxter, and Justine Bateman in the NBC family sitcom. Fox's conservative Alex P. Keaton humorously clashed with his more liberal parents, whereas Yothers was the precocious youngest sister of the family, Jennifer. A sporty tomboy, Jennifer often sided with her parents and charmed audiences.

As happens with sitcom families, the kids grew up, including Yothers, who had done some work as a child actor before her starring role on the series. After "Family Ties" ended though, it appears Yothers eschewed a career in Hollywood for a more traditional life. She dabbled in some other entertainment career opportunities, including several stints on reality TV, but for the past decade-plus, she has happily left Hollywood behind her. Here is what the "Family Ties" alum's life looks like today.

Tina Yothers was just 9 years old when she landed her role on "Family Ties," but she had already been working as a child actor beforehand. She appeared in commercials beginning at age 3 and had roles on an episode of "The Wonderful World of Disney," an episode of "Father Murphy," and the feature film "Shoot the Moon." But it was "Family Ties" that made her a household name with the role of Jennifer.

Looking back on her audition for a "Family Ties" cast reunion in 2020, Yothers said, per People, "I was just a kid being a kid." She added, "Behind the scenes, we had so much fun. I mean, seriously, the water gun fights. The wrestling matches. We got in a lot of trouble; we weren't the most well-disciplined cast because we would have so much fun together."

Yothers displayed a remarkable sense of calm about being a television star, even at a young age. In a 1987 interview promoting her advice book titled "Being Your Best: Tina Yothers' Guide for Girls," Yothers was asked, at age 14, about not getting to enjoy a "normal" childhood. "I get asked that all the time. 'Do you think you're missing anything?' People say, 'You're not regular.' What is that anyway? I go to school, I have friends, I get into fights with my brothers. I think of myself as normal," she said in the Chicago Tribune. She also said she shrugged off letters asking for Michael J. Fox's autograph or fans who would write in to say Justine Bateman, who's had her own stunning transformation, was "the prettiest girl on the show." As Yothers stated, "I really don't mind that stuff because the majority of people are really good."

In addition to working on "Family Ties," Tina Yothers also started a singing career at age 13. She recorded two singles, "Baby, I'm Back in Love Again" and "Girlie, Girlie," for her album, "Over and Over." Yothers even performed "Baby, I'm Back in Love Again" on an episode of "Family Ties" titled "Band on the Run," which also features a young Christina Applegate as a member of the band. Once word had gotten out that Yothers was interested in singing, she told The Chicago Tribune she "started getting a lot of tapes of songs in the mail from different companies and songwriters."

Yothers revealed in an interview with CBS News' "The Early Show," that music had always been of interest to her. "As young as I can remember, I wanted to be a singer," she said. "We were fortunate enough to work next door to the 'Solid Gold' set and in the '80s that was the happening thing. They would have to drag me off the 'Solid Gold' set to come back to reverse or to go to school. I would ditch school to watch whatever was performing that week on 'Solid Gold.' It was great."

Yothers formed a rock group, Jaded, with her brother Cory in the mid-'90s. Reflecting on this chapter of her career on her episode of "Wife Swap," which aired in 2012, Yothers said, "I wanted to get into music, so once the show was done, my brother and I formed a band, Jaded. We did that band for 10 years and it was so much fun."

After "Family Ties" ended, Tina Yothers only took on a few more acting roles in projects like a "Perry Mason" TV movie and an episode of "Married...With Children" in 1996, her last credited acting role. She made her first reality TV appearance in 2001 on a celebrity edition of "The Weakest Link," followed by "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" several years later. In 2006, she won the fourth season of "Celebrity Fit Club." 

Yothers also appeared on "Celebrity Wife Swap," the spinoff of the awkward moment-packed reality series "Wife Swap." In a 2012 episode, she swapped families with Niecy Nash. In her introduction on the show, Yothers called being on "Family Ties" a "really great experience," but added, "Hollywood was never my cup of tea. I never bought into the phoniness." She went on to note, "My biggest achievement is being a wife and mom. My full-time job now is a stay-at-home mother." Yothers last TV credit is a 2013 episode of "What Not to Wear."

"Family Ties" star Tina Yothers married her love Robert Kaiser in 2002. At the time of their wedding, he reportedly owned a club in Las Vegas. In the "Celebrity Wife Swap" episode, Yothers describes her husband as "a hardworking man" and notes that he is an electrical contractor. Robert has a daughter from a previous relationship, and he and Yothers share two children. "We have a blended family," she said. "Bob and I are hands-on parents, we like to be there with them every step of the way."

Yothers embraced being a full-time stay-at-home mom, and she is clearly active in her children's lives. In 2016, she spoke out against the proposed closing of their charter school, telling CBS News at the time, "It's mind-boggling...The kids want to be here. My kids want to be here. If they have a 105 temperature, they want to be here."

Tina Yothers shares regular updates on her life on Instagram, but there is no splashy Hollywood lifestyle on display, just regular mom stuff: graduations, family get togethers, and house DIY updates. As she said in her "Celebrity Wife Swap" episode, "We live a very normal life. I'm still an all-American girl next door." Yothers lives with her family in Ontario, California, as of the episode's airing, and called her family "outdoorsy."

Yothers does reunite with her "Family Ties" costars regularly and appears happy to discuss the show, sharing behind-the-scenes moments stories true "Family Ties" fans would appreciate. She told Daily Blast Live in 2022, "Growing up television, people had misconceptions of glamour, and it is but on our set it was just a family. It truly was. And a lot of times, I would give interviews and people would ask for the behind-the-scenes drama, and there really was none." Yothers also said in an interview she was working on a book, but nothing has been published as of 2026.