Those who lived through the 1990s (or those who have experienced the decade through the 90s nostalgia wave) could not escape the earworm that is “MMMbop.” The breakthrough single introduced the world to Hanson, a trio of brothers – Isaac Hanson, Taylor Hanson, and Zac Hanson – who delivered a variety of cheery pop reminiscent of The Osmonds, the Jackson 5, and other harmonic groups of the 1960s/70s. “MMMBop” helped close out the decade and helped turn the trio of brothers into one of the hottest groups of the 1990s.
However, there are more than just three Hanson brothers – the fourth and youngest, Mac Hanson, is an established talent in his own right. In fact, there are three Hanson sisters, but for those who want to know more about the Hanson brothers – and how many kids they have — here’s the scoop.
Isaac Hanson
Clarke Isaac Hanson was born on Nov. 17, 1980. Isaac had the distinction of being both the oldest and the tallest Hanson brother when the group first debuted. He’s also known for playing guitar player and vocalist – which put him in a position to find the love of his life in 2003.
While performing a show in New Orleans, Isaac instantly connected with someone in the crowd: Nicole Dufresne. Isaac told Yahoo! UK podcast host Kate Thornton that he “sang the entirety of the show” to her and threw his guitar picks to her as gifts, a gesture he admitted probably “freaked her out.” Afterward, he asked the stage manager to keep Nicole from leaving the venue so he could introduce himself.
“I think that one takes the cake for me as a whole. It was both the most persistent and brave moment in some ways,” said Isaac. “I had to try hard. … My wife is quite introverted, and I think she was a little thrown because I was so gung-ho — like, ‘Hey, we should hang out, we should do some stuff, I’m only here for so long.”
It worked, though. The couple hit it off, and they married in 2006. In the fifteen-plus years since that, they welcomed three children together. “After I finish a show, it’s like, ‘Hold on a second. I’ve got to do an encore, then I’ll call you for the bedtime story,'” says Isaac of his sons Everett (b. 2007) and Monroe (b. 2008) and daughter Odette (b. 2014), per PEOPLE.
Despite nearly two decades of playing with his brothers, the band continues to thrive. “At the end of the day…we share a bond that is a little bit bigger than just our ability to communicate in word and business environments,” he told The Minnesota Daily in 2009. “It’s a bond of music that is, I think, bigger. Music is a universal language, and it also applies to us in the band. I think it’s the thing that really keeps it all glued together, when it’s all said and done.”
Taylor Hanson
Jordan Taylor Hanson was born on Mar. 14, 1983, and was nine years old when the band started. Known for being the Hanson behind the keyboards and singing both lead and backup vocals, Taylor was often the object of many fans’ affections.
“I remember during [an] early promo [tour] going to a mall in New Jersey, and every spot was packed within minutes,” Taylor told PEOPLE. “Looking out at that crowd, it was a feeling of stepping through a door that you can never go back through. I distinctly remember that.”
Taylor is also known for being the Hanson brother who played in a band that wasn’t Hanson. He joined James Iha (Smashing Pumpkins), Bun E. Carlos (Cheap Trick), and Adam Schlesinger (Fountains of Wayne) to form Tinted Windows in 2009. The band released an album that year, and a reunion was in the works when Adam died from COVID-19 in 2020.
“We continue to do things that are about challenging ourselves. I know that everybody has different creative interests and things that people like to express,” Taylor told Entertainment Tonight. “Zac has been a visual artist, Isaac’s done some producing. I love to work with other artists’ songwriting.”
“I think what’s cool about where we are now is we have all this history behind us, but in the grand scheme of things, we have still potentially so many years ahead that I feel like what’s around the corner for us is that opportunity to diversify and connect with other people you’re passionate about, other projects,” he added. “There’s many bands that started at 28 or 30. So I think the sky’s the limit.”
Similarly limitless is Taylor’s family. He married Natalie Anne Bryant in 2002, and they have seven children together: sons Ezra (b. 2002), River (b. 2006), Viggo (b. 2008), and Indiana (b. 2018), and daughters Penelope (b. 2005), Wilhelmina, (b. 2012), and Maybellene (b. 2020)
“We’ve all been incredibly blessed with amazing kids and amazing families. I’ve always taken it one at a time, that led us to seven, so I’m just going to hold right now,” he told ET.
Zac Hanson
Zachary Walker Hanson was born on Oct. 22, 1985. As the youngest member of Hanson (the band), Zac spent his formative years in the spotlight. He was about twelve years old when “MMMBop” took off, and he’s been able to experience the highs and lows of fame. Through all this, he’s managed to keep the beat at the group’s percussionist – and to keep a perspective on his role in the world.
“I think we’re lucky that we’ve always been a little bit of an anomaly,” Zac said to PEOPLE. “To be brothers who don’t fight that much and who share a dream, that’s unique. We’ve been a band for a long time, and a lot of people go, ‘Wow, you’re normal,’ because the industry has a way of leaving its marks on people. But we just always had a really strong sense of place.”
“It probably feels like a kid thinking about Christmas. For us, that’s what we live for — traveling around, meeting people, this ability to create those intangibles that happen when strangers get in a room and sing along together,” Zac told Entertainment Tonight. “There’s something I think really important about that just for the soul of the world.”
Just like his other bandmates, Zac has a huge family. He and his wife, Kate Tucker, had five children together after their 2006 wedding. “It becomes more important that idea of, what’s the legacy you’re leaving?” Zac told ET. “As you know, you’re leaving that to your kids, and you’re talking to your kids through the art you make. And so I think it’s just that much more important that you’re speaking from the heart.”
Mac Hanson
“Having left Oklahoma’s green rolling hills at 16 years old for a life in Los Angeles, Mac Hanson might as well call himself an Angeleno now,” reads the bio for the website belonging to the man born Joshua Mackenzie Hanson on Jan. 7, 1994. Mac Hanson was a child who watched his older brothers enjoy their first wave of fame and success.
He initially shunned a career in music, according to Billboard’s profile on him. “Growing up, music was something I relegated to my brothers — that was their thing, and I felt I needed to discover my own identity,” he said. “Looking back, I see how pride and ego can get in the way of what you want to do or are meant to do. I realize now that my hesitancy towards doing music was largely fear — fear of how it might look or be perceived.”
Mac admitted that he steered away from a music career partially due to fears of being accused of nepotism. “Part of my whole struggle of figuring out who I am and what to do with myself has been trying to carve out my own way,” he told Billboard, “and not be identified by [my brothers]. I love and respect them and their music, but you have to create your own personhood.”
After starting college at age 14 — aided by years of home-schooling – Mac studied cinematography, video production, and English. He relocated to LA to work in the film industry, taking on editing, writing, and directing jobs while also dabbling in acting. One day, during a camping trip out to Joshua Tree National Park, he began to play guitar as the sun set, and he felt “an upswell in my soul.”
“I stood on top of this rock, ripped off my shirt, and yelled into the distance, ‘I’m f-cking loud. Deal with it!’ [I had] been told to use my inside voice my entire life. I’m big and loud, and there’s a certain identity there that I hadn’t come to terms with, but I finally recognized it was something I needed to be proud of and embrace, and part of embracing that loudness and my musical tendencies meant leaning into that skill set,” he said.
Mac’s first single, “Hey Hey” – under the name Joshua and the Holy Rollers — was produced by his older brother Isaac, who offered his experience and knowledge to his younger bro. Mac’s music deals with rock ballads to calypso jazz numbers, music with more of a rock edge to it. The group released their first EP, Tribulations, in 2018 and followed it up with Grit in 2021.