WHERE ARE THEY NOW: Michael Oher and the Tuohy family, the inspirations behind the 2009 film, 'The Blind Side'
Lauren Edmonds
- On Monday, Michael Oher filed court documents claiming that Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy never adopted him.
- Oher said the pair tricked him into signing a document that made them his conservators.
Michael Oher, the ex-NFL player who inspired the 2009 blockbuster hit "The Blind Side," alleged in court documents that the Tuohy family never adopted him and instead placed him in a conservatorship to enrich themselves.
The Tuohys took in Oher while he was in high school but was a ward of Tennessee's foster care system as a minor.
The documents, obtained by Insider, claimed that Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy tricked Oher into signing documents that entered him into a conservatorship three months after his 18th birthday in 2004.
Documents said the conservatorship allowed the Tuohy family to have "total control" over Oher's ability to "negotiate for or enter any contract," including a deal that paid them and their two children — Collins and Sean Tuohy Jr. — millions of dollars in royalties from "The Blind Side" while Oher got nothing.
Oher also claimed the Tuohy family saw him as a "gullible" young man who could be "exploited for their own benefit." He's seeking to terminate the conservatorship in the documents.
Members of the Tuohy family have spoken out since Oher's filing.
Sean Tuohy said he'd be open to ending the conservatorship in an interview with The Daily Memphis published Monday. He told the outlet that The Tuohys didn't make money from the film, claiming instead that Michael Lewis, who wrote 2006 the book that inspired "The Blind Side," gave them half of his share, and the family split it evenly.
Sean Tuohy Jr. told Barstool Sports he did not make millions from "The Blind Side." The Tuohys later accused Oher of threatening them with "negative" press in a $15 million "shakedown."
Here's where Oher and the Tuohys are now.
Michael Oher
Oher grew up one of 12 children to a mother who dealt with addiction, per Lewis' book, and later attended Briarcrest Christian School due to his athletic ability. While at Briarcrest Christian School, Oher occasionally stayed at the family's home before they invited him to move in at age 16, according to a bio published on Leigh Anne's website.
He played college football and graduated from the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss), where the Tuohys attended and supported by becoming boosters. Seven months before "The Blind Side" hit theaters in November 2009, Oher became a first-round pick in the NFL draft and began his professional career with the Baltimore Ravens.
He spent five seasons with the Ravens — even winning the Super Bowl in 2013 — before playing with the Tennessee Titans from 2014 to 2015, then joining the Carolina Panthers from 2015 to 2017, per ESPN. In 2017, Oher retired.
Despite "The Blind Side" earning $300 million at the box office, Oher criticized the film's characterization of him during a 2015 interview with ESPN.
On Monday, Oher's attorney told ESPN Oher's relationship with the Tuohys began to sour after "The Blind Side" premiered.
"Mike's relationship with the Tuohy family started to decline when he discovered that he was portrayed in the movie as unintelligent," the attorney said. "Their relationship continued to deteriorate as he learned that he was the only member of the family not receiving royalty checks from the movie, and it was permanently fractured when he realized he wasn't adopted and a part of the family."
Oher married Tiffany Roy in November 2022. "Today" reports the couple dated for 17 years after meeting at Ole Miss. Oher and Roy share two biological children, and Oher is a stepdad to Roy's two children from a previous relationship.
Sean Tuohy
According to a bio on wife's website, the Louisiana native attended Ole Miss on a basketball scholarship. While there, he led Ole Miss to its first-ever SEC Championship, broke records, and was inducted into the school's Hall of Fame. The New Jersey Nets — now Brooklyn Nets — drafted him in 1982, but he chose to continue his career overseas.
Sean and Leigh Anne married in 1982 after dating at Ole Miss. Sean's bio said he became an entrepreneur who owns and operates several fast-food restaurants, including KFC and Taco Bell.
Sean continued to add to his resumé over the years. He's a former NBA broadcaster who covered the Memphis Grizzlies for over 15 years and was involved in his local church.
He and the rest of the Tuohy family cheered from the sidelines when Oher won Super Bowl XLVII.
In 2009 Sean and Leigh Anne cofounded the Making It Happen Foundation, according to the foundation's website. Sean also sits on the foundation's board.
The couple published their memoir, "In a Heartbeat: Sharing the Power of Cheerful Giving," in 2011.
Leigh Anne Tuohy
Leigh Ann's bio on her website notes that she attended Ole Miss, where she was a cheerleader, an active member of Kappa Delta, and met her eventual husband, Sean.
She's a motivational speaker and an interior designer by trade, appearing on TV shows like "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" and UPtv's "Family Addition with Leigh Anne Tuohy" featuring her daughter, Collins. Her bio said she's also designed homes for athletes like Peyton Manning and Scottie Pippen.
After she and her husband published their memoir in 2011, Leigh Anne authored "Turn Around: Reach Out, Give Back, and Get Moving" in 2015.
Collins Tuohy
Collins is Sean and Leigh Anne's eldest daughter.
According to her bio on Leigh Anne's website, Collins and Oher became close after meeting in the hallways of Briarcrest Christian School as teenagers. She and Oher bonded over their athletics pursuits, with Oher playing football and Collins winning the Tennessee State Championship in the pole vault.
Like her parents and Oher, she graduated from Ole Miss with a Bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism, was a member of the school's varsity cheer team, and acted as an officer for Kappa Delta.
She also serves on The Making It Happen Foundation board and contributed to her parent's 2011 memoir. Separately, Collins has a lifestyle blog called "Collins Closets."
Per HuffPost, Collins married Cannon Smith in 2016. According to IMDb, Cannon's sister Molly Smith was an executive producer for "The Blind Side."
Sean Tuohy Jr.
Sean Tuohy Jr., also known as SJ, is the couple's youngest son.
SJ's bio on Leigh Anne's website says he played basketball and graduated from Loyola University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in communications specializing in journalism and marketing. He later earned a master's degree in humanistic studies from Southern Methodist University while playing on the school's football team.
According to SJ's bio, his coaching career began in the fall of 2017 at Southern Methodist University before working at the University of Arkansas as the assistant director of football operations, special assistant to the head coach, and director of player personnel.
SJ later worked at Liberty University and, most recently, at the University of Central Florida as the Associate Athletic Director/Chief of Staff.
He also serves on the board of The Making It Happen Foundation.
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