Michael Oher has twelve siblings that includes two adopted siblings and one yet-to-be-identified biological sibling. Michael Oher’s siblings, not necessarily in order of their birth are Markus Oher, Carlos Oher, Marcus Oher, John Oher, Andre Oher, Juan Deljuan Oher (deceased), Tara Oher, Rico Oher, Denise Oher, Sean Tuohy Jr., and Collins Touhy.
If you have seen the 2009 Academy Award-winning movie, The Blind Side, then you have a little bit of an idea of what Michael Oher’s family life was like, including how he went from being homeless to being adopted by the Touhys. It also showed his path to the NFL. Away from the movie, Oher subsequently spent 8 seasons in the NFL from 2009 to 2017. This article, however, focuses on his 12 siblings, one of whom is yet unknown. Here is what we know about them.
Michael Oher Has 12 Siblings
As earlier indicated, Michael Oher has 12 siblings, including two that he acquired as a result of being adopted by the Touhys. To get an accurate representation of Michael Oher’s family tree, it is important to ascertain the fact that he is one of 12 children born to Denise Oher. His father Michael Jerome Williams died in prison.
To clarify, Michael Oher was born Michael Jerome Williams Jr., on May 28, 1986, to Michael Jerome Williams Sr. (deceased), and Denise Oher. Other than the former Baltimore Ravens offensive tackle, the former couple had one more child together, a daughter who was named Denise Oher Jr., after Michael’s mother.
His mother had sexual relations with a few other men, and those relations eventually led to the birth of ten more children. Michael Oher had a difficult childhood, primarily due to the irresponsible lifestyle of his parents. His father was often in prison, while his mom struggled with alcohol and drug abuse.
It meant that Oher and his siblings from his biological mother received little attention and discipline while growing up, which negatively impacted their formal educational life. Michael for one repeated first and second grades, and the chaotic nature of his academic life meant that he attended eleven schools during his first nine years as a student.
When Michael Oher was seven years old, he was placed in the foster care system, and it became a pattern for most of his childhood, and early teen years.
Michael Oher Has Two Adopted Siblings
Bouncing from foster home to foster home is not an ideal environment for any child and Michael Oher was no exception. Fortunately for him, the trajectory of his life changed when he was adopted by the Touhys when he was just 18 years old.
The Touhys – Leigh Ann Tuohy and her husband, Sean Tuohy, had two children together, a daughter named Collins Tuohy Smith, and a son Sean “SJ” Tuohy Jr. Michael’s adopted siblings, alongside his adopted parents, played an integral role in shaping him into the athlete that he was, and the person that he is today.
With the aforementioned factors in mind, let’s explore the lives of Michael’s siblings, biological and adopted in detail.
Meet Michael Oher’s Adopted Siblings, Sean “SJ” and Collins Tuohy
Given how influential they were in providing a stable and purposeful life for Michael Oher, it does not seem out of place for us to begin with his adopted siblings. Meet Michael Oher’s adopted siblings Collins Tuohy Smith and Sean “SJ” Tuohy.
Collins Tuohy Smith
Collins Tuohy Smith was born Collins Tuohy on December 29, 1986, in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. She is currently 37 years old, and is just about 7 months and 4 days younger than Michael Oher. It also confirms the fact that she is the older of the former NFL star’s two adopted siblings.
Like Michael, Collins earned her high school diploma at Briarcrest Christian School before joining him at the University of Mississippi popularly known as Ole Miss. During her time at the university, she was a Varsity Cheerleader, a position that gave her a front-row seat to essentially all her brother’s games during his time at the university.
Collins eventually graduated with a degree in Broadcast journalism. Presently she is an entrepreneur who is co-owner and director of marketing and sales at the Whimsy Cookie Company. She is also a board member of the Making It Happen Foundation, which was essentially set up to change the lives of children through love, hope, and opportunity.
Several sources have reported that Collins is Michael’s closest sibling. Those reports seem quite plausible when you factor in the fact that they are practically the same age, separated only by a few months, as well as the fact that she actively played a part in helping him settle down to life as a member of the Tuohy family, not just at home but at school as well.
Collins Tuohy Smith is a Happily Married Woman
Collins Tuohy became Collins Tuohy Smith after tying the knot with actor Cannon Smith, the son of FedEx founder, Frederick Smith, and the brother of Molly Smith, the guy who co-founded Black Label Media and produced Demolition. Collins’ husband also used to be a football player but he only stopped at the university level.
The finer details of their relationship are encapsulated in the fact that they dated for eleven years before exchanging marital vows in April 2016. According to several reliable sources, the wedding was held in their hometown of Memphis, and the ceremony lasted two days.
So far we have nothing to indicate that Collins is a mother but she has been a happily married woman for the best part of seven years.
Sean “SJ” Tuohy
When Michael Oher was officially adopted by the Tuohys in 2004, his younger adopted brother Sean “SJ” Tuohy was just 11 years old. He was born on July 4, 1993, in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. As earlier indicated, SJ, as he is fondly called by friends and family members, is currently 30 years old, a fact that means that he is at least seven years younger than the former NFL star.
Like his older siblings, Collins and Michael, SJ also attended Briarcrest Christian High School in Tennessee. He also had athletic abilities which he regularly displayed on the basketball team as a point guard while schooling at Briarcrest. He was instrumental during their run to earn All-Division 2A West Second Team honors.
He was also a member of the National Honor Society, as well as the Spanish National Honor Society. Following his graduation from Briarcrest, SJ enrolled at Loyola University in Maryland, in Baltimore, where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Communication, specializing in Journalism and Marketing.
After that, he chose to further his academics at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas where he earned a Master’s degree in Humanistic Studies. At this point, it is important to mention the fact that SJ also played football and was twice selected as captain of the school’s football team.
SJ Tuohy Currently Works as an Associate Athletic Director/Chief of Staff at the University of Central Florida
In the fall of 2017, he led the SMU Mustangs, this time as coach, to their first winning season since 2011, and he also managed to help them achieve their best home record since 1982 in the process. When he left SMU, he joined the staff at the University of Arkansas where he served as the Assistant Director of Football Operations.
He also served as the Special Assistant to the Head Coach and Director of Player Personnel. Upon leaving Arkansas, he moved to Lynchburg where he was The Assistant Athletic Director for Football Operations for the Liberty Flames football team. His invaluable contributions helped secure the school’s best season in the history of their football program with an 11-1 season, and a top 15 ranking to end the season.
SJ currently works as the Associate Athletic Director/Chief of Staff at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida. Michael Oher’s younger adoptive brother is also a passionate reader and writer whose works have appeared in several online and print outlets including the Huffington Post and Fansided.
Aside from work and academics, SJ Tuohy also volunteers for several organizations including the Making It Happen Foundation where he serves on the board of directors.
SJ Tuohy is Not yet Married
With regard to his leisure activities and personal life, we feel it is worth knowing the fact that SJ Tuohy is adept at playing the piano. He began playing when he was 17 years old and has described it as one of his major hobbies.
To the best of our knowledge, SJ Tuohy is not yet married. It would also appear that he prefers to keep details of his love life well under wraps as we have yet to ascertain whether he is in a romantic relationship or not. We would be sure to let our readers know if and when his relationship/marital status becomes public information.
Meet Michael Oher’s Biological Siblings
Before going into the finer details, it is important to reiterate the fact that Michael Oher’s biological parents had just one more child after the former NFL star was born. The child in question is a woman named Denise Oher, so named after their mother, kind of like Michael was named after his now-deceased father.
However, we have to also ascertain the fact that the rest of Michael’s biological siblings are products of his mother’s relationships with men other than his biological father. Without further ado, let’s meet Michael Oher’s biological siblings including Markus Oher, Carlos Oher, Marcus Oher, John Oher, Andre Oher, Juan Deljuan Oher (deceased), Tara Oher, and Rico Oher.
Markus Oher Is Michael Oher’s Oldest Sibling
Not much is known about Michael Oher’s brother Markus Oher, including where he is present, what he does for a living, and who his biological father was. However, we can confirm that he is ten years older than the NFL star, a fact that means that he was born around 1976, even though we have yet to ascertain the date and month of his birth. We can also sign off on the fact that he is Michael Oher’s oldest sibling, biological or not.
When Michael and his siblings were placed in foster care, Markus lived with their grandmother. That arrangement, however, only lasted six months. In a section of Michael Oher’s book, I Beat The Odds, the former NFL star detailed how Markus played a fatherly role in his life and in the life of the other siblings with whom he had grown up, as well as the lengths he went to to ensure that Michael and his siblings were safe.
One such instance took place when Michael was only two years old, and was walking down the highway with some of his other half-brothers including Marcus, Andre, Deljuan, Rico, and Carlos, trying to find a safe spot because their home was locked. Markus had taken it upon himself to find shelter for the family.
Michael Oher’s Brother, Juan Deljuan Oher, Died in 2016
Juan Deljuan Oher was Michael’s older brother as well but the media and the general public know next to nothing about him including when he was born and how much older he was than the former NFL star.
The most significant piece of information available on him remains the tragic fact that he was involved in a fatal car accident in September 2016. That accident ultimately claimed his life.
Prior to the accident, we have no way of ascertaining what he did for a living, as well as what his personal life was like, including whether he was married or in a romantic relationship at the time.
Michael Oher Has a Good Relationship With His Siblings
We have already established the fact that Michael Oher has a very close relationship with his adoptive siblings. However, it would be easy to assume that he is not as close to his biological siblings given the circumstances surrounding their upbringing.
However, it is important to explain that the reality is that Michael Oher has a relatively close relationship with his biological siblings even though he admits that he does not know much about the younger ones because he was not around while they were growing up.
He has the Tuohys to thank for any kind of relationship he has with his biological siblings because they ensured that he didn’t lose contact with them.
They encouraged him to visit them from time to time although he was quite cautious not to overdo it because of a viable fear that he would be sucked back into that environment and his old habits which included breaking into cars for fun.
