Dr. Phil's Son Jay Has Had Quite The Transformation

"If you think about my dad walking into a room full of teenagers, you know, he looks like the dad, the principal, the teacher, the authoritarian," Jay McGraw told ABC News back in 2003. "You get a very different response when my dad walks into the room, versus when I walk into the room." If you haven't guessed by his surname already, the father figure in question is Phil McGraw, aka Dr. Phil, the no-holds-barred TV psychologist who's spent decades dishing out advice to both the general public and the celebrity world, whether they've asked for it or not.

Dr. Phil has undeniably had a major influence on his eldest son's life. But how has McGraw been able to carve out his own path? From repeatedly topping the New York Times Bestseller List to creating and producing TV shows, here's a look at his remarkable transformation.

Jay McGraw had a relatively normal childhood until his late teens, when his father, Phil McGraw, was suddenly propelled into the national spotlight. Indeed, after his legal consultancy helped Oprah Winfrey successfully defend herself in a 1998 Texas Beef Group v. Winfrey lawsuit in Amarillo, Texas, the talk show queen invited Phil McGraw to her daytime TV phenomenon. He proved such a hit with viewers that he was subsequently given his own regular slot to offer advice on relationships and life in general.

Speaking to the New York Post in 2004, two years after his dad, now nicknamed Dr. Phil (read his untold truth), had been given his very own show, McGraw insisted fame hadn't completely changed their family dynamic. "Certain elements of my family's lives changed, but a lot of them stayed the same. Our daily life is basically the same. Like the other day, I watched four movies with my parents, and that's exactly what we did five years ago."

So what was it like growing up with a man who's become renowned for his no-nonsense demeanor? In an interview with ABC News, McGraw explained that even in his youth, he appreciated how he was raised: "People say he's very tough, but if you really pay attention, he's equally as supportive, and he's always got a good answer that makes sense. He sets the bar very high, and that's something that I enjoy."

As you would expect from a man who's made a career from dishing out advice to the American public, the oft-shady Dr. Phil continually imparted words of wisdom to his two sons, Jordan McGraw and Jay McGraw. The psychologist told ABC News that he only had two rules for his sons. "I've always told our boys that they had two jobs that I really wanted 'em to do," Dr. Phil said. "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." 

Fortunately, both appear to have adhered to his commands. After finishing his education, the younger son, Jordan, launched a music career as the frontman of alt-rock band Stars in Stereo and is now a solo artist. Jay, meanwhile, studied for two degrees and went on to marry an actor-slash-model who appeared on the front cover of Playboy. "I mean he just really has always enjoyed life," Phil said of his eldest.

The oft-tragic Dr. Phil has an impressive academic background, having graduated from Midwestern State University with a psychology degree and earned master's and Ph.D degrees from North Texas State University in the same field. But his eldest son, Jay McGraw, is no slouch when it comes to education, either. Indeed, after graduating with a BS in psychology — his dad's favorite subject matter — from the University of Texas, he went on to study law at Southern Methodist University.

McGraw also attempted to give TV audiences a taste of his experience at the latter in 2017 with a CBS sitcom. In his role as a TV producer, McGraw tried to develop a comedy named "Class Action" with the network, which was somewhat semi-autobiographical. The series follows a group of law students who are unexpectedly thrown into the profession and forced to tackle real-life cases in court before they can even graduate. Unfortunately, the project never came to fruition.

As well as studying for a psychology degree, presenting a TV show, and founding his own production company, Jay McGraw has also followed in his father's footsteps by becoming a qualified pilot. Dr. Phil acquired his license at the age of 16 and even took his wife, Robin Jameson, on a plane ride for their first date. 

Navigating the skies isn't the only extracurricular activity McGraw has enjoyed over the years, though. He's also certified in scuba diving, earned a black belt in taekwondo, and regularly takes to the golf course to swing a few nine irons. Dr. Phil once told his audience (via ABC News) that his eldest has always had an intense zest for life: "If he couldn't bounce it, catch it, throw it or date it or eat it, he had no interest in it ... It was like you had to tie the boy down to get him to read a book."

Jay McGraw got more than he bargained for when he hosted Fox home improvement show "Renovate My Family." He ended up walking down the aisle with one of its experts. Indeed, just a year after the show aired, the nepo baby said "I do" to Erica McGraw (née Dahm), a fellow multi-talent who'd acted in the likes of "Juwanna Mann" and "Pauly Shore Is Dead" and graced the Christmas 1998 cover of Playboy magazine alongside her triplet sisters Jaclyn and Nicole.

"They wrote the entire ceremony and their vows themselves," Michael Gapinski, their wedding planner, gushed to People about the nuptials staged at McGraw's parents' house in Beverly Hills. "It was a very intimate and beautiful ceremony." Approximately 70 people were in attendance, including Dr. Phil, of course, who served as best man. The celebrations then continued with a "high-styled supper club" at a nearby hotel where the happy couple had their first dance to "Me and You" by country singer Kenny Chesney.

McGraw and Erica haven't been afraid to mix business with pleasure. The latter has regularly appeared on "The Doctors," the daytime TV show produced by her husband, to talk about issues such as infertility and pregnancy. Here's a look at Dr. Phil's other famous daughter-in-law.

Jay McGraw and Erica McGraw became first-time parents in 2010 with the birth of their daughter Avery. And the former couldn't wait to share the news, tweeting on then-Twitter (via Express), "Totally beautiful girl!! Erica was amazing through the entire experience!!" Given his excitement, it's perhaps no surprise to learn the couple soon added to their family unit with the arrival of son London Phillip just a year later. 

On this occasion, however, it was McGraw's mom who was the most vocal on social media. "Erica McGraw is my hero!" Robin McGraw proclaimed (via Us Weekly). "[She] had London Phillip without an epidural. Wow! She is fierce. Life is fabulous." Another post on the same platform from another beaming grandparent, Dr. Phil, also suggested Erica and McGraw nearly had to deal with an on-the-road birth. 

Proving how quickly time flies, Erica hit Instagram in 2024 to celebrate her firstborn graduating from eighth grade. "You present yourself in a way that is beyond your years," she captioned a family photo. "[You] have matured into a young lady who knows what she wants ... as I've always said.. 'you can run the world one day.. if you want,'" she wrote.

"They say the best lies have a kernel of truth," Jay McGraw told the press (via news.com.au) in 2010 while discussing the constant speculation about his parents' marriage. "But there's not even a kernel of truth there. So, instead of privately complaining about it, I decided I'm going to do something about this." And that he did.

McGraw launched a new "anti-tabloid" website named RumorFix designed to disprove unsubstantiated gossip not only about his parents but also the celebrity world in general. The media mogul, who intended to use employees from his successful daytime TV show "The Doctors" to manage the disinformation, said he was inspired to make the move after becoming fed up with the headlines at supermarket checkouts.

RumorFix went on to expand its remit, breaking entertainment news stories such as Brooke Burke-Charvet's departure from "Dancing with the Stars," Bon Jovi parting company with Richie Sambora, and Mila Kunis' decision to conceive her firstborn with Ashton Kutcher before walking down the aisle. In 2014, McGraw sold the site to Hutch Media, revealing in a press statement (via PR Newswire) that it had "exceeded our expectations and I'm excited to watch its further development and scope ..." Here's a look at how Dr. Phil battled the National Enquirer. 

In 2004, Jay McGraw attempted to establish himself as a name in front of, rather than behind, the cameras when he was appointed host of a new Fox reality show. Billed as the ultimate makeover show, "Renovate My Family" aimed to improve the lives of a particular household each week by transforming not only their abode but also their everyday life.

"I've been doing my dad's show a lot," McGraw explained to the New York Post at the time. "And his show is obviously premised on helping people, and that's what we're doing on "Renovate My Family," but in a different way." Unfortunately, the series didn't exactly replicate the longevity of the daytime favorite "Dr. Phil": it was canceled after a single season.

Then things went from bad to worse when one of the "lucky" recipients sued the show for making a mess of their Illinois home. Sharon and Gary Rosier claimed that far from making things easier for their disabled young son, the "Renovate My Family" team had left a "shoddy wreck of a house." The couple argued that the "endless pool" designed to assist in his therapy was basically a death trap: "It was so powerful it forced him under and almost drowned him," their attorney Mark Belongia told the Daily Herald (via Digital Spy).

It's commonplace these days to pay to see a doctor online. But back in 2012, the concept of getting personal medical advice without traipsing to your nearest professional was still something of a novelty. Alongside his dad, Dr. Phil, Jay McGraw recognized this was a gap in the market that needed to be filled.

A year later, the TV producer co-founded Doctor on Demand, an app that charged $40 for an online consultation with a waiting time of just two minutes. "There's no reason that seeing a doctor should be any harder than buying a song on iTunes," McGraw told USA Today. "More deaths occur during Christmas or the Super Bowl, because people put off going to doctor, and it's so inconvenient to get an appointment."

The idea proved an instant success, with more than 1 million people downloading Doctor On Demand by the end of 2014. In the midst of the pandemic, shortly after it had been valued at an astonishing $820 million, the company merged with another revolutionary digital health firm, Grand Rounds.

Jay McGraw obviously enjoys working with his dad. As well as launching the medical app Doctor on Demand, the businessman also teamed up with Dr. Phil in 2004 to found a production company that has been responsible for several hit TV shows. 

Unsurprisingly, many of Stage 29 Productions' successes have been based around "House Calls with Dr. Phil" and "Dr. Phil." But, in recent years, the firm has branched out into areas beyond psychology and life advice, producing the entertainment news show "Daily Mail TV," the private investigator dramedy "So Help Me Todd," and the legal procedural "Bull." In 2020, they moved into audio programming, producing over 500 hours of new content. 

"Podcasts have become the go-to destination for authentic and revealing conversations and in-depth information about the topics that impact our lives every day," McGraw explained in a press statement (via Inside Radio) about the decision, which planned to offer audiences "another convenient and compelling way to be entertained and inspired."

Like his father, Dr. Phil, Jay McGraw has shared words of wisdom in several New York Times best-selling books, including "Closing the Gap: A Strategy for Bringing Parents and Teens Together," "Life Strategies for Teens," and "The Ultimate Weight Solution for Teens."

And no one is more surprised at McGraw's success in the field than his dad. Dr. Phil informed Jae-Ha Kim in 2001 that if he'd been told that his son would become an author, he wouldn't have believed it: "Two years ago, we couldn't even get the boy to read a book. He was the ultimate jock. Class was just something he went to when he wasn't in the gym."

So what inspired McGraw to pick up a pen? Well, as he explained to the same journalist, he wanted to uplift the younger generation in the same way that his pop had inspired his own. "I remember coming home with a poor grade on a math test, and my dad asked me how come I didn't do better. And my answer was that I didn't know I wasn't prepared: What I wanted teens to get from my book is that they can control their lives and have the power to influence their friends and family in a positive way."

While he has a long way to go to match his dad's 23 nominations and 4 wins at the Daytime Emmy Awards, Jay McGraw has at least experienced the feeling of being declared a winner at the ceremony. In 2019, "Daily Mail TV," the show he co-produces alongside his father, beat "Entertainment Tonight," "Inside Edition," "Extra," and "Access" to win the title of Outstanding Entertainment News Program. '

The one-hour weekday show had only launched two years earlier, and McGraw told DMG Media he was delighted with the honor. "I am so very proud of the entire Daily Mail team. We offer a unique show that in less than two years has made its mark on American TV. I couldn't be happier being part of the Daily Mail family."

Although this is McGraw's only Daytime Emmy win so far, he has received six other nominations, all but one of which came in the Outstanding Talk Show/Informative category for Dr. Phil spinoff "The Doctors." The other was for the same show in the rather niche category of Outstanding Promotional Announcement — Episodic.

Jay McGraw found himself in the headlines for all the wrong reasons in 2025 when he was accused of profiting from a money-lending firm deemed to be preying on the economically deprived. CreditServe, which he served as secretary and president of, reportedly arranged loans with interest rates as high as 700%!

According to a joint investigation conducted by the Anchorage Daily News and ProPublica, these loans were officiated via Minto Money, a company located in the isolated Alaskan village of Minto, whose population stands at roughly 160. In a lawsuit filed the year previously in Illinois, this was said to be a front from which McGraw benefited — in the space of four years, its operations' annual revenue increased from $2 million to $12 million.

McGraw has never commented on the suit, which was confidentially settled, but a representative for his dad's home network, Merit Street Media, did. "Dr. Phil knows his son Jay to be a smart, strong, caring human being, and while he does not know his business, Dr. Phil supports him 100%," a statement read (via The Independent).

As you would expect, judging by their extensive working relationship, Jay McGraw has always enjoyed a strong personal relationship with his dad. Indeed, in a Father's Day essay penned for Parade, Dr. Phil proudly discussed the close bond he has with both his children.

"Just last week, Jay called to see if I wanted to play golf and Jordan called to see if I would give him a tennis lesson. Trust me: those are the kind of calls you want to get from your children. There's a lot to be said for the good old-fashioned bonding of sports! Give the three of us something we can bounce, hit, catch or throw, and we can entertain ourselves for hours."

But that doesn't mean that the TV psychologist has always wanted to spend every waking moment with his offspring. In a chat with TODAY about youngest son Jordan's parental worries, Dr. Phil admitted, "I don't care how much you love your kid. You gotta take a break and recharge your batteries ..." Here's a look at the head-turning transformation of Dr. Phil's youngest son.