Full House’s Tanner Family Tree Explained
The Tanner family from Full House extends beyond Danny and his three daughters. Debuting in the late ’80s and running until 1994, the ABC sitcom was never a critical darling, but it quickly built a following thanks to its realistic depiction of the highs and lows of parenting. Full House didn’t feature a traditional family, however. Full House’s iconic Tanner family home was inhabited by an odd mix of parental figures and kids. It celebrated all kinds of family make-up that it’s easy to confuse which characters were actually related by blood.
Because Full House was kicked off by the death of Pam Tanner, the Tanner household didn’t really have any maternal figures. Instead, Danny had help from Jesse, and Joey to raise his three young daughters — DJ, Stephanie, and Michelle. Over the years, however, Full House brought in more family members, further expanding the Tanner family tree. There were also some subsequent additions to the clan as there was also a wedding and then the arrival of a couple of babies. For context, however, Joey was not related to the Tanners; he was just Danny’s good friend. In any case, for clarification, here’s a breakdown of the Tanner family tree.
The buttoned-up, cleaning-obsessed father of the Tanner sisters, Danny, was left to raise his young daughters after the sudden death of his wife. Out of all the parental figures in Full House, Danny was the strictest, and understandably so, considering that he was the true patriarch of the family. This doesn’t mean, however, that Danny didn’t know how to have fun. He had his own quirks, such as his compulsive need to always clean the house. Danny also never shied away from showing emotions to his kids, allowing them to be more comfortable and expressing their own feelings in their home.
The events of Full House were kicked off after Danny was suddenly widowed when his wife, Pam, got killed by a drunk driver. Not much was revealed about the Tanner matriarch, as it had already been quite a while since her death when the show started. She was only seen via family tapes and was only ever really discussed sporadically throughout the show’s run. Aside from setting the show in motion, Pam’s death never really factored into Full House’s storytelling until much later when the older kids can finally drive.
The eldest of the Tanner daughters, DJ was the most responsible out of all of Danny’s kids in Full House. She was studious and dependable, but it doesn’t mean that she wasn’t immune to making mistakes. Much like any growing teenager, she also had her insecurities and hang-ups. However, as she grew older, she started to become more conscious about her actions, effectively setting an example for her younger sisters. Like her father, however, DJ was widowed at a young age, which was Fuller House’s premise.
Danny’s second-born, Stephanie, was the quintessential middle child. She was more spunky and adventurous than her older sister, which sometimes resulted in her getting in trouble in Full House. That included her accidentally backing up Joey’s car into the family home kitchen and going behind Danny’s back to get her ears pierced. Stephanie grew up to be a famous DJ/musician, but she had to put her career on hold as she helped DJ raise her kids in the Netflix spin-off of Full House, Fuller House.
Michelle Tanner, the youngest of the three Tanner kids, was the real star of the earliest years of Full House. Played alternately by Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, the character was a stand-out from the get-go. She became a bigger fan-favorite thanks to her special relationship with Uncle Jesse, which arguably eclipsed his bond with her nuclear family. Michelle was the only original Full House character who didn’t return in Fuller House after the Olsen Twins decided to turn down the project. As explained in the spin-off, she’s now based in New York as a fashion label owner, explaining why she never hung out with her family.
