Thursday, October 12, 2023

Italian American Heritage Month: Tim McGraw


Tim McGraw

Samuel Timothy "Tim" McGraw is Italian American?

Yes, he certainly is. His mother is the former Betty D'Agostino and his maternal grandparents were both Italian. McGraw, who has been honored by the National Italian American Foundation, credits his Italian roots with many of the values he embraces today, including his love of and devotion to family. His mother's side of the family, he explains, originated in Naples and Balogna. He was very close to his Italian grandfather, John Joseph D’Agostino (the son of Daniel Agusta D’Agostino and Elizabeth Isabella DeSilverstri.)

Of course, McGraw (the son of the late major league baseball standout Tug McGraw) is one of the most famous country stars of all time as well as an accomplished actor.

In 1966, Betty D'Agostino was a high school student who lived in the same apartment building as Tug McGraw, who was playing baseball for a minor league team in Jacksonville. When she became pregnant with McGraw as a teen, D'Agostino's parents sent her to Louisiana to live with relatives.

Through his father, McGraw has two half-brothers, Mark and Matthew, and a half-sister named Cari. He also has two younger half-sisters, Tracey and Sandra, through his mother's marriage to Horace Smith.

McGraw grew up believing Smith was his father, and used this stepfather's surname until meeting Tug. At age 11, McGraw discovered his birth certificate while searching in his mother's closet to look for a picture for a school project. Following the discovery, he learned from her who his biological father was and she took him to meet the elder McGraw for the first time.

Tim McGraw rose to fame after the release of his second album, Not a Moment Too Soon (1994), which featured five singles that reached the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart, including the No.1 hits Don't Take the Girl and Not a Moment Too Soon. 

McGraw has had 12 studio albums reach No. 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and 30 singles reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. His most famous songs include I Like It, I Love It, It's Your Love (featuring Faith Hill), Just to See You Smile, Something Like That, My Best Friend, My Next Thirty Years, Live Like You Were Dying, I Need You (featuring Faith Hill), Highway Don't Care (featuring Taylor Swift and Keith Urban), and Humble and Kind. 

McGraw has won three Grammy Awards, 14 Academy of Country Music awards, and 11 Country Music Association awards. As an actor, McGraw has appeared in films like Friday Night Lights (2004), Flicka (2006), The Blind Side (2009), Country Strong (2010) and Tomorrowland (2015) and in the television series 1883 (2021-Present).

Still don't believe Tim McGraw is Italian? C'mon! Just gaze into his eyes!


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