Michael Strahan's Daughter Isabella Shares Painful Update on Chemotherapy Amid Brain Cancer Battle

Isabella Strahan is giving a candid look into her brain cancer treatments.

The 19-year-old daughter of Michael Strahan—who was diagnosed with a malignant tumor on the base of her brain in October—detailed her latest round of chemotherapy, noting that "everything hurts" after undergoing the procedure.

"My head hurts," she said in a Feb. 16 YouTube vlog, while holding an ice pack to her scalp. "I feel like I'm having a heart attack. My heart hurts."

But the painful aches didn't stop there. As Isabella explained, "My eyes are strained, they hurt to look to the sides."

"My whole mouth feels like I got one giant root canal," she continued. "Every single tooth, just ripped out and not even surgically put back in. My jaw hurts, the bottom of my tongue hurts. It hurts when I gulp water." 

Still, Isabella is keeping her spirts up. In fact, the teen joked in her vlog that she "would prefer" radiation therapy—which she completed in January—having now experienced chemotherapy's side effects.

"I would say I prefer brain surgery too, but that might be extreme," she quipped. "This one's just the longest journey."

 

And Isabella knows that she can always lean on her family for support during this challenging chapter in her life. As seen in the five-minute video, her twin sister Sophia and dad Michael sat by her side as she rested on the couch.

"Personally, I don't mind the hospital too much because I feel safe," she said about her recovery, "but I do like being home."

Who else is in Isabella's support system? Keep reading to get to know the Strahan family.

Michael Strahan married Wanda Hutchins in 1992, months before going No. 40 to the New York Giants in the 1993 NFL Draft.

Daughter Tanitha was born Nov. 10, 1991, and son Michael Jr. arrived Sept. 12, 1994.

Wanda and Michael divorced in 1996 and Michael Jr. and Tanita primarily lived in Germany with their mother.

"But from day one, it was very important for me to be active, to be a part of their life,” Michael recalled to People in 2016. "I was constantly on planes and phones. And it’s very hard...But one thing I learned is, you make time for what you want to make time for."

Still, the Super Bowl winner has admitted to some regrets from his days as a young father. 

"I didn't know what my future was gonna be," Michael told Brooke Shields on an August 2023, episode of her podcast What Now? "I knew I'd work hard. I knew that if I had an opportunity, I would do my best at it. But it was still tough."

He was "so young," the Pro Football Hall of Famer continued, "and having kids and having all the responsibilities, I do look back, and I do wish I did a lot of things better as far as being a parent because I felt like there was so many times I should've probably sacrificed certain things in order to be a little bit more present."

That being said, Michael continued, "then there are times I've looked back, and I think in order to have the life that I've been able to provide and give them, I had to sacrifice a lot of things."

Michael Jr. and Tanita eventually moved back to the U.S. and attended high school in their father's native Houston, according to People, then studied psychology and art, respectively, in college.

Tanita is "kind of like me in the sense that she has a very strong personality, but a silent strong personality," Michael told New York Family in 2012. "She’s not going to be one to walk into a room and make it all about her. She definitely has an opinion and she’s very smart and she knows what she wants, which I love about her."

He called Michael Jr. a "very smart" and "very particular young man."

Ultimately, Michael said, "I have great kids, and they’re not the kind who look at my life and say 'Daddy's this' and 'Daddy’s that.' My kids are interested in making their own way. They have their own personalities and do their own thing. I'm happy to see that."

 

Tanita graduated from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in 2014 and, according to her Instagram, is living and working as an illustrator in Los Angeles.

"What an incredible woman she’s become," mom Wanda wrote of her daughter on Instagram in 2018. "It’s been an absolute privilege to walk the path to adulthood and beyond with her. Creative, determined, and most of all kind."

On Michael Jr.'s birthday that same year, Wanda wrote, "His sarcastic humor, intelligence, discipline, and kindness inspire me."

Michael met second wife Jean at a New York spa, where she was working at the time.

They married in 1999 and—as the New York Times reported in 2006 when they were in the middle of an acrimonious divorce—signed a prenuptial agreement that set aside 20 percent of Michael's earnings per year to go to Jean should they break up.

The defensive end signed a seven-year, $46 million contract with the Giants in 2002.

“Personally, getting divorced is probably one of the toughest things I’ve ever gone through," Michael recalled to People in 2016, "but it was also a learning experience and I learned a lot about myself and I learned a lot about a lot of the people who were around at that time and some aren’t around anymore."

On a sunnier note, Michael and Jean welcomed twin daughters Isabella and Sophia on Oct. 28, 2004.

Isabella, who's slightly older, is "more playful, very chill, never gets very upset or fired up," Michael told New York Family. "She’s very, 'It is what it is.'" 

And Sophia as "always asking questions, very curious. They’re both very smart; they love to read all these things I never thought of reading when I was 7 or 8 years old. And they do it because they’re generally interested in it, which is amazing to me."

"My kids have a different upbringing than I had, but the love is the same," Michael told People in 2016, explaining how he and Jean had been co-parenting in the 10 years since finalizing their divorce. "The belief in them is the same."

It turned out that Isabella and Sophia, who lived part time with their mom in North Dakota and North Carolina, had inherited the good-on-camera gene from their father.

“The twins live a crazy life," Michael told People in 2016. "One time they flew out to D.C. and interviewed the first lady for GMA. Then the next day their mom was sending me a video of them riding horses and splashing around in a muddy corn field."

During the school year, "I get on a plane, and I fly to see my kids," he continued. "And whenever they get a break, they come to New York. The hardest part is when they leave—the energy in the house is not the same...They’re not the first kids and I’m not the first adult to deal with it, but we’ve all handled it as well as we can."

"You worry how the kids will mix and blend," Michael told People, "but brothers and sisters are brothers and sisters regardless of different mothers."

"My kids give me strength,” Michael said. "I love being with the kids. To me it’s all about family, now more than anything."

Sophia finished up at NYC's Trinity School in May 2023 and then it was on to Duke University in Durham, N.C.

"You are intelligent, beautiful, and I can’t wait to see all of the amazing things you are going to accomplish at Duke," the Blue Devil's dad wrote on Instagram.

The fam celebrated Isabella's graduation from Convent of the Sacred Heart in June 2023 and Michael cheered the future Trojan on her acceptance to University of Southern California.

"Intelligent, beautiful, and hard-working!!" he posted on Instagram. "I can’t wait to continue to watch you shine!! Love you!"

In January 2024, Isabella shared—her dad by her side—that she was undergoing treatment for brain cancer, having been diagnosed with a tumor known as a medulloblastoma the previous October.

Having had surgery and radiation, she still had chemotherapy ahead of her. But, Isabella said in a sit-down with Good Morning America's Robin Roberts, "I'm looking forward to getting back to college and moving back to California and just starting my school experience over. Not over, but just restarting, being back into a routine and something that's enjoyable."

After getting together in 2007, Michael spent five years engaged to Nicole—who shares five kids with ex-husband Eddie Murphy—before they went their separate ways in 2014.

Michael's rep said at the time, "They love each other very much, but with the distance and work schedule it has been hard to maintain the relationship." 

Michael has been in a relationship with Kayla, a University of Tampa alum and co-founder of wellness supplement brand FIZZNESS, since 2015.

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