Leigh Anne Tuohy (
née
The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...
Roberts; born August 9, 1960) is an
American businesswoman and interior designer. She was guardian and supposed adopted mother of the football player
Michael Oher. Their story was featured in the 2006 book ''
The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game'' and its 2009 feature film adaptation ''
The Blind Side''. In the film, Tuohy was portrayed by
Sandra Bullock
Sandra Annette Bullock (; born July 26, 1964) is an American actress and film producer. The List of highest-paid film actors, highest-paid actress of 2010 and 2014, Sandra Bullock filmography, Bullock's filmography spans both comedy and drama, ...
, who won an
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...
and a
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Janua ...
for her performance.
Early life
She was born in
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...
. Growing up, she was close to her maternal grandmother who lived with her family.
She graduated from
Briarcrest Christian School in
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...
. In the early 1980s, she graduated from
University of Mississippi
The University of Mississippi (Epithet, byname Ole Miss) is a Public university, public research university in University, near Oxford, Mississippi, United States, with a University of Mississippi Medical Center, medical center in Jackson, Miss ...
, where she became a member of the
Kappa Delta sorority, was a cheerleader, and met her future husband,
Sean Tuohy, a basketball player for the
Ole Miss Rebels
The Ole Miss Rebels are the 18 men's and women's College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that are funded by and represent the University of Mississippi, located in Oxford, Mississippi, Oxford. The first was the Ole ...
.
Career
Tuohy and her husband once owned 115 fast food franchises of
Taco Bell
Taco Bell Corp. is an American multinational chain of fast food restaurants founded in 1962 by Glen Bell (1923–2010) in Downey, California. Taco Bell is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. The restaurants serve a variety of Mexican-inspired ...
and
Kentucky Fried Chicken
KFC Corporation, doing business as KFC (an abbreviation of Kentucky Fried Chicken), is an American fast food restaurant chain specializing in fried chicken and chicken sandwiches. Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, it is the world's s ...
, but owned 11, having sold the majority in six separate transactions.
Tuohy is an interior designer. In 2010, she was named one of three new design team members for ABC's ''
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition''.
Tuohy and her husband are also the co-authors of the book ''In a Heartbeat: Sharing the Power of Cheerful Giving'', which was published in 2010.
Personal life
Tuohy married her husband Sean Tuohy, an
Irish American
Irish Americans () are Irish ethnics who live within in the United States, whether immigrants from Ireland or Americans with full or partial Irish ancestry.
Irish immigration to the United States
From the 17th century to the mid-19th c ...
, in 1982, and they live in
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...
. They have two children and were reported to have had Oher sign a
conservatorship
Under U.S. law, a conservatorship results from the appointment of a guardian or a protector by a judge to manage the personal or financial affairs of another person who is incapable of fully managing their own affairs due to age or physical or m ...
(not adoption) when he turned 18 years old. Oher later went on to be an
offensive lineman
In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line ( ...
in the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
.
Their daughter Collins Tuohy was a state champion pole vaulter and a cheerleader at the
University of Mississippi
The University of Mississippi (Epithet, byname Ole Miss) is a Public university, public research university in University, near Oxford, Mississippi, United States, with a University of Mississippi Medical Center, medical center in Jackson, Miss ...
. Their son Sean "SJ" Tuohy, Jr. played basketball for the
Loyola Greyhounds.
In
August 2023, Oher filed a lawsuit alleging the Tuohys had not adopted him but, rather, misled him into signing a conservatorship agreement under the belief it was adoption papers. The agreement enabled them to make business deals under his name including, allegedly, the creation of the movie ''The Blind Side'' and the selling off of Oher's perpetual likeness and life story to
Fox. In an interview, Sean Tuohy agreed that the agreement was a conservatorship, but he said it was created since Oher was older than eighteen, and the
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
was concerned about him playing at the
University of Mississippi
The University of Mississippi (Epithet, byname Ole Miss) is a Public university, public research university in University, near Oxford, Mississippi, United States, with a University of Mississippi Medical Center, medical center in Jackson, Miss ...
, a school where the Tuohys were
financial boosters. The Tuohys released a statement through their attorney that alleged Oher had threatened to plant a negative news story if the couple did not give him $15 million, claiming that he had attempted this on previous occasions, but that he had struggled to find lawyers to take the case. A judge ended the conservatorship and declined to dismiss the case in September 2023, and the Tuohys later told the court they would remove all mentions to Oher being adopted from their website and public speaking advertisements.
Tuohy gave the commencement address at
Christian Brothers University
Christian Brothers University is a private Catholic university in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. It was founded in 1871 by the De La Salle Christian Brothers, a Catholic teaching order.
History
Founded on November 19, 1871, it was estab ...
on May 14, 2010. She also received an
honorary degree
An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...
from the university during its commencement ceremony for her commitment to the less fortunate and her ongoing quest to recruit others to make a difference.
References
External links
*
* - archived old website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tuohy, Leigh Anne
1960 births
Living people
People from Memphis, Tennessee
University of Mississippi alumni
American interior designers
Tuohy family