Chad McQueen grew up doing a lot of things with his father, Steve McQueen. He started off with acting, then became a martial artist, and eventually, a race-car driver, most of these things, his dad introduced him to.
Born on December 28, 1960, Chad has achieved quite a lot in life but one of the things he brags about the most was his latest career in race-car driving. This he has also tried to pass down to one of his kids and so boasts about how race-car driving has been in the McQueen family for 3 generations.
Although an accident halted Chad’s career from progressing in 2006/2007, he still remains in the racing world. The 64-year-old former actor launched McQueen Racing and now owns his own racing franchise.
Chad McQueen was Born to Famous Parents
Chad was the first and only son of Steve McQueen and Neile Adams. He was born on December 28, 1960. His father was a famous American actor and race car driver. Better known as Harvey Mushman on the race tracks, Stephen Terrence McQueen was a very sought-after actor in the 1960s and 1970s.
Ruby Neilam Salvador Adams is a Filipino actress, singer, and dancer whose entertainment stint started in the early 1950s and lasted through almost 4 decades.
Chad had a sister named Terry McQueen who unfortunately passed away in 1998. About 18 years prior, in 1980, Steve passed away.
Chad and his mother, Neile Adams are the surviving family members of Steve although he and Neile divorced in 1972.
Chad and his father shared a very close and special bond as evident in most of the former actor’s Instagram posts. He often refers to his father as a great dad.
The race car driver shares many memories from when he was very young and would attend most of his dad’s races and competitions.
He Started off as An Actor
The character ‘Dutch’ from The Karate Kid and The Karate Kid Part II was played by Chad McQueen. He started acting way back in 1978 and has been part of other movie productions such as Bullets, Martial Law, Red Line, and Death Ring, to name a few.
He quit acting after a couple of years in the industry and even though he had the opportunity to return and play Dutch in Cobra Kai, he turned it down. At the time, Chad had lost interest in that career.
Chad McQueen Started Professional Racing in the 2000s
It is important to note that McQueen was introduced to car driving at a very young age. In fact, he got his first bike as a racer when he was 6 years old and at that time he had already been largely introduced to the sport.
Back in the 1980s through the 1990s, he participated in some events and competition
However, it seems he did not professionally join the sport until sometime in the early 2000s.
Chad started off at the Sports Car Club of America and he competed in quite a number of race competitions.
In 2004, McQueen, alongside Jacky Ickx and Vanina, his daughter, drove 3 Porsche 959s at the Goodwood event.
As a motorsport and race-car driver, McQueen has won many events and competitions. He participated in the sports for many years before he was made to quit.
He Suffered a Major Accident that Halted his Professional Career
Sometime in 2006/2007, while at the Daytona International Speedway, Chad suffered an intense injury after being in an accident. News and reports carry 2006 as the date but in an Instagram post, Chad dated the accident to 2007.
From the accident, he suffered a broken lower leg, 2 fractures to his vertebrae, and a lot of rib fractures. In fact, this accident almost took his life but he survived.
As a result of all his injuries, McQueen was made to retire from racing. It took a while for him to recover and when he eventually did, he had to make the tough decision of not racing again.
Many years after this accident, in 2022, doctors discovered that Chad had a blood clot on his brain. He then had to go into an emergency surgery to have the clot removed. It was a success and he had to take a long while to recover once again from this.
He Has Been Married Twice
Chad McQueen has been married 2 times since 1987. Before his first marriage, he dated Jill Henderson White Pasceri in the 1980s. She was the daughter of a Jazz band leader, Jimmy Henderson. Jill was also an equestrian rider.
In 1987, the former actor got married to Stacia Toten and the marriage only lasted 3 years, till 1990.
From the union, Steven R. McQueen Jr., their son, was born in 1988. He is a well-known American actor who has had acting stints in series such as Chicago Fire and Vampire Diaries.
Toten remarried former Hockey player, Luc Robitaille. Luc is also a Hockey Hall of Famer.
In 1993, McQueen remarried Jeanie Galbraith with whom he has remained to date
How Many Children Does McQueen Have?
Chad and Jean have 2 children together named Chase McQueen and Madison McQueen. Chase was born on February 6, 1995, and his sister was born in 1996. Madison got married in July 2022 and has a son named Michael.
Chase and Madison are a huge part of their father’s life and were also brought up to love car-race driving. Chad’s second son is an entrepreneur and the co-chair of the Stev McQueen Car Show as well as his father’s Ranch Hand at McQueen Racing. His younger sister is the Creative Director for McQueen Racing.
He Owns McQueen Racing
Upon his retirement from car and motor racing due to the accident he suffered many years ago, Chad started his own franchise.
Back in 2010, the 64-year-old launched McQueen Racing LLC which partners with motorcycle and custom-car industries. The McQueen Racing company’s aim is to provide quality, limited-edition cars, motorcycles, and other accessories.
As seen above, he even has his kids involved in the company and they play very important roles in keeping the business afloat.
Chad has proven that even though he can’t race due to how dangerous the sport is, he can still be useful in that world by providing certain needed services.
Above all, Chad is mostly happy about the fact that he gets to keep his father, Steve’s legacy alive. He always reminisces over the times he spent with his father on race tracks and even on movie sets. However, seeing that he was more about the racing life, he has a lot of memorabilia from those days and his father, including cars.
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