Brecken Merrill’s Parents: Facts about Jesse Merrill & Kristy Phillips

Brecken Merrill's parents, Kristy Phillips and Jesse Merrill have supported his career since his age was a single digit. His mom was unconsciously a big help in one of his most emotional scenes in "Yellowstone."

Kristy Phillips and Jesse Merril have busy careers as an author and CEO, respectively, but they are best known as the parents of Brecken Merrill.

The author believes that her extensive work experience has helped her prepare for her role as a mom. Despite being the mom to a now-famous Brecken, she does not appreciate the label of stage mom.

Brecken Merrill's Parents Had the Foresight to Capture a Pivotal Moment in His Career

When the young actor was cast as Kevin Costner's TV grandson on "Yellowstone," his parents devised a fun way to capture his reaction on camera. They told him they had to record him playing basketball for his PE teacher. He recalls:

"And my mom hands me ― haha, prepare for an amazing joke ― a yellow stone. She picked the stone, painted it yellow, and gave it to me. She goes, 'You booked 'Yellowstone'!' And I was like, 'Wait, what?!'"

For emotive scenes, he pictures the faces of family and friends. For instance, in a scene where his on-screen mom, Kelsey Asbille, was in peril, he saw his real-life mom, Kristy. This helped him tap into his emotions "naturally."

'Jill-of-All-Trades' Kristy Phillips Used to Be a Rancher

Born in the Bay area in California, Kristy grew up around the country as an "army brat." Years later, the mother of three writes contemporary, historical, and paranormal novels, most recently "Mine To Love" in 2018.

Out of college, with a dream of becoming a filmmaker, he worked as a personal assistant on film sets.

She identifies as a Jill-of-all-trades, having worked as an actor, rancher, model, nanny, theater technician, veterinary assistant, door-to-door salesperson, artist, clerk, receptionist, and demo person.

Besides his prowess as an actor, Brecken comes from a respectable ancestry. In November 2021, he posted about his long lineage of service men and women but did not specify if they were on his maternal or paternal side.

His great-great-grandpa Charles "Doc" Dambacher fought in WWI, his Papa Dambacher in WWII, and his Grandpa Wayne is a Vietnam vet. He proudly wrote on Veterans' Day 2021 about his grandparents who participated in Desert Storm:

"My Nana and Papa Bob have served in both the Army and the Navy,"

Brecken Merrill's Dad Co-Founded a Disruptive Company

Hailing from New York City, Jesse studied for a Bachelor of Arts in Design and Applied Arts from the University of Albany, graduating with honors.

Out of college, with a dream of becoming a filmmaker, he worked as a personal assistant on film sets. However, after quickly learning that being a PA did not pay the bills, he entered the marketing world through his side hustle as a brand ambassador and sampler.

He worked as the marketing manager for techno musician Moby's Teany Beverages from November 2004 until it was sold in March 2006. As the VP of marketing of Activate drinks, he worked with Anders Eisner, the son of then Disney CEO Michael Eisner.

He then founded an innovative cottage cheese company, Good Culture, where he has been CEO since August 2014. He is based in Orange County, California.