Howie Mandel is basically the guy you see everywhere. You know the one—the bald head, the glasses, the guy who fist-bumps everyone on America’s Got Talent because he’s terrified of germs. He’s been a staple of your living room for decades. But honestly? Most people only see the "character" of Howie. They see the frantic energy and the quick wit, but they miss the bedrock that actually keeps the man from spinning off the planet. That bedrock is his family.
It’s not just a "nice celebrity family" story. It’s a survival story.
When we talk about Howie Mandel and family, we aren't just talking about red carpet photos or holiday cards. We’re talking about a group of people who have lived through the trenches of severe mental health crises, a recent frightening cancer battle with a grandchild, and a marriage that has somehow outlasted almost every other couple in Hollywood. Howie has been married to his wife, Terry Mandel, since 1980. That is forty-six years. In "showbiz years," that’s basically three centuries.
The Woman Behind the "Deal": Who is Terry Mandel?
Most fans don’t realize that Howie almost didn't take the job that made him a global household name. When Deal or No Deal first came across his desk in 2005, he turned it down. Three times. He thought hosting a game show would be the "death of his career" as a comedian.
Terry was the one who told him to shut up and take the deal.
"Take the show," she told him. She saw the potential when he was blinded by his own neuroses. Terry (formerly Terry Soil) isn't just a "supportive wife." She’s a talent agent and a producer in her own right. She co-owns The Abstract Talent Agency in Los Angeles. They met when they were just kids—literally 12 years old—at a local YMCA. They started dating in high school.
Think about that.
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Howie was a high school dropout who got expelled for impersonating school officials and hiring a construction company to build a fake addition onto the school. He was a mess. Terry saw the man through the pranks. She stayed through the lean years when they were broke in Los Angeles, and she stayed through the "St. Elsewhere" years when he finally caught a break.
But it hasn't been a fairy tale. Howie is the first to admit he is a "handful." His Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and mysophobia (fear of germs) aren't just "quirks" for TV. They are debilitating. At one point, he even had a small "guest house" built in their backyard so he could live separately from the family if anyone in the main house got a cold or the flu. Terry has had to navigate a marriage where her husband literally cannot touch certain things or be in certain rooms.
The Mandel Kids: Jackie, Alex, and Riley
Howie and Terry have three adult children: Jackelyn (Jackie), Alex, and Riley. If you follow Howie on social media, you’ve probably seen them, but they each have very different vibes.
Jackelyn Shultz (The Creative Partner)
Jackie is the eldest, born in 1984. She’s probably the most visible because she co-hosts the Howie Mandel Does Stuff podcast with her dad. It’s a wild show. They make prank calls, they interview people like Charlie Sheen or Sadhguru, and they bicker like, well, a father and daughter.
It wasn't always easy, though. Howie admitted he was an incredibly strict father with Jackie when she was a teenager. He was worried about her, perhaps projecting his own anxieties. They actually had a period where their relationship was quite strained. Today, they are best friends. They spend hours every day just trying to make each other laugh. It’s a connection born out of a shared sense of humor—and a shared struggle. Jackie has been open about her own anxiety, proving that the Mandel "wiring" runs deep.
Alex Mandel (The Content Creator)
Alex was born in 1989 and is basically a mirror image of his dad in terms of energy. He’s a comedian and a huge YouTube personality with hundreds of thousands of followers. But here’s the thing: Alex grew up with a severe stutter.
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Howie often talks about how proud he is of Alex for overcoming that hurdle to become a public performer. Alex also deals with ADD and anxiety. Instead of hiding it, he’s leaned into it, becoming a mental health advocate alongside his father for the Bell Let’s Talk campaign. He’s the guy who famously officiated his sister Jackie’s wedding... while wearing a penguin suit. Why? Because penguins are monogamous and "kick a rock" to their mates. It was a classic Mandel move: weird, funny, but deeply sweet.
Riley Ehrlich (The Doctor)
Then there’s Riley, born in 1992. She’s the one who looked at the family business of "making noise for a living" and decided to go a different route. Riley graduated with a Doctor of Physical Therapy from Chapman University.
She stays out of the spotlight for the most part, working as a personal trainer and holistic health coach. She’s the "stable" one, though Howie jokes that she’s just as crazy as the rest of them, just with better grades. In early 2024, Riley made Howie a grandfather for the third time when she gave birth to a daughter named Noa.
The 2025-2026 Health Battle: Axel’s Story
If you want to know what the Mandel family is really made of, look at what happened recently. In late 2025, Howie and Jackie went on Graham Bensinger’s show and revealed a secret they’d been keeping for a while.
Jackie’s son, Axel (Howie’s grandson), was diagnosed with leukemia.
It was a nightmare. Axel was only nine years old. Because the family already deals with various health anxieties, this was a "lowest point" for them. Howie described it as "crushing." The boy had to undergo a bone marrow transplant, and in a move that defines this family’s bond, his older sister Abbey was the donor.
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As of early 2026, the news is good. Axel is in remission. But the experience changed them. It forced Howie to step out of his own head—his own fears of germs and sickness—to be there for his daughter and grandson. It’s proof that while OCD might dictate where he sleeps, love dictates where he stands when things get real.
Why This Family Dynamic Actually Works
Most celebrity families fall apart because of the "fame machine." The Mandels stayed together because they built their foundation before the machine started. Howie was a carpet salesman when he met Terry. He wasn't "Howie Mandel" yet; he was just a guy from Toronto with a lot of energy and a lot of fears.
There are a few things they do differently:
- Humor as a Weapon: They use comedy to de-escalate everything. If things get too dark or too "mental health heavy," someone cracks a joke. It’s their survival mechanism.
- Radical Honesty: Howie’s autobiography Here’s the Deal: Don’t Touch Me laid it all bare. They don't pretend to be perfect. They talk about the medication, the therapy, and the "ugly" parts of living with a chronic mental health condition.
- Privacy vs. Presence: They are very public about their work, but they keep the "inner sanctum" private. You’ll see them on a podcast, but you won't see them selling out their personal drama for a reality show.
What We Can Learn From the Mandels
Honestly, the "perfect" families on Instagram are usually the ones falling apart behind the scenes. The Mandels are the opposite. They look chaotic. They talk about poop, pranks, and Prozac. But they’ve been together for nearly half a century.
The takeaway? Longevity isn't about the absence of problems. It’s about how you handle them. Howie's OCD hasn't gone away. It’s a chronic condition. He still struggles every single day. But he has a wife who gave him an ultimatum to get help in his 40s, and children who don't judge him for his "quirks" but rather embrace them as part of the family brand.
If you’re looking to apply the "Mandel Method" to your own family life, start with these steps:
- Stop Hiding the Struggles: Whether it's mental health or a physical illness, keeping secrets creates a "shame" that rots families from the inside. Talk about it.
- Find Your "Penguin Suit" Moments: Don't take life so seriously. If you can't laugh at the absurdity of your own family, you’re going to have a hard time surviving the rough patches.
- Support the "Anchor": In the Mandel family, Terry is the anchor. Identify who that person is in your life and make sure they are supported, too. Being the "strong one" for a person with chronic anxiety is an exhausting job.
Howie Mandel is a lot of things. He’s a judge, a host, a comedian, and a prankster. But at 70 years old (as of late 2025), his most successful "production" isn't a TV show. It's the fact that his wife still likes him and his kids still want to work with him. In Hollywood, that’s the biggest win of all.
For more insights into managing family dynamics alongside mental health, you can check out Howie’s work with the Bell Let’s Talk initiative or listen to the Howie Mandel Does Stuff podcast for a real-time look at how they interact.