Jon is a known NFL football player who gained recognition not only by playing football for a lot of American NFL teams, such as Philadelphia Eagles, but for his hobby which he turned into a profession: he is a pro magician.
He contested on “America’s Got Talent” in 2016 and came 3rd, but won the hearts of viewers.
Early years
He was born as Jonathan Paul Dorenbos, on July 21, 1980, in Humble in Texas, United States.
Jon Dorenbos grew up in Woodinville in Washington in United States. His childhood was nothing but easy and he was burdened with his fact that his father was a murderer.
He was a very young teenager when he went through a terrible event: his father gained a prison sentence in a period of 14 years after murdering his loving mother Kathy.
It was horrible for a child to whitness this event in such a sensitive age, but Jon succeeded in overcoming the pain and the hate he was overwhelmed with. Jon ended up in foster home but was soon adopted by his aunt and uncle Hindman who loved the boy very much.
He is still very close to his aunt/mom and never misses to congratulate her birthdays and Mother Days on his Instagram account.
Magic and the world of magicians helped young Jon to overcome the loss of his mother and the anger he felt towards his father.
He was a student at Pacifica High School in Garden Grove in California, where his new family lived.
He was a very versatile athlete, joining baseball team, hockey team and his favorite: football team.
He was a very capable student and he found himself on Dean’s list. Other than this list, he gained some other prestigious awards.
His aunt and uncle were very proud of him, especially because he was in a very vulnerable state for a long time after his mum was killed.
He enrolled Golden West College in California, where he played football but his best friend convinced him to join him at the University of Texas at El Paso bevause they needed a player.
He became a long snapper for the Miners and did very well in this field. He was a great asset for the club. He also gained a diploma in business connected to fields of financing and marketing.
Career development
After he finished his college education he became a snapper for Buffalo Bills in 2003.
After getting injured he switched to Tennessee Titans in 2005 but one year later he signed to Philadelphia Eagles.
He played continously for the team, becoming a great asset and one of the players with the longest contract in the team.
In 2016, he was injured but was soon back in the game after surgery. This time he hurt his wrist and was in recovery for two months.
At the beginning of 2017 season he transferred to New Orleans Saints but it was soon discovered that he has to undergo a surgery to the new found aortic aneurysm which eventually finished his football career. This surgery was very hard and it lasted for 10 hours. It was an open-heart surgery and unfortunately the doctors of his former Eagles club missed it.
Lucky for Jon, the doctor of the Saints recognized it and saved his life by prompt reaction.
Jon can no longer play football because of it, but he soon found out that he can earn money from his passion: magic.
Jon often works as a corporate motivational speaker for the National FFA Organization, Jackson Hewitt and similar big corporations.
His best friend is Steve Carlson and the two of them made an album “Stripped Down”.
Jon is a very compassionate and respinsible person who is involved in working with charity foundations such as “Punt Foundation”, which is focused in helping kids with uncurable diseases to live their short life the best way possible .
He performed in a TV show called “Inside the Eagles” in 2009, and won an Emmy Award for it.
In 2016, he decided to join the contesters on “America’s Got Talent” 11th season where he performed his magic tricks.
He passed the audition with performing a card trick and judges (including Simon Cowell and Heidi Klum) gave him a green light.
In the next phase, he passed the contest continuing to quarterfinals after impressi g judges so much that Ne-Yo pressed the golden buzzer. Jon said that it was an especially emotional moment for him.
He made it to the semifinals and after showing his trick with the United States map, he was sent to the finals.
He was third overall in the contest and was really happy of his success because it wasn’t easy to impress judges of the show.
Jon has a funny hobby: he collects autographs of everyone who hires him to perform his card tricks.
Personal life
In 2010 he married his longtime girlfriend Julie and they stayed married for 5 years. The divorce was finalized in 2015.
He was 37 when he got married to his second wife Annalise Dale. It was in 2017. He is very happy with her and he posts her photos on his Instagram account very often.
They still don’t have kids and Jon hasn’t got any kids from his first marriage.
He is very close to his sister named Kristina, who is employed at Creighton University School of Medicine. He calls her Krissy. He also has a brother, Randy and the two of them get along okay.
He often appears in TV show. He was a guest on The Ellen DeGeneres Show three times in 2017 and 2018. He does his magic tricks there, surprising Ellen and the viewers.
Jon owns a goldendoodle dog and he called him Saint. As for the reason to give dog such a name, it is easy to figure it out. Saints saved his life and he wants a reminder on it every day because he is grateful.
Quick summary
Full name: Jonathan Paul Dorenbos
Date of birth: July 21, 1980
Birthplace: Humble, Texas, United States
Age: 38
Profession: former football player, professional magician
Height: 1,83 m
Weight: 113 kgs
Net Worth: $2 million