Who Are The Property Brothers' Parents? Everything To Know About Jim And Joanne Scott
They didn't realize they were having twins.
Debby Wong / Shutterstock Before there were the Property Brothers, there were the Property Parents. Jim and Joanne Scott didn't know they were going to raise the most famous faces of home improvement television when they had their twin boys, Jonathan Scott and Drew Scott. In fact, they didn't even know they were having twins. But they rolled with the surprises and now they're the parents to international real estate moguls.
Jim and Joanne Scott raised their three sons on a ranch in Canada and tried to encourage them as they followed their dreams in life. While they didn't know where that would take them, they have been steadfast supporters of their sons in everything they do.
Who are the Property Brothers' parents, Jim and Joanne Scott?
Jim Scott is an actual Scot.
Jim Scott was born in Scotland in 1934. He emigrated to Western Canada as a teen and worked in film when he was younger. He started out as a horse stuntman and then became an assistant director on films in the 1970s. His family still lives in Scotland.
Thye got married in 1966.
Jim met Joanne, a former paralegal who is ten years younger than he is and the couple decided to get married. They didn't have a big wedding, at the time, choosing instead to elope.
Jim and Joanne on their wedding day.
The twins were a surprise.
Jim and Joanne gave birth to eldest son J.D. in 1976. He's now married to Annalee Belle. In 1978, they got the surprise of their lives in the delivery room for the birth of their second child: twins! Four minutes after Jonathan arrived, he was joined by brother Drew. No one had realized they were expecting twins. In those days, without the widespread use of ultrasounds, it wasn't always possible to know that there was more than one baby.
Joanne shortly after learning she was having twins.
They tried to encourage their kids.
When the boys were growing up, the family liked to help one another to try new things. "I always tried to encourage my boys’ interests and dreams. A good way to start is by helping your kids put their ideas down on lined paper," Joanne wrote. "Pin the ideas on a corkboard so they can easily be added to. Let your kids carry on from there. Writing plans on paper makes them more real and attainable."
In fact, she was part of the twins' first business. The formed JAM Enterprises (short for Jonathan, Andrew, Mom) making decorated coat hangers. They started out selling them door-to-door but then caught the eye of a woman who owned a chain of stores in Japan. They ended up selling thousands of the hangers overseas. The boys were 7 years old at the time, entreprenuers before their time.
Jim is a black belt.
In addition to being a stunt rider, Jim is an accomplished martial artist. He holds a black belt in Shotokan karate. He had become an instructor when his kids were young and they all wanted to participate in it with him. He made sure they understood it was a serious discipline, however. "I said if they started, they could not quit. They watched a number of classes and decided they wanted to join," Jim said. "Their older brother Daniel (JD) was 10 and he had joined at 8. Over the next 10 years, all three boys earned black belts and became instructors at the dojo."
Drew and Jonathan had showbiz dreams from early on.
Both of the twins followed their father's footsteps into film and television as kids. They had roles on shows like Smallville and The X-Files. Jonath studied magic, which he still does today. Drew performed as a clown. They got into real estate investing as a fallback in case their plans to go into show business didn't work out. They bought their first property at 17 and kept flipping houses throughout their college years. Jonathan got his degree in construction and design; Drew became a licensed real estate agent.
In 2005, Drew decided to take the plunge and move to Vancouver to try to break into television. Once producers found out he was a twin with a background in real estate, the idea for a home improvement show was born.
The brothers gave their parents a wedding.
As a surprise 50th wedding anniversary gift, the twins took their parents to Scotland for a vow renewal ceremony in 2017. "They had originally eloped," Jonathan shared in a now-expired Facebook Live post. "So they never had a real wedding. So after 50 years of marriage, we're going to Scotland and we're going to renew their vows."
All the men in the family donned kilts for the occasion.
Jim Scott in a kilt at his vow renewal.
Nowadays, the Scott parents split their time between their home in Canada and the compound the twins have for the family in Las Vegas. They still take part in their boys' endeavours; In 2019, Jim and Joanne were featured on the twins' show Forever Home to talk about designing a house in which to age in place.
Rebekah Kuschmider has been writing about celebrities, pop culture, entertainment, and politics since 2010. She is the creator of the blog FeminXer and she is a cohost of the weekly podcast The More Perfect Union.