Taylor Sheridan turned grief into one of television’s most powerful creations. The Yellowstone creator lost his family’s ranch in Cranfills Gap, Texas, in 1991 after his parents divorced, an event that shaped his entire body of work.
Years later, Hollywood executives dismissed his worth during a contract dispute, another blow that redirected his life. From these two losses came storytelling defined by clarity, emotion, and an understanding of land and legacy.
Taylor Sheridan Created Yellowstone From Grief and Simple Storytelling
The Gibler family purchased their ranch in 1978. Sheridan’s mother, Susan Drew, wanted her children to experience nature away from Fort Worth. The property was sold in 1991 following his parents’ divorce (via Looper). Sheridan took a bus to the ranch and spent four months at the gate with a shotgun, attempting to prevent the sale before starvation forced him away (via Esquire).
Sheridan later described his writing as autobiographical, noting the ranch’s loss was the biggest influence on Yellowstone (via Texas Highways). The show’s core conflict —the Dutton family’s fight against outside forces —mirrors his mother’s loss of their property. She had overleveraged the ranch after the divorce, leading to its sale and estranging him from her for a year.
This experience informed his creative process. Sheridan avoids complex plots, focusing on character-driven narratives he calls “absurdly simple.” His literary influences include authors Cormac McCarthy and Larry McMurtry, whose works shaped his style. Clint Eastwood’s film Unforgiven also showed him how to re-examine the Western genre during his late teens (via Variety).
Taylor Sheridan Not “Worth” More Than 11
Before writing, Sheridan was an actor for 15 years. He landed a recurring role on Sons of Anarchy in 2008, but a 2010 contract negotiation ended his acting career. A business affairs executive told his attorney (via Deadline),
I know and you’re right that he probably deserves to make more, but we’re not going to pay him more because guess what, he’s not worth more. That’s what he’s worth. There’s 50 of him. He is 11 on the call sheet. That’s what that guy is, and that’s all he’s ever going to be.’ And that’s really when I quit.’
The comment was a turning point. “I decided right there that I didn’t want to be 11 on the call sheet for the rest of my life,” Sheridan later recalled (via Collider). By 2013, with only $800 in savings, he wrote his first screenplay, Sicario. He had never written a script before and sold personal items to support himself during the process.
His gamble succeeded. Sicario was a financial success. His second screenplay, Hell or High Water, took three weeks to write and earned him Academy Award, Golden Globe, and BAFTA nominations.
In May 2021, Sheridan purchased the 266,000-acre 6666 Ranch in Texas for $320 million. With a current net worth estimated to be around $70 million, the purchase brought his story full circle, reclaiming the kind of property his family lost.
What do you think shaped Yellowstone more? Sheridan’s loss of the family ranch or Hollywood’s rejection of his acting career?
Yellowstone is currently available to stream on Paramount+.
