‘Yellowstone’ – Dutton Family Tree, Explained

With Yellowstone coming to CBS next week and a spinoff series in the works starring Matthew McConaughey, there’s no greater time than now to revisit the Duttons, who boast one of the most complicated family lines on TV. Due to the ongoing writers’ and actors’ strike, CBS made the decision in July to air the popular Taylor Sheridan series in its linear programming this fall — but only time will tell if Yellowstone-verse fans will tune in to its new prime time spot. One thing is for sure, though — the Dutton family line has gotten so complex that returning fans will want to brush up on the Dutton family tree before they settle in for another adventure with TV’s most popular ranchers.

While fans can never have enough of all the familial drama taking place in the household of ranchers, the Duttons have become a little challenging to keep track of at this point. To ensure those hooked-to-the-edge-of-your-seat-moments remain uninterrupted, we have put together an easy-to-understand Dutton family tree that covers Yellowstone and its prequel series, 1883 and 1923.

The Dutton family is one of the most prominent ranching families in the United States. It founded the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch in Montana near Yellowstone National Park, which is also where the family settled. The show covers the Dutton lineage starting back in 1883; James Dutton and his wife Margaret, featured in the 1883 series (played by Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, respectively), are the founders of the ranching family, and many of the Duttons themselves have been buried on the land that they claimed in the hundreds of years since they founded the Yellowstone ranch.

Which Duttons Appear in ‘1883’?

In 1883, viewers meet the Duttons who settle in Montana near Yellowstone National Park and found the Yellowstone Ranch. James Dutton (Tim McGraw) is the patriarch of the family, a Civil War veteran in search of a life he can call his own, and is married to Margaret Dutton (Faith Hill), a strong and uncompromising woman who would do anything to protect her family, becoming the first matriarch of the Dutton Family.

The Dutton children and rightful inheritors of the family ranch include John Dutton (Audie Rick) and Elsa (Isabel May). John is hardly five so Elsa, a fierce and strong-willed character, often takes the screen by storm — but as fate would have it, Elsa is shot with a poisonous arrow on the trail, and ultimately succumbs to the infection. The Duttons make their home where Elsa breathes her last.

Other Duttons featured in 1883 include Claire Dutton (Dawn Olivieri), James’ widowed sister, and her daughter Mary Abel (Emma Malouff). Mary Abel dies early on in the show, and her mother, Claire, decides to take her life. Viewers, hence, don’t get to spend a lot of time with the extended Dutton members in 1883.

Related: Harrison Ford on ‘1923,’ Reuniting With Helen Mirren, and Joining the Dutton Dynasty

Four decades later, viewers get to follow three generations of the ranching family in Yellowstone’s second prequel series, 1923. After his brother James’ death, Jacob Dutton (Harrison Ford), along with his wife Cara (Helen Mirren), become the new heads of the ranching family. Irish immigrant Cara endeavors to be a fierce individual, ready to do anything in the interests of her family, and she and Jacob have reared James’ children since they have none of their own.

1923 also features a grown-up John Dutton Sr. (James Badge Dale), who helps his uncle Jacob and the new patriarch of the Dutton family handle the affairs of the ranch. John Sr. is married to Emma (Marley Shelton), a devoted woman who finds meaning in the traditional role of a wife and who also serves as a confidant to Cara.

Spencer Dutton (Brandon Sklenar), John Sr.’s brother, is a veteran of World War I who retreats to Africa after witnessing the horrors of the war firsthand. Meanwhile, back at the Yellowstone, John and Emma also have a proud and conscientious son, John “Jack” Dutton Jr. (Darren Mann), who is dedicated to the ranch and will do anything for his family business. If all goes as planned, he is set to wed Elizabeth Strafford (Michelle Randolph), who would make for another strong addition to the Dutton family tree.

Which Duttons Appear in ‘Yellowstone’?

Given how many seasons Yellowstone boasts at this point, the Duttons featured in this particular series are perhaps the best known by fans. John Dutton III (Kevin Costner), a proud and dutiful man, devoted to the ranch, is the current patriarch of the Duttons at the point that the show begins. John was married to Evelyn Dutton (Gretchen Mol), but unfortunately, Evelyn passed away when her children were teenagers due to a tragic horse-riding accident.

John’s biological children include Lee Dutton (Dave Annable), Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly), and Kayce Dutton (Luke Grimes). Lee passed away at the beginning of the series, while Beth, another fierce and devoted Dutton woman, is now married to Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser), who has assumed the role of dedicated Yellowstone ranch foreman. Meanwhile, Kayce is married to Monica (Kelsey Asbille), a Native American woman and former professor, and the two of them have a son named Tate (Brecken Merrill).

John also has an adopted son, Jamie (Wes Bentley), who, over the course of the series, discovers that his real father is Garrett Randall (Will Patton), a formerly convicted criminal responsible for the death of Jamie’s birth mother, Phyllis, while the two were addicted to drugs. Due to the revelation that Garrett is responsible for an attack on the Duttons, however, Jamie later shoots and kills his birth father. Jamie also has a son with his former campaign manager, Christina (Katherine Cunningham), who is named Jamie Dutton II.

CBS premieres Yellowstone on September 17.