Is Derek Jeter's Wife Really In The Grand Wagoneer Commercial?
Fans who have seen Derek Jeter in Jeep's Grand Wagoneer commercials may have noticed that he has great chemistry with the person playing his wife. That is because Jeep recruited his actual wife, Hannah Jeter, to appear in the commercials. "We wanted a vehicle that was authentic to our needs. The Grand Wagoneer will give us all of that, and so much more," Hannah told The Detroit News in October 2022 as the couple's first commercial titled "Eyes Wide Open" was set to premiere. In the minute-long ad, the former New York Yankees shortstop drives a Wagoneer while his wife rides in the passenger seat. The commercial cuts to footage of Hannah — a former Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model — preparing for a photoshoot.
The Jeters are no strangers to the camera, and they clearly show plenty of comfort with each other. "He's not easy to work with, I can tell you that. He doesn't take direction," Hannah jokingly said about her husband when speaking to Us Weekly in April 2023. While Jeep hired Hannah to appear in the TV spots alongside her husband, the company hired actors to play their children. "We made our parents pick up our kids and it was a long day, but it was just us and it was good," Hannah said.
During another interview about the ad campaign, Hannah said her dad drove a Jeep Cherokee when she was growing up in the U.S. Virgin Islands, in part the vehicle could handle the area's rough roads. It so happens that treacherous driving conditions were the basis for another commercial starring the Jeters.
Why Jeep chose to work with the Jeters
In September 2023, Jeep released the second commercial starring Derek Jeter and Hannah Jeter, titled "Drove All Night." This 30-second spot shows the former MLBer stranded with his private jet grounded due to inclement weather. Meanwhile, Hannah is at home worrying about the storm. Derek drives his Jeep all night until he's reunited with his wife just before she's about to bring the kids to school.
The ad actually draws from the couple's real life. Despite the Jeters' high profile, they're very involved in their children's lives. Apparently, that's one of the reasons their partnership with Jeep fit like a glove. "A product of such character deserves ambassadors of great character," said Marissa Hunter, Jeep's senior vice president of marketing in North America (via The Detroit News).
"We need a lot of room. We need a big trunk. We need a good sound system, as Derek would say, to drown out the noise," Hannah told E! while making the media rounds after their second commercial was released.
A few months later, Hannah dropped a behind-the-scenes feature from the commercial on her Instagram page. At one point in the footage she is seen giving tips to Derek over a walkie-talkie. "Babe, you're looking a little shiny," she advises at one point. Of course, Hannah had gained plenty of experience in that department before becoming Mrs. Jeter.
Hannah Jeter's DirecTV campaign
Hannah Jeter had a wildly successful modelling career before she married Derek Jeter. She landed on the cover of Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit issue in February 2015 — back when she was Hannah Davis. "It was an overwhelming sort of moment. I was so blindsided by the whole thing, but it's an honor," she told "Today" in February 2015 about getting the cover of the celebrated magazine. Hannah was able to parlay that exposure into her own TV ad campaign.
Hot on the heels of her Sports Illustrated cover, Hannah signed a lucrative deal with DirecTV for six figures. This came after the company was forced to part ways with Rob Lowe, who was their previous spokesperson. "Hannah was less expensive than Rob Lowe, who got a seven-figure deal, but that was spread across multiple ads he shot for the company," an insider told Page Six in April 2015. The model appeared in a number of spots for DirecTV titled "Hannah and Her Horse," in which she spent time on a picturesque beach alongside a talking horse.
Besides her modelling career and commercial ad campaign, Hannah received additional exposure around that time for being engaged to Derek, but she was not satisfied with only being known as a famous athlete's wife. "That girl in high school that spent every waking moment with the boyfriend and lost all her girlfriends?! That's not what life's about," she told GQ in December 2023 while discussing her relationship with Derek.