Jill Wagner has been in the industry for decades and stars in Taylor Sheridan’s hit show, “Lioness.”
Even though she moved to California early in her career to pursue acting, she has returned to her country roots and lives on her Tennessee farm with her husband and two daughters.
With season three of “Lioness” premiering earlier this month, Fox News Digital is taking a look at everything to know about Wagner’s personal life, her military connection, how her husband inspired her role in the series and more.
Wagner portrays Bobby, the tough, highly skilled leader of the Lioness program‘s Quick Reaction Force (QRF).
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Wagner not only stars in Sheridan’s hit series, she was the one who pitched him the idea. She told Parade in 2024 that Sheridan crafted the role as Bobby specifically for Wagner, and she serves as an executive producer on the show.
“Taylor Sheridan was my old acting coach, and I had access to him,” she began. “Taylor writes in such an honest and raw way. I didn’t want this show to become Barbies with guns. I wanted it to represent the women I knew and respected in the military, and he’s done that brilliantly.”
Wagner went on to explain that in order for her to really bring Bobby to life, she had to sit down and speak with her lionessess.
“At first, I didn’t understand who Bobby was. I still find things about her even right before we do a take. I have met and talked to several real-life lionesses while researching the show,” she said. “I took all those personalities and mashed them all together; thus, we have ‘Bobby.'”
Wagner and Lemanowicz first met when they were teenagers, but reconnected in Afghanistan while Lemanowicz was serving in the Air Force and Wagner was meeting troops during a USO tour.
“I hadn’t seen her in 17 years,” Lemanowicz recalled during a 2016 Hallmark Home & Family episode.
“My boss told me to check out the event, and I look at the photo and said, ‘I think I know this girl.’ Lo and behold, I go to the chow event where she’s signing autographs, and I ask her if she’s from North Carolina. She says ‘yes.’ I say, ‘Little town outside of Greensboro?’ She says, ‘yes.’ I say, ‘Did you ever go to any North Carolina Monarchs hockey games?’ She says, ‘yes.’ I say, ‘Do you remember dating the goalie?'” he called.
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At the time, Wagner and Lemanowicz were both in relationships and didn’t take their connection further. They met again, a year later, in Los Angeles and were both single.
“The day I came back from filming ‘Christmas Cookies,’ my girlfriends wanted to take me out to dinner,” Wagner said in the same episode. “We were leaving (in Los Angeles)… and then I hear, ‘Jill!’ and David had just walked in the restaurant I was walking out of, and boom!”
They tied the knot the following year in 2017.
Wagner’s husband is a former professional hockey player who later pursued a military career. According to People, he joined the military after his hockey career ended in 2008 and became a lieutenant in the U.S. Army Reserve.
The outlet noted he was promoted to U.S. Army major in 2020.
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During Wagner’s Parade interview, she explained that Lemanowicz was the one who introduced her to the lioness program.
“My husband, David [Lemanowicz], was the one who told me about the Lioness program. From that moment on, I knew there was a story to tell. It took about five years, but I never gave up,” she told the outlet in 2024.
Wagner previously told Parade that she was raised in a military family.
“My grandfather, my uncle and my father were all Marines,” she began. “My husband currently serves in the Army. I come from a very patriotic family, and I’ve always greatly respected the men and women who serve our country.”
She told the outlet that, given her background, she was intrigued to star in a show that portrayed women in the military in lead roles.
“I have not seen women in the military portrayed in lead roles like this. It is important to give these women the moment they deserve on screen while not taking any away from the men who also serve. They both deserve our respect for the sacrifices they make,” Wagner said.
Wagner’s “Lioness” character always has a toothpick in her mouth – which she told the outlet was homage to her father.
Wagner left Los Angeles in 2016 after finding a farmhouse in Tennessee that she previously told People “looked like a scary haunted house” at first.
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When they purchased the home, Lemanowicz and Wagner were engaged and were planning on having a family.
“We wanted a family, and I saw my children running around in the front yard. I knew it could be fixed. And I wanted to be the one to restore this piece of history,” she said.
‘LIONESS’ STAR JILL WAGNER CHOSE TENNESSEE FARM LIFE TO RAISE HER FAMILY
Lemanowicz and Wagner share two daughters: Army Gray Lemanowicz, 6, and Daisy Roberta Lemanowicz, 5.
During an interview with Fox News Digital, Wagner explained that her decision to put roots down in Tennessee was an easy choice given her background.
“We looked in and around North Carolina – couldn’t find anything,” she said, adding that she’s from North Carolina.
“So, Tennessee – found a piece of property in Tennessee. I wanted to get married, and I wanted to have my babies in a place that I thought was magical and, since I was born and raised in the country, that was my idea of what was magical. So, we live there,” Wagner said.
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Wagner explained what a typical day looks like on her Tennessee farm.
WATCH: ‘Lioness’ star Jill Wagner chose Tennessee farm life to raise her family
“My typical day on the farm is I’m out on my front porch in the morning at 6:30, and then I go to my flowers, and then I listen to my husband complain about the tractor being broken and the fence falling down, and the barn roof flew off last night, and then we just repair everything that’s been broken,” she said.
“That is my typical day,” Wagner added with a laugh.
“Lioness” season three premiered earlier this month and releases episodes every Sunday on Paramount+.
