Who Is Paul Wessell
The public tale of Paul Wessell shows a man who lived mostly in the background. Paul Wessel, also known as William Paul Wessel, is best known as the longterm husband of former Saturday Nite Live actress and comedian Victoria Jackson.
Wessell worked in police, aviation, and public service, unlike his wife, who worked in television. Most of his career was with the Miami-Dade Police Department, where he worked in SWAT and police aviation.
His story is intriguing since it links Miami police work, helicopter aviation, Christian family life, and Victoria Jackson’s odd entertainment career. Despite this, Wessell has kept a quiet profile.
Early Life in Miami
Paul Wessell grew up in the Miami area and had connections to Hialeah, Florida. He attended Dade Christian School in Northwest Miami-Dade, where his path first crossed with Victoria Jackson.
The two reportedly met in seventh grade. Their relationship developed gradually. They dated during their senior year and became engaged when they were around 19.
Their early lives eventually took them in different directions. Jackson pursued gymnastics and entertainment, while Wessell developed an interest in law enforcement and aviation. Even so, their teenage connection would eventually return years later.
Wessell also developed an interest in flying at a remarkably young age. He reportedly began flying lessons around 15 and obtained a private pilot’s license at about 16. Aviation became more than a childhood fascination. It ultimately became a major part of his professional career.
College and the Beginning of a Police Career
Wessell followed Jackson to Furman University in South Carolina, where he studied political science. Jackson attended Furman on a gymnastics scholarship, while Wessell pursued his own academic path.
After earning his bachelor’s degree, Wessell returned to Miami and joined the police force. His career eventually became closely associated with specialized police operations.
He initially served with the Metro-Dade Police Department, later known as the Miami-Dade Police Department. His work included roughly a decade with the SWAT or Special Response Team, an assignment requiring physical preparation, tactical training, and the ability to operate under intense pressure.
I find the contrast between his career and Jackson’s especially striking. While she became known for handstands, poetry, comedy, and television sketches, he was developing a career where decisions could carry immediate and serious consequences.
Paul Wessell as a Police Helicopter Pilot
Aviation eventually brought Wessell into the Miami-Dade Police Department’s aviation unit. As a police helicopter pilot, he combined his early love of flying with his law enforcement experience.
Police aviation work can place pilots in the middle of searches, emergencies, surveillance operations, traffic incidents, disasters, and other rapidly changing situations. Wessell was part of a relatively small group of pilots operating police helicopters, including Bell LongRanger aircraft and similar helicopters.
His career included numerous commendations. One account placed the number at 71, illustrating how extensively his work was recognized during his years with the department.
He was also involved in responses to major incidents, including scenes connected with the ValuJet crash. His professional life was therefore far removed from the entertainment world that later surrounded his family.
Incidents During His Police Years
Wessell’s police career included several dangerous episodes.
In 1984, he was injured during a firefight involving a drug suspect when the tip of his pinkie was shot by his own partner. In 1991, he was involved in a justified police shooting of an armed man in Opa-locka.
Another unusual incident involved a pit bull that attacked him or others during police activity, prompting the use of a shotgun.
These episodes offer a glimpse into the risks associated with his work. His career was not simply a desk assignment. For years, he moved between tactical operations and aviation duties in an environment where emergencies could appear without warning.
Marriage to Victoria Jackson
Wessell and Victoria Jackson reunited after past relationships.
Jackson married fire-eating magician Nisan Mark Eventoff. She has Scarlet from that marriage. After Jackson divorced Eventoff, they reconnected with Wessell.
Marriage occurred on September 4, 1992.
Their marriage combined Jackson’s showbiz and Wessell’s law enforcement careers into a family. Jackson called him a supportive husband and appreciated his willingness to help with domestic chores while working as a police officer.
Jackson’s career and personal life changed tremendously, but their friendship provided stability.
Scarlet and the Blended Family
Scarlet is Victoria Jackson’s daughter from her first marriage. After marrying Jackson, Wessell adopted Scarlet, becoming her father in a blended family.
Scarlet grew up partly surrounded by the unusual world created by her mother’s entertainment career. She had connections to the Saturday Night Live era but later developed an identity of her own.
As an adult, Scarlet became involved in writing, speaking, Christian ministry, and related projects. She has also appeared in conversations and podcasts connected with faith and family life.
The family relationship between Wessell, Jackson, and Scarlet illustrates an important part of their story. Although Wessell was not Scarlet’s biological father, he became her adoptive father and helped form the family structure that followed Jackson’s return to Miami and later move to Tennessee.
Aubrey Wessell and the Growing Family
Paul Wessell and Victoria Jackson also have a biological daughter, Aubrey, who was born around 1994.
Aubrey attended Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville and has subsequently been associated with Christian counseling and family-oriented work. Public references to her are relatively limited, which fits the family’s generally private approach to personal matters.
Over the years, the family has grown to include grandchildren. Jackson has publicly spoken about family milestones and has expressed happiness about the possibility of Aubrey becoming a mother.
The picture that emerges is less about celebrity and more about generations. The family’s center of gravity gradually shifted from Miami and Hollywood toward Tennessee and an increasingly private family life.
The Family’s Move to Tennessee
In 2013, after Wessell retired from the Miami-Dade Police Department, he and Jackson moved to the Nashville area.
They settled around Thompson’s Station and Middle Tennessee, placing them closer to family. The move marked a significant transition for Wessell. After decades in a demanding police career, retirement offered an opportunity for a quieter chapter.
For Jackson, Tennessee also became an important setting for her later creative and religious activities. She continued performing, writing, making music, and discussing her Christian faith and cultural views.
Wessell occasionally appeared alongside her, but he remained far less visible than his wife.
Paul Wessell and Christian Family Life
Faith has become an important part of the family’s public identity.
Wessell has appeared in occasional videos and discussions with Jackson in which he presents himself as a retired police officer and conservative Christian. Their shared religious outlook has influenced how they describe marriage, family, culture, and personal responsibility.
Their public appearances together are usually modest rather than celebrity driven. Wessell’s role is often that of a husband supporting Jackson rather than someone seeking an independent public platform.
This makes him an unusual figure in a celebrity family. His biography exists mostly in the background, like a supporting beam in a house that receives little attention until someone looks closely.
Supporting Victoria Jackson Through Her Career
Victoria Jackson’s career has included comedy, acting, music, books, stand-up performances, and public commentary. Her six seasons on Saturday Night Live, from 1986 through 1992, made her nationally recognizable.
Wessell entered her life at the same time her entertainment career was developing into a major part of her identity. Their marriage in 1992 came during a period of considerable personal change for Jackson.
She has described Wessell as someone who supported her while also taking on responsibilities at home. His police career provided a very different professional rhythm from the entertainment industry, but the two careers eventually existed side by side within their family.
Jackson has also spoken about choosing family responsibilities over some aspects of Hollywood life. Wessell’s presence was an important part of that family-centered period.
Life After Police Retirement
Wessell retired from the Miami-Dade Police Department in 2013 after a career reported to have lasted roughly 35 years.
His retirement closed a long chapter that had included patrol and specialized tactical work, SWAT service, aviation duties, emergency responses, and helicopter operations.
There is little widely available information about his finances after retirement. Public estimates of his personal net worth are not well established, and there is no substantial record of a large post-police business career.
His life in retirement appears to have remained centered on family, faith, and private life in Tennessee.
Victoria Jackson’s Family and SNL Legacy
Jackson’s showbiz legacy enriches the Wessell family.
She was recognized for her acrobatics, physical comedy, poetry, music, and high-pitched comedy on Saturday Nite Live. She was known for “Toonces the Driving Cat” and “Church Chat.” She performed handstands on Weekend Update.
Jackson’s daughter Scarlet occasionally appeared in public, including work-related engagements. This merged stardom and family life.
Jackson prioritized family and creative projects after leaving SNL in 1992. Her later works and performances often reference her entertainment career and Christian perspective.
Family Timeline
| Year | Family and career milestone |
|---|---|
| 1950s to 1970s | Wessell grows up in the Miami area and meets Victoria Jackson at Dade Christian School |
| Around 1970s | Wessell begins flying as a teenager |
| Late 1970s to early 1980s | He attends Furman University and studies political science |
| Early 1980s | He returns to Miami and begins his police career |
| 1984 | He is injured during a firefight involving a drug suspect |
| 1991 | He is involved in a justified police shooting in Opa-locka |
| 1992 | Wessell and Victoria Jackson marry on September 4 |
| 1990s | Wessell adopts Scarlet and he and Jackson welcome daughter Aubrey |
| 2000s | He continues his police aviation career while raising his family |
| 2013 | He retires from Miami-Dade police work and the family moves to Tennessee |
| 2015 onward | He supports Jackson through her breast cancer journey and later public work |
| 2020s | He makes occasional public appearances with Jackson while maintaining a private life |
FAQ
Who is Paul Wessell?
Paul Wessell is a retired Miami-Dade Police Department officer and former police helicopter pilot. He also served for about a decade with the department’s SWAT or Special Response Team. He is best known publicly as the husband of actress and comedian Victoria Jackson.
When did Paul Wessell marry Victoria Jackson?
Paul Wessell and Victoria Jackson married on September 4, 1992, after reconnecting following earlier relationships and marriages.
How did Paul Wessell and Victoria Jackson meet?
They met as students at Dade Christian School in Miami-Dade County. They reportedly knew each other from seventh grade and dated during their senior year.
Did Paul Wessell serve on SWAT?
Yes. Wessell spent roughly a decade with the Metro-Dade SWAT or Special Response Team before moving into police aviation.
Was Paul Wessell a helicopter pilot?
Yes. He became a police helicopter pilot with the Miami-Dade Police Department’s aviation unit, combining his early interest in flying with his law enforcement career.
When did Paul Wessell retire?
Wessell retired from the Miami-Dade Police Department in 2013 after a career of roughly 35 years.
Who are Paul Wessell’s children?
His family includes Aubrey, his biological daughter with Victoria Jackson, and Scarlet, Jackson’s daughter from her first marriage whom Wessell adopted. Public references also mention a son from an earlier relationship.
Who is Scarlet in the Wessell family?
Scarlet is Victoria Jackson’s daughter from her first marriage to Nisan Mark Eventoff. Wessell adopted Scarlet after marrying Jackson. She later became known for writing, speaking, and Christian ministry-related work.
Where do Paul Wessell and Victoria Jackson live?
After Wessell’s retirement in 2013, the couple moved to the Nashville area of Tennessee, including the Thompson’s Station and Middle Tennessee region, to be closer to family.
What is known about Paul Wessell’s net worth?
Detailed, reliable public information about Wessell’s personal finances and net worth is limited. His primary career was in public-sector law enforcement, including specialized police and aviation roles, followed by retirement.
What is Paul Wessell doing now?
Wessell largely maintains a private life. He occasionally appears with Victoria Jackson in videos or public discussions, particularly around their Christian faith and family life, but he does not maintain the same public profile as his wife.
