Checking in with the Hansen Quads

With cameras from CNN following their every move, the Hansen Quadruplets of San Antonio moved into their rooms in Collins Hall in August 1993 to begin their time at Baylor University. As highly intelligent, articulate, personable (and identical) female quadruplets, the Hansens had gained considerable state and national media exposure before coming to Baylor.

Alison, Brooke, Claire and Darcy –– delivered in that birth order –– were born to Al and Sheila Hansen. Because of a bout with childhood polio she eventually overcame, Sheila at one time had been told by doctors that she might never have children. She went on to give birth to six girls, as older sisters Wendy and Holly had preceded the quadruplets. 

The quads excelled in school, and went on to become honor students and gain fluency in Spanish and German while attending San Antonio’s Lee High School. Baylor President Herbert H. Reynolds first saw the girls when they appeared on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, and because of their achievements and abilities he was soon able to award them full academic scholarships to Baylor.

The Hansens were actually the second group of quads to attend Baylor. The Keys Quadruplets of Oklahoma –– Leota, Mary, Mona and Roberta –– had enrolled in 1933 and graduated in 1937, becoming the first known quadruplets to finish college.

After the Hansen Quads graduated from Baylor in May 1997, they separated geographically for the first time in their lives and relocated across the globe, earning advanced degrees, pursuing successful careers and raising families. After 27 years away from campus, we thought it was time to catch up with the Hansens and find out what they’ve been up to.

Alison

Alison Hansen, the oldest of the quads by a few minutes, graduated with B.A. degrees from Baylor in both journalism and Spanish, then headed to Spain on a Fulbright Scholarship. She has lived in Dallas for the past 14 years with her American husband, Mike Strong, an executive at Mary Kay Inc. In 2015 Alison earned an M.A. in dispute resolution and conflict management from SMU in Dallas.

Formerly an executive at Mary Kay Inc. herself, Alison worked for global teams in the United States, Latin America and Asia during her 10 years at the cosmetics company. During her time on Mary Kay’s Latin team she traveled to Mexico and Argentina, giving her opportunities to use the Spanish she had refined at Baylor and in Spain. Her role also took her to Brazil regularly, which prompted her to take Portuguese lessons. 

Alison is now senior director of learning design and development for PepsiCo Foods North America, where leads a team of 70 people that design and deliver onboarding and skill building programs for employees.

“My team experiments with virtual reality, augmented reality, and experiential learning programs that are cutting edge and fun,” she said. Alison travels frequently for her job, both internationally and across the United States.

Alison and Mike are dedicated parents to their 10-year-old son, Spencer. His mother said he’s cute and clever, with a great sense of humor and “some wicked dance moves.”

“He loves his two cats, Georgia and Jack, dancing to pop music and watching funny animal and music videos on the iPhone,” Alison said. “We often have play dates with Darcy’s three kids, and when they are all at my house, it seems like we have a whole elementary class.”

Despite her busy schedule, Alison stays in touch with a number of her Baylor classmates, and works with Baylor alums as well. She also has kept up with news about the campus.

“I’m excited about all the changes happening at Baylor,” she said. “As the meme circulating online says, ‘I went to Baylor before it was cool,’ but now the university is working on its cool factor.”

Brooke

Brooke Hansen was the only one of the quads to follow a path at Baylor outside the College of Arts & Sciences. She studied business, receiving B.B.A. degrees in both international business and marketing.

After graduation, Brooke took a job in the Netherlands, and while in that country completed an M.B.A. degree at Maastricht University, specializing in marketing and logistics. She has lived and worked in either in the Netherlands or in Germany during most of her adult life, and has dual Dutch-U.S. citizenship.

Brooke married Dutch native Roeland Nieuwenhuis, a chief architect for Microsoft, in 2014. The couple moved to Seattle in March 2020 at the start of the COVID pandemic, and Brooke joined her husband at Microsoft, working in a consulting role.

Brooke and Roeland had their first child, Gustav Nieuwenhuis, nine years ago while living in Germany. Their second child, Arthur Nieuwenhuis, was born in Seattle in 2023. Brooke is currently taking a leave of absence from Microsoft to spend time with the boys.

Despite living overseas for so many years, Brooke has come back to visit the Baylor campus a number of times. During one of those visits, “I bought a T-shirt of the 2021 National NCAA Basketball Championship with the Final Four logo on it for my eight-year-old son,” she said. “He wears it with pride, and tells everyone his mom went to that school.”

Brooke said she and her sisters stay in close touch by phone or computer, but as for in-person visits, “with the kids and careers, it has become a bit harder to get together. Usually most of us see each other at Christmas in Dallas,” she said.

Claire

Claire Hansen graduated from Baylor with a B.A. in journalism as well as minors in German and Spanish, then headed to Austria on a Fulbright Scholarship. She eventually earned a master’s degree in international publishing and marketing from the University of Vienna. 

After a number of years living and working in Vienna, Frankfurt, London and Singapore, Claire now calls England home. She has dual British-U.S. citizenship, and is the only one of the Hansen Quads to never live permanently in the United States following her time at Baylor. Several years ago she married an Irishman named Chris, whom she met in London.

Claire and Chris divide their time between a house on the banks of the River Thames in Greenwich, a London suburb, and their medieval house in a small village in the English countryside near Canterbury. The house has historic heritage status, and also sports one of the only swimming pools in the village.

“I insisted that it be heated, as any Texan worth her salt would not swim in a freezing English pool, which can still be cold –– by Texas standards –– in August,” she said.

Claire and Chris have one child, a boy named Séamus Lorcan, born in August 2023.

“Before I had him, the ladies in my village threw me a baby shower,” she said. “They knew I had been to Baylor, so the color theme was green and gold for me, and those colors also represent Ireland for his father. All the women came dressed in green and gold, which was a touching and thoughtful detail.”

While first employed in business, Claire has now earned three different law degrees –– two from Oxford University –– and is busily working as a solicitor (an English lawyer). She has litigated and advised on cases across England, and focuses on cases involving cybersecurity, data breaches and protection, and data privacy. She also does a lot of pro bono work for charities in her practice.

“Baylor taught me to use my powers for good and give back,” she said.

Darcy

Darcy Hansen, the youngest quad, earned a B.A. in journalism and a minor in Spanish from Baylor. She spent years working in San Francisco and New York City, the latter place being where she met American journalist Justin Bachman, whom she married in 2011 and describes as a “geek” for all things related to aviation.

Darcy and Justin moved to the Dallas suburb of Carrollton in 2015. They have three children –– Nils (11), Nora (9) and Elliott (4). Since they live only 15 minutes apart, Darcy’s family and sister Alison’s family in Dallas see a lot of each other, and their children enjoy playing together. Older sister Holly lives 30 minutes away in Denton, and their families visit often.

A writer and communicator since her Baylor graduation, Darcy has been doing corporate communications and public relations for the past two decades, specializing in technology and public relations topics. 

“I like the right brain side of figuring out strategy and messaging while talking to some very smart people internally to dig into complex and evolving technology such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, supercomputing and cybersecurity,” she said.

Like her sisters, Darcy tries to keep up with professors and classmates from her Baylor days, and does her best to follow news from Waco.

“Chip and Joanna Gaines are certainly helping put Waco on the map,” she said. “I’m glad they saved the old Elite Café with the opening of Magnolia Table, and more recently the remodeled Cottonland Castle, which looks gorgeous.”

Darcy also likes the major renovation done to Collins Hall, where she and her sisters first lived while at Baylor.

“The parking situation looks a lot better, and the modernized bathrooms are getting a lot of ink,” he said. “There’s a men’s bathroom on every floor –– who would have thought that would ever happen?”

Although the Quads are enjoying their families and careers in far-flung places, the extended Hansen family mourns the loss of Sheila Hansen, the family matriarch. Sheila died in October 2022 at age 77 after an extended hospitalization. Patriarch Al Hansen still lives in San Antonio, and greatly enjoys visits from his six daughters and their families.

*This story originally appeared in the Spring 2024 issue of Baylor Arts & Sciences magazine.

ABOUT THE COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES AT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY 

The College of Arts & Sciences is Baylor University’s largest academic division, consisting of 25 academic departments in the sciences, humanities, fine arts and social sciences, as well as 11 academic centers and institutes. The more than 5,000 courses taught in the College span topics from art and theatre to religion, philosophy, sociology and the natural sciences. The College’s undergraduate Unified Core Curriculum, which routinely receives top grades in national assessments, emphasizes a liberal education characterized by critical thinking, communication, civic engagement and Christian commitment. Arts & Sciences faculty conduct research around the world, and research on the undergraduate and graduate level is prevalent throughout all disciplines. Visit the College of Arts & Sciences website.