It was one of the most iconic moments of Princess Diana’s fully iconic 36 years of life—her dance at the White House on November 9, 1985 with actor John Travolta. But it turns out Diana actually had a spin around the dance floor with another famous actor from the 1980s who is still very much working today, a dance that doesn’t maybe generate as many headlines as Travolta's, but is notable nonetheless: her dance with actor Tom Selleck.
This week, Selleck released his memoir, You Never Know, which came out on Tuesday. It turns out that Selleck almost declined a dance with the Princess of Wales, who was in Washington, D.C. with her husband, Prince Charles, and at the White House for a banquet thrown by President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan. In his memoir, Selleck recounted how he ended up dancing with Diana—and how it almost didn’t happen at all.
At the time, Selleck was filming Magnum, P.I. in Hawaii and wasn’t sure if he could even make it to D.C. in the first place for the event. But his publicist told him “Look, this is Princess Diana’s personal guest list, and there’s only three actors on it—you, Clint Eastwood, and John Travolta.” So, needless to say, Selleck made it to the White House that night.
Selleck wrote that he and Eastwood attempted to keep a low profile while Travolta and Diana shared their memorable dance. “We slipped away from all the dancers and moved to a spot slightly around the corner,” Selleck wrote, per People. “By now, John and Princess Di were dancing to an up-tempo number and rocking out. Everybody else stopped dancing and formed a circle around them, clapping their hands.”
But when Travolta and Diana began a second dance, a British woman approached Selleck and urged him to cut in on the duo and ask Diana to dance, fearing that Travolta and Diana’s second turn on the dance floor could “start rumors.” Selleck wrote “Clint and I said nothing,” before the woman reiterated “Mr. Selleck, you must step in and replace him.”
In a loud voice, Selleck said he declared “I’m not cutting in on John Travolta!” The woman “was not too pleased,” he continued, and, while he didn’t end up cutting in on Travolta, he did step in before the two could embark on a third dance.
Selleck found Diana to be “lovely, and there was a very shy quality about her in spite of her being well-schooled in the art of conversation,” he said. In an interview with Town & Country, Selleck said that, while he doesn’t often get starstruck, Diana dazzled him: “Oh yeah, I was starstruck,” he told the outlet, adding that he apologized to her for his lack of skills on the dance floor, revealing that he “skipped cotillion” at dance school.
Stay In The Know
Marie Claire email subscribers get intel on fashion and beauty trends, hot-off-the-press celebrity news, and more. Sign up here.
“All I could do dancing was box step like we did in high school dances, a box step and a dip,” he said. “And I wasn’t about to dip with Princess Di! So I just talked. But she was very gracious.” He added of the experience, “It was certainly memorable.”
Selleck said, per Hello, that he was “anxious” to meet the royal couple, but said Diana was “charming, graceful, and beautiful”; he praised Charles’ ability “of making you feel like you were important to him in your moment together.” Of the princess, “I gotta say, she seemed to be having the time of her life,” Selleck said. “I was relieved she talked most of the time. Let’s just say it was not my finest hour as a conversationalist.”
As Selleck danced with Diana, his wife (then girlfriend) Jillie Mack got to dance with Charles. “The prince danced with my wife, who’s a Brit,” Selleck told Town & Country. “And he asked her for a second dance, so that was pretty neat for Jillie.”
As for Travolta, in the 2021 PBS special In Their Own Words: Diana, Princess of Wales, he opened up about their famous dance, revealing that it was Nancy Reagan that introduced him to the Princess of Wales—whose dark blue, off-the-shoulder Victor Edelstein dress that night became memorialized as “the Travolta dress” in his honor. “About 10 o’clock at night, Nancy Reagan tapped on my shoulder and said, ‘The princess, her fantasy is to dance with you,’” Travolta realled. “‘Would you like to dance with her tonight?’ And I said, ‘Well, of course.’”
As previously mentioned, the two danced not just once, but twice. “It was a storybook moment,” Travolta said. “We bowed when it was over, and, you know, she was off, and I was off, and my carriage turned into a pumpkin.”
Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.
-
Bella Hadid’s Cannes Manicure Is the Hottest Shade for Summer
Look-a-like polishes are everywhere.
By Samantha Holender Published
-
Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie—Despite Remaining Close to Prince Harry—Would Never Have Attended His Invictus Games Event “Without the King’s Consent”
Both women, especially Beatrice, are under consideration for an upgrade in their royal roles, as dictated by the King.
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
The Most Naked Dress at Cannes Belongs to Bella Hadid
The model attended a Monday premiere in a completely sheer piece.
By Halie LeSavage Published
-
Princess Diana’s Beloved Cannes Film Festival Dress Paid Homage to Both Princess Grace of Monaco and the South of France
“As with all of Diana’s looks, a lot of thought and preparation had gone into the moment.”
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
Meghan Markle Wears Princess Diana's Cross Necklace During Mother's Day Weekend
The duchess made a powerful statement.
By Iris Goldsztajn Published
-
Princess Diana’s First Work Contract—Which Includes a Fib from Diana Herself Written In Her Own Handwriting—Sells at Auction for a Staggering Sum
The then Lady Diana Spencer wrote she was looking to start work as “soon as possible” back in May 1979.
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
Princess Diana Only Attended One Met Gala and Was, Unsurprisingly, the “Belle of the Ball”
Her “elegant, but revealing” John Galliano for Dior silk slip dress, worn to the event in 1996, is loaded with symbolism—and almost didn’t happen.
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
Diana Spencer, Then 19, Started Sobbing in the Ladies’ Room As She Asked Princess Grace of Monaco for Advice About Marrying Royalty
As their stars collided that night in March 1981, neither the former Grace Kelly nor the future Princess of Wales had any idea that they’d both someday die far too young in the same manner.
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
Princess Diana Revealed to a Royal Author the Real Reason Why Her Marriage to Prince Charles Ended Not Long Before She Died in 1997
And no, it apparently wasn’t Camilla Parker-Bowles.
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
Princess Diana Told Queen Elizabeth Through Tears That Her Then-Husband Prince Charles Was “A Nightmare” and That She “Hated” Him, Royal Author Claims
Ingrid Seward’s new book examines the relationship between mother and son, Her late Majesty and her heir, Charles.
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
Princess Diana Would Be "Absolutely Distraught" Over the State of Prince William and Prince Harry's Relationship, Expert Claims
She wanted them to have each other's backs.
By Iris Goldsztajn Published