Blake Anderson Hanley is a musician, songwriter, producer, and Florida attorney whose life has taken an unusual path between the creative world and the legal profession. Many people first recognize his name because of his former marriage to actress Emily Wickersham, who became widely known for playing Special Agent Eleanor “Ellie” Bishop on NCIS. However, describing Hanley only as Emily Wickersham’s ex-husband leaves out much of the story. His own public record includes an independent music career, the Ghost Lion project, legal education, public-interest work, and a continuing connection to South Florida.
“blake anderson hanley” has attracted particular interest because his professional journey is not typical. He developed as a musician and songwriter, later attended law school, and ultimately became a licensed Florida attorney. The Florida Bar currently lists Blake Anderson Hanley as a member in good standing, eligible to practice law in Florida, with admission dating to May 23, 2018. The same profile lists Southwestern University School of Law and his current association with The Grantham Law Firm & Standard Title in West Palm Beach.
His music career is equally distinctive. Through Ghost Lion, Hanley has worked as a singer-songwriter, composer, and producer, blending indie, pop, calypso, cumbia, South American folk, and electronic influences. The project’s official biography describes his music as an attempt to bring different cultures and perspectives together, while also exploring personal subjects such as loneliness, identity, spirituality, heartbreak, and hope.
Who Is Blake Anderson Hanley?
Blake Anderson Hanley is best understood as a creative professional who later built a second career in law. His public profile is closely associated with West Palm Beach and South Florida, where his musical identity developed and where he has also pursued legal and community-focused work. Although entertainment websites frequently introduce him through his former relationship with Emily Wickersham, his professional activities provide a much broader picture.”blake anderson hanley”.
Publicly available sources identify him with the name Blake Hanley as well as Blake Anderson Hanley. Ghost Lion’s official biography describes him specifically as a singer-songwriter, composer, and producer. His legal credentials are independently documented by the Florida Bar, which identifies him as a practicing attorney and provides his bar admission, law school, county, and current firm information. “blake anderson hanley”.
Some biography websites publish an exact birth date of March 2, 1984, and describe Palm Beach, Florida, as his birthplace. These details are widely repeated online, but they are not as firmly documented as his professional credentials. For that reason, they should be treated as commonly reported biographical information rather than presented with the same certainty as his Florida Bar record. “blake anderson hanley”.
Blake Anderson Hanley Early Life and Background
Hanley’s musical biography suggests that South Florida played a major role in shaping his artistic outlook. Ghost Lion’s official biography explains that he grew up in the West Palm Beach area and became interested in the cultural divisions he observed around him. Rather than simply accepting those divisions, he says his music became a way to explore different experiences and imagine people from different communities existing more harmoniously. “blake anderson hanley”.
His early relationship with music was also unusually broad. According to the Ghost Lion biography, a classical guitar and the Buena Vista Social Club album helped spark one of his early musical interests, while Nine Inch Nails later opened another creative door. Punk groups such as the Clash and the Sex Pistols also influenced his thinking, particularly their combination of music, politics, and reggae. These influences help explain why his later music did not fit neatly into one traditional genre “blake anderson hanley”.
Hanley has described songwriting as something that helped him deal with shyness and express emotions that were difficult to communicate directly. The name Ghost Lion itself came from that tension: “Ghost” represented the part of himself that disappeared into the background, while “Lion” represented the courage he wanted to develop. This gives his stage identity a personal meaning rather than making it simply a memorable band name. “blake anderson hanley”.
Blake Hanley and the Ghost Lion Music Career
Ghost Lion became the most important public expression of Hanley’s musical career. The project’s official biography describes its sound as a blend of indie, pop, calypso, cumbia, South American folk, and electronic music. The combination is intentionally cross-cultural, with nylon-string acoustic guitar, bass synthesizers, electronic textures, global rhythms, samples, and live drums contributing to its distinctive sound. “blake anderson hanley”.
The project released the Ballad of St. Panama EP in 2017. Before that, Hanley had already gained experience through live performances and a Live Nation Battle of the Bands competition. Ghost Lion’s biography states that he won the worldwide employee competition, performed at the House of Blues in Los Angeles, and received a $35,000 grand prize that he used to purchase recording equipment. The exposure helped lead to showcases involving Republic/Universal and Vanguard Records, although those opportunities did not ultimately develop into record deals. “blake anderson hanley”.
Ghost Lion later released the full-length album Nuclear Island, along with singles including “Sinking Stones,” “Wrong Guy,” and “6th Wave.” The project also performed in South Florida, including at SunFest in West Palm Beach. An event listing describes Ghost Lion as Hanley’s music project and emphasizes its combination of indie, calypso, cumbia, and ambient electronic influences.
What Is Ghost Lion’s Music About?
One of the defining characteristics of Ghost Lion is that its music is not simply built around conventional pop themes. Hanley’s official biography explains that the project explores fears, spirituality, loneliness, loss, identity, and existential questions. The songs therefore combine personal experiences with broader questions about how people understand themselves and their place in the world.
The album Nuclear Island is especially important to understanding Hanley’s songwriting. He has described it as a reflection of a period when both his personal world and the larger world seemed close to falling apart. Songs such as “Got It,” “Sinking Stones,” and “Running Back To You” explore vulnerability, emotional struggle, spiritual searching, and the possibility of hope.
His music also carries a social dimension. Hanley has explained that he wanted Ghost Lion to create a welcoming space that could represent different cultures living together rather than remaining separated. That goal helps connect his musical influences to the themes behind his songwriting. Instead of treating genres and cultures as isolated categories, he uses them as pieces of a larger artistic language.
Blake Anderson Hanley’s Education and Transition to Law
Hanley’s move into law did not happen because he abandoned his interest in music. In fact, his education and later legal work show that the two interests remained connected. Public professional information identifies Southwestern Law School as his law school, and a professional profile indicates that he participated in the school’s Music Law Society, serving as vice president.
The transition was significant because law requires a very different set of skills from songwriting and performing. Yet the communication abilities involved in music can also be valuable in legal work. Hanley’s background gave him experience with contracts, creative industries, communication, and the human side of storytelling before he entered legal practice.
The official Ghost Lion biography says that when music opportunities with larger labels did not materialize, Hanley pursued his desire to contribute to social justice by becoming a lawyer. He subsequently worked in public-interest legal services, including with the Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County. This career shift gives his biography a stronger sense of continuity: music remained an important creative outlet while law became another way to work with people and communities.
Blake Anderson Hanley as a Florida Attorney
Blake Anderson Hanley’s legal career is one of the most firmly documented parts of his current professional identity. The Florida Bar lists him as a member in good standing who is eligible to practice law in Florida. Its official directory states that he was admitted on May 23, 2018, attended Southwestern University School of Law, and is associated with The Grantham Law Firm & Standard Title in West Palm Beach.
Before and alongside private legal work, Hanley has been connected with legal-aid and public-interest efforts. The Ghost Lion biography states that he worked with the Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County beginning in 2018, an organization focused on improving access to the justice system for people with limited financial resources. The Creative Waves Foundation currently describes him as lead attorney of its Heirs’ Property Project, where he provides legal representation involving property rights, probate estate administration, estate planning, and chain-of-title issues for disadvantaged residents of Palm Beach County.
These roles are important because they show that Hanley’s legal career cannot accurately be reduced to the label “celebrity attorney.” His public professional record points toward community service and legal assistance as significant elements of his work. The Florida Bar record also confirms that his legal credentials are active rather than merely historical.
Blake Anderson Hanley and Emily Wickersham
Blake Anderson Hanley became much more familiar to entertainment audiences because of his marriage to actress Emily Wickersham. Wickersham is best known for portraying Eleanor Bishop on NCIS, joining the series during its eleventh season and eventually becoming a series regular. IMDb records that Wickersham and Hanley married on November 23, 2010, and that their marriage ended in divorce in December 2018.
Their wedding took place on Little Palm Island in the Florida Keys, according to biographical records. The relationship attracted attention largely because Wickersham was a recognizable television actress while Hanley had his own career in music. Despite that public connection, the couple generally kept their personal life away from extensive media coverage.
The marriage lasted roughly eight years before ending in 2018. There is limited reliable public information about the private reasons for their divorce, and it would be inappropriate to turn speculation into fact. The important documented timeline is straightforward: Hanley and Wickersham married in 2010 and divorced in December 2018.
Blake Hanley’s Life After His Divorce
After his divorce from Emily Wickersham, Hanley continued to have professional connections with both music and law. His musical project Ghost Lion remained an important part of his creative identity, while his legal career developed through work in Florida. The official Ghost Lion biography specifically describes his continuing work in music and his legal path as parallel elements of his life.
There has been considerable speculation online about Hanley’s private life after the divorce, including claims about a new spouse, children, exact income, and net worth. However, these details are not equally well supported. Several entertainment-biography websites publish specific claims about a later marriage and family, but the strongest authoritative sources available for this article do not independently establish all of those details. A trustworthy biography should therefore avoid presenting those claims as settled facts.
What can be established more confidently is that Hanley remains connected to South Florida and continues to have a professional identity in law. The Florida Bar’s current directory provides a present professional listing, while the Creative Waves Foundation identifies his work on its Heirs’ Property Project. These records offer a clearer picture of his current public activities than speculative celebrity-profile websites do.
Blake Anderson Hanley Age, Net Worth, and Current Career
Searches for “Blake Anderson Hanley age” often return March 2, 1984, as his birth date, which would make him 42 in 2026. That date is widely repeated across online biographies, but it does not have the same level of documentary support as his legal credentials. Readers should therefore distinguish between commonly published biographical information and facts independently confirmed by an authoritative record.
The same caution is necessary with Blake Anderson Hanley’s net worth. There is no authoritative public financial disclosure establishing his personal wealth. Websites that estimate his net worth based on music, legal work, or professional success are making calculations rather than reporting a verified figure. Without reliable financial records, it is more accurate to say that his net worth is not publicly confirmed.
His current career, however, is easier to document. The Florida Bar lists him as an active member in good standing and an associate at The Grantham Law Firm & Standard Title. His public-interest work has also included the Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County and community-focused property-law advocacy.
Why Blake Anderson Hanley’s Story Is Interesting
Blake Anderson Hanley’s story stands out because it connects two professional worlds that are rarely combined so closely. He developed as a musician and producer, built Ghost Lion around an intentionally diverse musical sound, and then trained as a lawyer. Rather than treating these careers as unrelated chapters, his background suggests that communication, creativity, social awareness, and advocacy have remained recurring themes.
His association with Emily Wickersham naturally brought additional attention, particularly among fans searching for information about the former NCIS actress’s husband. Yet the public record shows that Hanley had an identity and career beyond that marriage. His work with Ghost Lion, legal education, Florida Bar membership, and community legal service provide independently meaningful reasons to study his career.
Perhaps the most compelling aspect of Hanley’s biography is the willingness to change direction without completely abandoning an earlier passion. Music gave him a creative language for exploring identity and human connection, while law provided a practical avenue for advocacy and service. His career demonstrates that professional reinvention does not necessarily mean starting over; sometimes it means building a second path alongside the first.

Conclusion: The Story of Blake Anderson Hanley
Blake Anderson Hanley is much more than Emily Wickersham’s former husband. He is a musician, songwriter, composer, producer, and attorney whose career has developed across independent music and public-interest law. Through Ghost Lion, he created music influenced by indie pop, calypso, cumbia, South American folk, and electronic sounds, using songwriting to explore personal vulnerability as well as broader questions about culture and connection.
His legal career provides another important part of the story. Hanley attended Southwestern Law School and was admitted to the Florida Bar in 2018. The Florida Bar currently lists him as a member in good standing and eligible to practice, while his professional and community work has included legal-aid service and advocacy involving property and estate matters for disadvantaged residents of Palm Beach County.
His marriage to Emily Wickersham, from 2010 until their divorce in December 2018, explains much of the public curiosity surrounding his name, but it is only one chapter of his biography. The stronger and more enduring story is one of creativity, education, professional reinvention, and community service. While some details about his private life, age, family, and finances remain uncertain or inconsistently reported online, the documented record provides a clear picture of a man who has built a distinctive life between music, law, and South Florida community work.

