Hannah Neeleman

Early life Neeleman grew up in a Mormon family of nine children in Springville, Utah. Her parents owned a flower shop. At the age of 14, she attended a Juilliard School summer ballet program. Two years later, she received a scholarship to Brigham Young University's theatre ballet program and finished her university ballet studies at Juilliard School in New York City.

In 2023, she competed as Mrs. South Dakota and was crowned Mrs. American (which is a separate pageant from Mrs. America, though both are run by Elaine Marmel, who also heads the Mrs. World competition). She is frequently seen wearing vintage-style dresses and gingham aprons, earning her comparisons to Ma from Little House on the Prairie.

The New York Times wrote that Ballerina Farm was "simultaneously one of the most popular social media stars in the country and a lightning rod for criticism." Viewers have speculated that the family is likely not living off the profits of the farm, and have pointed out that their home's stove, which Hannah says she purchased used, retails for about $20,000; their property was also listed for $2.75million when they purchased it in 2018.

Farm and business operations Neeleman purchased her 328-acre farm in 2018 after returning to Utah after years abroad. While living in Brazil, the Neelemans discovered farm life after spending time in farm hotels. The farm's name, suggested by Neeleman's older brother, is inspired by her background as a professional ballerina. Neeleman considers herself the founder and chief executive of Ballerina Farm. Cattle and pigs are part of the farm's meat packing operations, where the packaged meat is sold on her online store. The Ballerina Farm store sells a range of other products including pre-packaged baked goods, beeswax candles, honey, sourdough starter, kitchen supplies, clothing, flowers grown in Ecuador, and more. Three full-time workers assist in the day-to-day operations of Ballerina farm, while thirty are employed at a warehouse and ten in an office.

In a 2024 interview with The New York Times, Neeleman said that she intended to expand the Ballerina Farm brand. An opening date has not yet been announced. Plans include a Ballerina Farm store, where visitors will be able to purchase perishable farm goods and online bestsellers. The planned dairy building and creamery includes production of milk, ice cream and butter. In February 2026, Ballerina Farm published a statement that they stopped the sale of raw milk in August 2025 but claimed that, during the period in which they sold raw milk, they met Utah's raw milk health standards and that their milk was "100% safe". Utah's Department of Agriculture and Food requires that a business's permit to sell raw milk to be suspended if monthly tests fail to meet health standards three times in a period of five months.

Personal life Neeleman was first introduced to her husband Daniel through a mutual friend while attending Juilliard. They got engaged three weeks later. Daniel is also a Latter-day Saint (Mormon), and grew up in a family of nine children. The couple were raised in Mormonism as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which they still adhere to.