Joanna Carson, Johnny Carson’s Third Spouse, Dies

Joanna Carson, the mannequin and third spouse of Johnny Carson, has died.

In line with Additional, citing social media posts from pals, Joanna’s dying was introduced privately in July, and her funeral was final week.

The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Basis acknowledged Joanna’s dying on-line on Wednesday, July 30.

“Remembering ETAF’s expensive pals and supporters, Joanna Carson and Wallis Annenberg, who embodied our Founder, Elizabeth Taylor’s spirit of affection and assist,” the put up mentioned.

PEOPLE has reached out to the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Basis for remark.

Johnny met Joanna in 1971 on the 21 Membership in New York, the place he later recalled to PEOPLE he was “flirting like a sophomore.” Joanna was beforehand married to Tim Holland from 1960 to 1966 and shared a son.

On the time, Joanna was one in all Manhattan’s highest-paid vogue fashions, and the 2 spent their first date celebrating Johnny’s forty sixth birthday. Afterward, he known as her day-after-day at 4:30 p.m. for a yr.

The 2 would go on to marry a yr later in 1972, the identical yr that Johnny divorced his second spouse, Joanne Copeland. In line with a 1978 New Yorker story, Johnny shocked everybody by saying his marriage to Joanna whereas celebrating his tenth anniversary on the Tonight Present on Sept. 30, 1972.

Copeland was portrayed by Molly Ringwald in FX’s 2024 collection Feud: Capote vs. The Swans. She died in 2015. Johny married his first spouse, Joan “Jody” Morrill Wolcott, on Oct. 3, 1949, and the 2 divorced in 1963, after 14 years of marriage.

Talking to how Joanna influenced Johnny, actress-turned-L.A. socialite Ruta Lee advised PEOPLE in 1983 that “Joanna’s very achieved at being a girl. I like her femininity—her lodging to males.”

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“It’s as if she made a research of how Josephine dealt with Napoleon. I don’t imply she’s manipulative. She simply has a splendidly delicate strategy to males,” she continued. Joanna and Johnny divorced in 1985. 

Carson later married Alexis Maas in 1987. They remained collectively till his dying in 2005. He was 79. Carson was additionally survived by his three kids, whom he shared with Wolcott.

Joanna was preceded in dying by her son, who died in 1994.