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Joanna Carson, the glamorous model who became Johnny Carson’s third wife — and whose divorce settlement was fodder for many of his self-deprecating jokes — has died.
According to friends online, Ms. Carson’s death was announced privately in July, and her funeral was last week.
On July 30, the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation remembered her with a Facebook post that placed in league with billionaire benefactor Wallis Annenberg, who also died last month.
Born Johanna Ulrich, she was raised in New York. She married world-famous backgammon player Tim Holland and welcomed a son, Joe, with him during their six years of marriage.
Post-divorce, seeking a means of self-support, she quickly became an in-demand fashion model.
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At the time she met late-night icon Johnny Carson at hot spot 21, he was 15 years older and had been married twice. His previous wife, Joanne Carson, is often confused with Joanna due to the similarity of their names. Joanne Carson — portrayed by Molly Ringwald in “Feud: Capote vs. The Swans” in 2024 due to her friendship with Truman Capote — divorced Johnny in 1972, the same year he and Joanna announced a surprise wedding.
Just over 10 years later, Joanna initiated divorce proceedings, famously winding up with a reported $20 million in cash and valuable property in the 1985 settlement.
Carson was well-known for her association with late designer Michaele Vollbracht, whose company she funded and served as VP.
Among her many philanthropic endeavors, she worked extensively with SHARE (Share Happily and Reap Endlessly) to help developmentally disabled, abused, and neglected children, as well as to raise funds for medical research for all developmental disabilities.
She was also a producer on several Broadway shows: “American Psycho” (2016), “Beetlejuice” (2019 & 2022), and “American Buffalo” (2022).
She was preceded in death by her son in 1994.
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