Ted Turner, the media mogul who transformed television news through the launch of CNN, died on May 6, 2026, at the age of 87, according to CNN and the BBC. Across his decades-long career, Turner became known not only for building a global media empire but also for his outspoken personality, philanthropy, and high-profile personal life.
The CNN founder was married three times and had five children across his first two marriages. His most publicly discussed relationship was with actress Jane Fonda, with whom he was married for 10 years.
Following news of his death, renewed attention has focused on Turner’s personal history, including his marriages to Julia Gale Nye, Jane Shirley Smith, and Jane Fonda.
Ted Turner’s first marriage to Julia Gale Nye
Ted Turner’s first marriage was to Julia Gale Nye, whom he met while attending Brown University in 1959, according to PEOPLE on May 6, 2026. Nye was the daughter of world champion sailor Harry Gale Nye Jr. The couple married on June 22, 1960, at St. Chrysostom’s Episcopal Church in Chicago, as reported by the Chicago Tribune and cited in PEOPLE’s retrospective on Turner’s relationships.
During their marriage, Turner and Nye welcomed two children together: daughter Laura, born in 1961, and son Robert “Teddy” Edward IV, born in 1963. Their relationship unfolded during the same period Turner was beginning to navigate significant personal upheaval.
In March 1963, Ted Turner’s father died by suicide, leaving the 24-year-old to take control of the family billboard company, Turner Outdoor Advertising.
CNN’s May 6, 2026, obituary described how Ted Turner buried his grief in work and quickly expanded the family business. Within a few years, he began acquiring radio stations and later moved into television broadcasting. While his professional ambitions accelerated, his first marriage came to an end after only a few years.
Though less publicly documented than his later relationships, Ted Turner’s marriage to Julia Nye marked the beginning of his family life. Their children would later remain involved in Turner’s philanthropic ventures and foundations, including the Turner Foundation and environmental initiatives connected to his later conservation work.
His 24-year marriage to Jane Shirley Smith
Shortly after divorcing Julia Gale Nye, Ted Turner married Jane Shirley Smith on June 2, 1964, according to PEOPLE. Smith reportedly worked as a Delta Air Lines flight attendant and met Turner at a Young Republicans meeting. Their marriage became Turner’s longest, lasting until their divorce in 1988.
Together, the couple had three children: Rhett, born in 1965, Beau in 1968, and daughter Sarah Jean “Jennie” in 1969. PEOPLE reported that Rhett Turner was named after Rhett Butler from Gone with the Wind, a film Turner later became closely associated with through his acquisition of MGM’s library and his ownership of Turner Classic Movies.
During this marriage, Turner’s media empire expanded dramatically. CNN and BBC both noted that throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Turner transformed a struggling Atlanta television station into the Turner Broadcasting System. He launched cable TV’s first superstation in 1976 before debuting CNN, the world’s first 24-hour news network, on June 1, 1980.
Ted Turner’s demanding career and larger-than-life personality became central to his public image during these years. BBC reporting described him as “Captain Outrageous” and “The Mouth of the South,” nicknames earned through his outspoken approach to business and public life.
Former CNN colleagues recalled Turner living inside CNN’s headquarters for years, often appearing in the newsroom in a bathrobe while debating current events with staff.
Although Jane Shirley Smith largely remained out of the spotlight, their marriage spanned the period in which Ted Turner became one of the most influential figures in modern media. The couple ultimately divorced in 1988, just before Turner entered the most publicized relationship of his life with actress Jane Fonda.
Ted Turner and Jane Fonda’s high-profile marriage
Ted Turner began dating Jane Fonda in 1990, shortly after her separation from her second husband, Tom Hayden. The pair married on December 21, 1991, on Fonda’s 54th birthday, at Turner’s Florida plantation, Avalon, according to PEOPLE.
Their relationship quickly became one of Hollywood and the media’s most closely watched marriages. In her 2005 memoir My Life So Far, Fonda recalled deeply emotional and joyful moments from their relationship, writing that there were times they “would lock eyes and melt into one.” After marrying Turner, Fonda stepped away from acting and devoted more time to married life.
CNN’s obituary noted that friends initially believed the pair were incompatible. Former President Jimmy Carter recalled that the two “didn’t like each other” at first before eventually developing “one of the nicest romances” he had witnessed. Despite their close bond, differences in lifestyle and emotional needs gradually strained the marriage.
Jane Fonda later explained to The New Yorker in 2001 that Turner wanted constant companionship and viewed that as an expression of love, saying,
“It is not love. It’s babysitting”
Ted Turner, meanwhile, later admitted the breakup devastated him. Speaking to Piers Morgan in 2012, he reflected on losing both Fonda and much of his business empire after the AOL-Time Warner merger collapse.
Despite divorcing in 2001, both Ted Turner and Jonda Fonda continued speaking warmly about one another for years. Fonda described him as her “favorite ex-husband,” while Turner said,
“When you love somebody, and you really love them, you never stop loving them.”
In addition to revolutionizing cable television through CNN, Ted Turner built an empire that included TBS, TNT, Turner Classic Movies, and Cartoon Network. He also owned professional sports franchises, including the Atlanta Braves and Atlanta Hawks. Outside media, he became one of the largest landowners in North America and played a major role in bison conservation efforts across the American West.
BBC and CNN both highlighted Turner’s extensive philanthropy, including his $1 billion pledge to the United Nations and his environmental advocacy. He also founded organizations, including the United Nations Foundation, Nuclear Threat Initiative, and Captain Planet Foundation.
Ted Turner revealed in 2018 that he had Lewy body dementia, a progressive neurological disorder. According to CNN, he died peacefully on May 6, 2026, surrounded by family.
Following news of his death, tributes poured in from across journalism, entertainment, and politics. CNN’s Christiane Amanpour described Turner as someone who “created an unstoppable media revolution,” while colleagues remembered him as fearless, unconventional, and relentlessly ambitious.
Edited by Devangee Halder
