Ted Turner, the brash media mogul who founded CNN and revolutionized how the world consumes news, was a towering figure in business and a complex one in his personal life. While his public image was that of an unparalleled risk-taker, his private world was marked by a series of high-profile marriages and a deep commitment to his five kids, whom he often described as his greatest legacy.
Turner’s life was a whirlwind of business triumphs and personal passions, from winning the America’s Cup to owning the Atlanta Braves. However, it was his three marriages that most fascinated the public. He was a man who loved with the same intensity with which he worked, and each of his unions tells a different story about the many lives of Robert Edward Turner III.
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Three Marriages and a Lasting Love
Ted Turner was married three times, and all ended in divorce. His first marriage was to Judy Nye in 1960, which lasted only four years. In 1964, he married Jane Shirley Smith, a union that produced his second and third children and lasted until 1988.
However, it was his third marriage to Hollywood icon Jane Fonda that captivated the world. The couple wed in 1991, embarking on a decade-long partnership that blended media power and celebrity activism. Turner often referred to Fonda as the “love of his life,” a sentiment that made their 2001 divorce all the more poignant.
His Five Children and Growing Legacy
Despite not having children with Fonda, Turner was a father to five kids from his first two marriages. With his first wife, Judy Nye, he had his eldest offspring: Laura Lee Turner Seydel and Robert Edward “Teddy” Turner IV. Teddy went on to pursue careers in business and education, while Laura became a prominent environmental advocate, co-founding the Captain Planet Foundation. With his second wife, Jane Shirley Smith, he had three more children: Rhett Turner, Beauregard “Beau” Turner, and Jennie Turner. Beau and Rhett followed in their father’s footsteps, taking up roles in conservation and media.
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At the time of his death in 2026 at the age of 87, Ted Turner was a grandfather to 14 and a great-grandfather to two. Surrounded by his family, he passed away after a long battle with Lewy body dementia. While his news network changed the world, his family was the quiet, evolving foundation upon which the “Mouth of the South” built his extraordinary life.
