Jane Shirley Smith, often known as Janie Smith Turner, became widely known through her long marriage to American media pioneer Ted Turner. Yet her own story remained far more private. Before entering the Turner family, she worked in aviation and studied in Alabama. She later raised a large blended family while her husband built the businesses that would reshape American television.
Quick Bio
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full name | Jane Shirley Smith |
| Also known as | Janie Smith Turner, Jane Smith Turner |
| Birth date | Not publicly confirmed |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | University of Alabama |
| Profession | Former Delta Air Lines flight attendant |
| Known for | Second wife of Ted Turner |
| Former husband | Ted Turner |
| Marriage | Sources place the wedding in 1964 or 1965 |
| Divorce | Late 1980s, most often reported as 1988 |
| Children with Ted Turner | Rhett Turner, Beau Turner and Jennie Turner Garlington |
| Stepchildren | Laura Turner Seydel and Robert Edward “Teddy” Turner IV |
| Former residence associated with family | Atlanta, Georgia |
| Public profile | Largely private |
| Status | She had died before Ted Turner’s death in May 2026 |
Who Was Jane Shirley Smith?
Jane Shirley Smith was the second wife of Robert Edward “Ted” Turner III, the businessman who created CNN and built Turner Broadcasting System into a major media company. She was usually called Janie by relatives and people close to the Turner family.
Unlike her former husband, Jane did not seek a career in television, professional sport or public life. Her connection with one of America’s best known media families placed her near major events, but she generally stayed outside the spotlight.
Historical accounts describe Jane as a woman from a Southern background who worked for Delta Air Lines as a flight attendant before her marriage. Sailing World also reports that she studied at the University of Alabama.
Her sister Julia Smith Rogers’s obituary provides another glimpse into the Smith family. It identifies Julia’s parents as Amasa G. Smith and Sarah Bates Smith and names Jane, known as Janie, among Julia’s surviving siblings. At the time of Julia’s death in 2021, Jane was associated with Clearwater, Florida.
Jane Shirley Smith’s Early Life and Education
Much of Jane’s childhood remains outside reliable public records. Her exact date and place of birth have not been widely documented by major biographical sources. Claims that give a precise birth year should therefore be treated carefully unless supported by primary records.
More is known about her education and early working life. Sailing World describes her as a graduate of the University of Alabama who later became a flight attendant with Delta Air Lines.
Working as a flight attendant was a respected and highly competitive profession during this period. Jane’s aviation career also existed independently of Ted Turner. She had established a professional life before her name became linked with the future television executive.
This part of her biography matters because Jane is sometimes described only as a famous man’s former wife. Available historical reporting shows that she had her own education and career before joining the Turner family.
How Did Jane Shirley Smith Meet Ted Turner?
Historical accounts say Jane met Ted Turner through political and social circles in the American South. The Society for American Baseball Research reports that Turner met Jane, then a Delta Air Lines stewardess, at a Young Republicans gathering.
The Washington Post later described her as a stewardess from a traditional Southern background. Its retrospective account also noted that Turner courted her during the early phase of his business career.
Turner was still far from the global media figure he would later become. His father, Robert Edward Turner Jr, had died in 1963, leaving the young businessman responsible for the family’s outdoor advertising company.
Ted transformed that business over the following decades. Jane therefore knew him before CNN, TNT, Cartoon Network and much of the fortune and public attention later associated with the Turner name.
Jane Shirley Smith and Ted Turner’s Marriage
Published sources differ slightly over the wedding year. SABR gives a precise date of 2 June 1964, while several later biographical summaries list the marriage as beginning in 1965. A historical account of the couple celebrating their fifteenth wedding anniversary in June 1979 also supports a 1964 marriage date.
Whatever the difference in dating, Jane was Turner’s second wife. His first marriage was to Judy Nye, with whom he had two children, Laura and Teddy.
Jane and Ted spent more than two decades together. These years covered one of the most important periods in Turner’s business career. He moved from outdoor advertising into local television, satellite broadcasting, professional sport and eventually global cable news.
Turner later acknowledged how much family responsibility Jane carried while he concentrated on business. In a 2013 Fortune interview, he credited Jane Smith Turner when discussing the years in which his children were growing up. He also acknowledged that his work kept him away from home for long periods.
Family Life and Raising Five Children
Jane and Ted Turner had three children together. The Turner family’s official website identifies them as Rhett Lee Turner, Reed Beauregard “Beau” Turner and Sara Jean “Jennie” Turner, now known as Jennie Turner Garlington.
Jane was also part of a blended household that included Turner’s two children from his first marriage. They were Laura Turner Seydel and Robert Edward “Teddy” Turner IV.
A biography of Turner describes Jane looking after all five children while her husband spent substantial periods working and sailing. Contemporary reporting from the late 1970s also pictured the Turner home as centred around the five children.
Ted later said that keeping the family together while the children were growing up was deliberate. His comments give Jane an important place in the family’s history. Her public identity may have been quieter, but she was present during the formative years of children who later became active in business, education, conservation and philanthropy.
Life During Ted Turner’s Rise in Media
Jane’s marriage coincided with an extraordinary period in American broadcasting. Ted Turner expanded the family advertising company and moved into radio and television before transforming Atlanta station WTCG, later WTBS, into a national cable superstation.
He also bought the Atlanta Braves in 1976. Jane was already part of the family when the purchase pushed Turner into a much more visible position in Atlanta. A biographical account records Jane saying that the family had previously been fairly anonymous in the city and that the Braves purchase changed that privacy.
In 1980, Turner launched the Cable News Network, better known as CNN. It became the first television network built around continuous news coverage.
Jane should not be described as a founder or executive of CNN because reliable sources do not support such a claim. Her significance lies instead in the family history surrounding Turner’s rise. She maintained a much quieter role while her husband’s professional life became increasingly public.
Ted Turner’s Sailing Career and the Family
Business was not Turner’s only major interest. He was also a serious sailor who competed at the highest level of the sport.
His biggest sailing achievement came in 1977, when he skippered Courageous to victory in the America’s Cup. Jane was part of his life throughout the years in which sailing demanded extensive travel and time away from home.
Historical accounts describe her remaining in Atlanta with the children while Turner divided his attention between business and yacht racing. One biography records Jane saying that her husband was often away, leaving her with considerable responsibility at home.
This background helps explain why Turner’s later acknowledgement of Jane’s role is important. Her contribution was not a formal position within his companies. It centred on family life during a period when his schedule was unusually demanding.
Why Did Jane Shirley Smith and Ted Turner Divorce?
Jane and Ted’s marriage eventually ended after more than two decades. Most modern biographies give 1988 as the year of their divorce, although a CNN biographical archive notes that some records give 1987.
Reliable sources do not provide a simple, verified explanation for every factor behind their separation. It is therefore better to avoid attributing the divorce to one specific event without strong evidence.
After the marriage ended, Turner eventually began a relationship with actress and political activist Jane Fonda. Turner and Fonda married in 1991 and divorced in 2001.
Jane Smith, meanwhile, did not build a celebrity career from her former marriage. She largely disappeared from mainstream entertainment coverage and continued to maintain a much more private public profile.
Life After Her Divorce From Ted Turner
Information about Jane’s later years is limited. That lack of documentation appears consistent with the private way in which she lived both during and after her marriage.
She did not become a regular television personality or public commentator on Turner’s career. There is also no strong evidence that she published a memoir or made a business from discussing her former husband.
A family obituary published in 2022 identified Jane as one of Julia Smith Rogers’s surviving sisters and associated her with Clearwater, Florida. This provides one of the clearer public references to her later life.
By May 2026, however, she had died. Georgia Public Broadcasting’s obituary for Ted Turner stated that his former wives Judy Nye and Janie Smith had both predeceased him. The report did not provide Jane’s date or cause of death.
Jane Shirley Smith’s Children and Their Careers
Jane’s children went on to build lives connected in different ways with the Turner family’s interest in conservation and environmental work.
Rhett Turner became a filmmaker, photographer and environmental storyteller. His work has often focused on wildlife, land and conservation.
Beau Turner became especially active in conservation. The Turner Foundation identifies him as a trustee of several environmental organisations, including the Turner Conservation Trust, the Turner Foundation and the Turner Endangered Species Fund.
Jennie Turner Garlington has also been connected with environmental communication and family initiatives. The wider Turner family has remained closely involved with conservation projects established or supported by Ted Turner.
Jane’s stepchildren also followed public paths. Laura Turner Seydel became an environmental advocate, while Teddy Turner worked in several business roles before teaching economics and becoming involved with civic organisations.
Jane Shirley Smith’s Net Worth and Financial Privacy
There is no reliable, independently verified public figure for Jane Shirley Smith’s personal net worth.
Many celebrity biography websites attach estimates to relatives or former partners of wealthy people. Such estimates should not be presented as fact unless they are supported by financial disclosures, court records or credible business reporting.
Ted Turner became enormously wealthy through broadcasting, professional sport, land holdings and other investments. His wealth, however, should not automatically be treated as Jane’s personal fortune.
Information about any financial arrangements connected with their divorce also remains largely private in mainstream reporting. For that reason, assigning Jane a specific personal net worth would involve speculation.
Jane Shirley Smith’s Place in the Turner Family Story
Jane’s importance in the Turner story is closely tied to timing. She was part of Ted Turner’s family before he became one of the world’s most recognisable media entrepreneurs.
She experienced the years in which Turner moved from advertising into television, bought major sports teams, became an America’s Cup champion and launched CNN.
Yet Jane remained notably different from the celebrity image surrounding her former husband. She did not appear to pursue the same degree of attention, even as the Turner name became internationally known.
Ted himself later gave her credit when speaking about the upbringing of his children. That acknowledgement provides one of the clearest ways to understand her place in the family’s history. She was not a media executive, but she was a central figure in the Turner household during its most transformative decades.
FAQs About Jane Shirley Smith
Who was Jane Shirley Smith?
Jane Shirley Smith, also known as Janie Smith Turner, was an American former flight attendant best known as the second wife of CNN founder and media businessman Ted Turner. They spent more than two decades together and had three children.
How did Jane Shirley Smith meet Ted Turner?
The Society for American Baseball Research reports that Ted Turner met Jane when she was working as a Delta Air Lines stewardess. They met at a Young Republicans gathering before marrying in the mid 1960s.
How many children did Jane Smith and Ted Turner have?
They had three children together: Rhett Turner, Reed Beauregard “Beau” Turner and Sara Jean “Jennie” Turner Garlington. Jane was also stepmother to Turner’s older children Laura and Teddy.
When did Jane Shirley Smith and Ted Turner divorce?
Their marriage ended in the late 1980s. Many sources give 1988 as the divorce year, while CNN’s historical profile notes that some records give 1987.
Is Jane Shirley Smith still alive?
No. Jane was alive when her sister’s obituary was published following her death in December 2021. However, Georgia Public Broadcasting reported after Ted Turner’s death on 6 May 2026 that Janie Smith had predeceased him. A reliable public date for Jane’s death was not provided in the sources reviewed.
Final Thoughts
Jane Smith Turner lived close to one of the most dramatic business stories in modern American media while keeping much of her own life private. She worked for Delta Air Lines, studied at the University of Alabama and became the mother of three of Ted Turner’s five children.
Her years with Turner covered the growth of his television business, the purchase of the Atlanta Braves, his America’s Cup victory and the launch of CNN. Yet she remained primarily associated with family life rather than corporate leadership or celebrity.
Public records about her later years are limited, which makes careful sourcing especially important. What is well documented is her long place in the Turner family and the role she held while its five children were growing up.