You’ve probably seen James Garner in Maverick, The Rockford Files, or as the older Noah in The Notebook. What you might not know is that the woman he was married to for almost 58 years, Lois Clarke, spent that entire time staying about as far from the cameras as a Hollywood spouse possibly could. No tell all memoir, no reality show cameo, barely a handful of interviews. Just a marriage that outlasted almost every other pairing in old school Hollywood.
Here’s what the record actually shows about who Lois Clarke was, how she met Garner, and what happened after he passed away in 2014.
Who Was Lois Clarke?
Lois Josephine Fleischman was born in Los Angeles to Samuel Hillis Fleischman and Sarah Doltz. Her official obituary, published through Legacy.com and the Los Angeles Times, lists her birth date as July 6, 1923. That’s the figure her daughter Gigi Garner also used when she announced her mother’s passing on social media in 2021.
You’ll notice a lot of entertainment sites give a different year, usually 1927, which would make her 94 rather than 98 at the time of her death. Genealogy records on WikiTree and her formal obituary both point to 1923, so that’s the more reliable figure, though you should know the discrepancy exists if you go digging elsewhere.
She grew up Jewish in Los Angeles alongside her sister Joyce and, according to those close to her, spent very little of her life talking about her own background. Almost nothing about her education or early jobs made it into the public record. That kind of privacy became the theme of her entire life.
Lois Clarke’s First Marriage and Daughter Kimberly
Before she ever met James Garner, Lois was married to a man named Keith Bradshaw Clarke, a union recorded in Los Angeles marriage records from January 1948. That marriage produced a daughter, Kimberly, born around 1949. Some accounts say Kimberly was diagnosed with polio as a young child and recovered from it.
By the time Lois met Garner in 1956, she and Keith Clarke had separated. Garner would go on to legally adopt Kimberly, giving her his last name and raising her as his own.
How Lois Clarke Met James Garner
The story both families told for decades is almost too fast to believe. Lois and James met at a political gathering, an Adlai Stevenson campaign event, in 1956. Garner later wrote that it was love at first sight, comparing her to Audrey Hepburn with a fuller figure closer to Sophia Loren.
They started seeing each other every day, sometimes twice a day. Two weeks after that first meeting, on August 17, 1956, they got married at the Beverly Hills courthouse in a small private ceremony with only a few close friends present. According to one widely repeated account, Lois made sure to ask young Kimberly what she thought of the marriage before she went through with it, which tells you something about how she approached the decision.
Plenty of people around them assumed a marriage built that fast wouldn’t survive Hollywood. They were wrong for almost 58 years.
Building a Family and a Life Out of the Spotlight
James and Lois settled first into a small apartment in Sherman Oaks before eventually moving to a home in Brentwood. On January 4, 1958, their only biological child together, Greta “Gigi” Garner, was born. Gigi went on to study at the USC School of Cinematic Arts and later built her own career as a writer and private investigator.
Lois herself stepped back from any career ambitions once she married Garner. Multiple biographical sources describe her simply as a housewife who managed the household while her husband’s acting career took off through Maverick in the late 1950s and The Rockford Files in the 1970s. What does come through clearly, including from her own obituary, is that she was a serious collector of art history, with a particular fondness for seventeenth century European hunting tapestries.
The marriage wasn’t without its rough patches. Lois and James separated twice, once for about three months in 1970 and again in 1979. Garner said the 1970 split wasn’t about problems between them but about needing time alone after the physical toll of years doing his own stunts. The couple reconciled in September 1981 and never divorced, staying married until Garner’s death.
Lois was reportedly happy to go by her husband’s last name rather than her own. One story that circulated among friends has her correcting someone who called her Lois Clarke, replying with a laugh, “Lois Garner, thank you.”
James Garner’s Death and Lois’s Final Years
James Garner died at his Los Angeles home on July 19, 2014, at age 86. The cause was reported as a heart attack linked to coronary artery disease. He and Lois had been married just short of 58 years.
After his death, Lois largely disappeared from public view. She stayed in Brentwood, surrounded by her daughters, and made no notable public appearances for the rest of her life. No major outlet reported details about her health during those seven years, which fits the pattern she’d kept for decades.
Lois Clarke’s Death in 2021
Lois Clarke died on October 21, 2021, at her home in Brentwood. Gigi Garner announced the news on social media a few days later, sharing a black and white photo of her parents together. Her official obituary listed her age at 98, consistent with the 1923 birth year, and noted that a private memorial would be held at her home rather than any public service, a fitting final choice for someone who spent decades avoiding attention.
Her cause of death was never made public.
What About Her Net Worth?
You’ll find a lot of round numbers thrown around online, most commonly that James Garner’s estate was worth about $20 million at the time of his death and that it passed to Lois afterward. There’s no independently verified public figure for Lois Clarke’s personal net worth, and several outlets covering her life are upfront that the commonly cited numbers are estimates rather than documented facts. Treat anything more specific than “she inherited from Garner’s estate” as speculation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Was Lois Clarke James Garner’s only wife? Yes. James Garner was married only once, to Lois Clarke, from 1956 until his death in 2014.
Did Lois Clarke have children of her own before marrying Garner? Yes. Her daughter Kimberly was born during her first marriage to Keith Bradshaw Clarke. James Garner later adopted Kimberly after marrying Lois.
How many children did Lois Clarke and James Garner have together? One biological daughter, Greta “Gigi” Garner, born in January 1958, plus Kimberly, whom Garner adopted.
How old was Lois Clarke when she died? Her official obituary lists her as 98, born July 6, 1923, and dying October 21, 2021. Some entertainment sites report she was 94, based on an alternate 1927 birth year, though the obituary and genealogical records point to 1923.
Did Lois Clarke ever remarry after James Garner died? No public record indicates she remarried. She remained “Lois Garner” for the rest of her life.
