Who was Clarence Avant’s wife?

With the passing of Clarence Avant, who is known as the Godfather of Black entertainment, the world lost a legend. However, the news is more disheartening when you consider Los Angeles lost another towering figure, Clarence’s wife Jacqueline Avant, less than two years ago.

While no cause of death was mentioned, Clarence reportedly died “gently at his home in Los Angeles” earlier this week, according to a statement from his family provided to NPR. Back in December of 2021, Jacqueline was shot to death during an apparent home invasion.

Who was Jacqueline Avant?

Back in 1967, Clarence Avant married who was then known as Jacqueline Gray, and the pair had two kids together, as Variety reported. Over the years, Jacqueline garnered a stellar reputation of her own through her work in philanthropy and the arts.

Jacqueline was particularly fond of supporting charitable organizations for children, such as doing volunteer work with Head Start and as the president of the Neighbors of Watts, a child care support group, among other work, per the MLK Health and Wellness Community Development Corporation’s website. The non-profit MLK-CDC also has “The Jacqueline Avant Memorial Fund” in her honor, the site said.

She also served on and led many boards related to the arts in the L.A. scene and was an avid collector of African American and Japanese art. Jacqueline was also a “one-time model in the Ebony Fashion Fair,” according to NBC News.

The biography on MLK-CDC’s website also stated Jacqueline had a reputation for being the “secret weapon” behind her influential spouse, Clarence. The two “were rarely seen apart during the many social, political, and philanthropic functions they hosted throughout the decades,” the bio noted. That includes hosting the likes of President Bill Clinton, the President of Tanzania, and Senator Ted Kennedy, among others.

Clarence was the subject of the 2019 documentary The Black Godfather, which explored his career working with legendary figures throughout the music, sports, and political fields. Clarence’s career touched upon everyone from Bill Withers and Michael Jackson, to Lalo Schifrin and NFL star-turned-actor Jim Brown. The documentary was produced by Netflix, whose co-CEO Ted Sarandos is Clarence and Jacqueline’s son-in-law.

In March of 2022, then-30-year-old Aariel Maynor pleaded guilty to the murder of 81-year-old Jacqueline, which occurred during a burglary on Dec. 1, 2021. Clarence was 92 when he passed away Sunday.