Mavis Leno and Jay Leno
Photo by Michael Tullberg/Getty Images

How old is Mavis Leno and why is Jay Leno seeking her conservatorship?

The divisive late-night legend is in the news for unfortunate reasons.

Former late-night megastar Jay Leno made headlines in January 2024 when it was announced that he had filed for the conservatorship of his wife, Mavis Leno

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The filing, first reported by TMZ, was made on Jan. 26 and appears to be one of the rare cases in which a show business conservatorship is requested for non-shady reasons. 

The Jay Leno conservatorship, explained

According to TMZ, the 77-year-old Mavis’ conservatorship comes as a result of her deteriorating health, and particularly her diagnosis of Alzheimer ’s-related dementia. The details of the diagnosis haven’t been disclosed, though Jay Leno has stated as early as 2022 that Mavis no longer drives. The former The Tonight Show host and Mavis have both refrained from commenting on her condition, not even confirming publicly what she’s been diagnosed with.

Jay and Mavis first met in 1976, when the comedian was a regular at the Comedy Store in Los Angeles. The two were married in 1980, though they later acknowledged that pragmatism played a bigger role than romance, with Jay recalling in a 2014 LA Times interview that he had wanted to make sure that Mavis was “covered” if anything happened to him. He stated that he didn’t buy his wife an engagement ring until 2004, with Mavis adding that he’d “just bought a house” instead.

The two have remained married for more than 40 years, with Jay once claiming (to People) that the secret to a long marriage is to “marry the person you wish you could be.” Also, “not screwing around is a huge key. You can do a lot. You can leave your underwear on the doorknob for the rest of your life if you don’t screw around.” Words to live by.


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Author
Tom Meisfjord
Tom is an entertainment writer with five years of experience in the industry, and thirty more years of experience outside of it. His fields of expertise include superheroes, classic horror, and most franchises with the word "Star" in the title. An occasionally award-winning comedian, he resides in the Pacific Northwest with his dog, a small mutt with impulse control issues.