Clint Eastwood’s First Wife Passes as Daughter Shares Rare Family Photos

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Clint Eastwood’s first wife, Maggie Johnson, has died just shy of her 95th birthday.

Johnson’s death was announced by her daughter, Alison Eastwood, who shared the news alongside a collection of previously unseen family photographs. Alison remembered her mother as a loving and generous parent who helped shape her family’s compassion for animals and the natural world.

The Sweet Tribute

“This last Sunday, we said goodbye to our sweet Mama. She passed peacefully, just shy of her 95th birthday. She had a long, amazing life. She was kind, generous, loyal, and had a great sense of humor,” the post began.

“She instilled a deep love of nature and animals into our family, always teaching us compassion for the world around us,” she added. “Fiercely supportive of my brother and I, she loved seeing him thrive as a Jazz musician and always wanted to know what animals I was rescuing and how she could help. Her friend said to me the other day that she felt she was a better person for knowing my mom.”

“Maggie was a bright, beautiful light. She will be greatly missed,” she concluded. 

Johnson met Eastwood in 1953, before he became one of Hollywood’s biggest stars. According to Richard Schickel’s biography “Clint Eastwood: A Biography,” the pair were introduced on a blind date by a mutual friend in San Francisco.

At the time, Johnson was a student at the University of California, Berkeley, while Eastwood had recently been discharged from the military. Johnson already had a boyfriend, but she was immediately struck by Eastwood when they met.

“I came down the stairs of the sorority house, and [Clint] had his back to me. When he turned around, I was amazed at what he looked like. Plus, he was understated and that kind of appealed to me,” Johnson told Schickel per PEOPLE.

The Two Welcomed a Son and a Daughter

Eastwood later recalled that they “hit it off right away,” and the two continued dating. Their relationship eventually led to marriage, despite Eastwood’s initial hesitation about settling down.

The couple married Dec. 19, 1953. They later welcomed two children, son Kyle Eastwood in 1968 and daughter Alison in 1972.

Their marriage eventually ended as Eastwood’s career continued to take off. The family had moved to Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, where Eastwood and Johnson spent years building their home. Eastwood later said they argued frequently about the construction and gradually grew apart. Their relationship also became the subject of speculation surrounding Eastwood’s reported romance with actress Sondra Locke.

Although Johnson and Eastwood eventually went their separate ways, their children maintained connections to both of their parents. Kyle became a jazz musician, while Alison pursued acting and filmmaking.

Alison has previously spoken about growing up with Eastwood as her father, noting that his fame was simply part of her childhood.

“When we were kids, my dad would take my brother and [me] for dinner, and people would come up to him for autographs. He’s not someone who craves that,” she told Closer Weekly in 2022.

Alison also recalled spending time around her father’s film sets and getting an early look at his work.

“I remember getting to do the clapboard before they would start a camera roll in the scene, and I got to help out with craft service,” she told Fox News Digital in 2024.