Director Jonathan Demme’s Wife Joanne Howard

Joanne Howard

Meet Joanne Howard; she is the loving wife of Oscar-winning director Jonathan Demme; known for his work in films such as Philadelphia and Silence of the Lambs. Mr. Demme died at the of 73 from esophageal cancer and complications of heart disease on Tuesday, April 25, 2017.

Joanne Howard was the second wife of Director Jonathan Demme; he was born on February 22, 1944in Baldwin, Nassau County in New York to Robert Eugene Demme a public relations executive and his wife Dorothy Louise Demme (nee. Rogers).

Jonathan graduated from the University of Florida and Southwest Miami High School prior to that.

In addition to Silence of the Lambs and Philadelphia, Jonathan Demme worked with Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawk in Swing Swift, The truth About Charlie, Rachel Getting Married with Anne Hathaway and The Manchurian Candidate with Denzel Washington, Liev Schreiber, and Meryl Streep.

Twice Married

As previously noted, Mr. Demme married twice; he and actress Evelyn Mar Purcell, 76, first tied the knot in 1970.

After they divorce, he married Joanne Howard, 57, she was a production associate in the 2006 documentary Neil Young: Heart Of Gold.

Joanne is also the mother of Jonathan’s three children, Ramona, 29, Brooklyn, 26, and Josephine. All three actors; Ramona actress who appeared in Beloved and The Truth about Charlie is also a book author; brother Brooklyn, like his big sister, appeared in Beloved as well as in Ricki and The Flash;  Jos starred in her dad’s 2004 film The Manchurian Candidate, Neil Young: Heart of Gold in 2006 and Rachel Getting Married two years later.

Josephine and Ramona graduated from Oberlin College. Josephine who now resides in Chicago also attended The Oxbow School, Ramona graduated with a bachelor of Arts in 2010, she is an editorial assistant for the Penguin Group, before that she worked with Lucky Magazine; their brother Brooklyn seems to be an artist.

Mrs. Demme aka Joanne Howard graduated from Weston High School, she studied at Hunter College Skidmore College and studied visual arts at Syracuse University.

She is a set designer at Big Dance Theater and also works at SUNY Rockland.