Jan Ashley was more than a name linked to the Kardashian family. Long before she married Robert Kardashian Sr., she had been a beauty queen, worked in the business world and spent nearly two decades married to Hollywood actor and producer John Ashley.
Born in Texas and raised in Oklahoma, Jan entered the public eye after winning the Miss Tulsa title in 1966. Her life later took her to California, where she became part of the entertainment world through her first marriage.
However, it was her second marriage, to Robert Kardashian Sr. in 1998, that brought her lasting attention. Their relationship ended quickly, and years later, Jan found herself involved in a widely reported family controversy.
Behind those headlines was a woman whose story began many years before the Kardashian name became famous around the world.
Quick Bio
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Janice Lynn Glass Ashley |
| Popular Name | Jan Ashley |
| Date of Birth | 3 August 1948 |
| Birthplace | Amarillo, Texas, USA |
| Nationality | American |
| Hometown | Tulsa, Oklahoma |
| Education | Will Rogers High School |
| Father | James Douglas Glass |
| Mother | Monnie M. Glass |
| Sibling | Jerry D. Glass (Brother) |
| Profession | Former Beauty Queen and Executive Secretary |
| Beauty Pageant Title | Miss Tulsa 1966 |
| First Husband | John Ashley (Actor and Producer) |
| First Marriage | 1978–1997 |
| Second Husband | Robert Kardashian Sr. (Lawyer) |
| Second Marriage | 25 November 1998 |
| Marriage Status | Annulled in 1999 |
| Children | No publicly documented children |
| Date of Death | 1 October 2015 |
| Age at Death | 67 Years |
Early Life, Family Background and Beauty Pageant Years
Jan Ashley was born Janice Lynn Glass in Amarillo, Texas, in August 1948. Her parents were James Douglas Glass and Monnie M. Glass. According to her family obituary, they moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, when she was seven years old.
She spent much of her childhood in Tulsa and attended Will Rogers High School. Although she would later become connected to Hollywood, her early years were rooted in the Oklahoma community where she grew up.
One of the most important moments in her younger life came in 1966, when she became Miss Tulsa. Historical records from the Miss Oklahoma competition confirm that Janice Lynn Glass represented Tulsa that year.
The title gave her a place in the local beauty pageant scene. It was an achievement she earned long before anyone associated her with Robert Kardashian or his famous children.
Unlike many people who enter the entertainment industry after winning beauty competitions, Jan did not become widely known as an actress or television personality. Instead, she built a career outside show business.
She worked as an executive secretary to K. S. “Boots” Adams, a businessman associated with Phillips Petroleum. Her family obituary records this part of her working life, which is often missing from shorter celebrity biographies.
Her early career shows that she already had a life and professional background of her own. She had worked, taken part in a major local competition and established herself in Tulsa years before moving to California.
Jan also had a brother, Jerry D. Glass. Her obituary later mentioned his wife, Diana, and their three sons, showing the family connections that remained important in accounts of her life.
There is relatively little verified information about her childhood hobbies or personal ambitions. Rather than filling those gaps with guesses, her education, pageant title and employment offer a clearer picture of her younger years.
Marriage to John Ashley and Her Years in Hollywood
Before becoming Robert Kardashian’s wife, Jan spent many years married to John Ashley, an American actor, singer and television producer.
John had already built a career in Hollywood before their relationship began. He appeared in films during the 1950s and 1960s and later moved into television production.
His acting credits included Hud, Beach Party and Beach Blanket Bingo. He also worked behind the scenes on television programmes, including The A-Team and Walker, Texas Ranger.
Jan met John in Tulsa, and the couple married in 1978. Following their wedding, they moved to California, where John continued his career in entertainment.
For Jan, this marriage brought a major change in surroundings. She had previously worked in Oklahoma, but now her home was connected to an industry that attracted national attention.
Even so, she did not build a public acting career of her own. Most available accounts from this period concern John’s professional achievements rather than Jan’s daily activities.
Their marriage continued for nearly nineteen years. It remained an important part of her life until John’s sudden death in October 1997.
The actor died in New York City while working on a film production. He was 62 years old, and contemporary reports identified a heart attack as the cause of death.
His death ended a marriage that had lasted through much of his later career. Jan was left widowed after spending nearly two decades with him.
Details about how she coped with the loss remain private. What is known is that she later entered another relationship, this time with a man whose family would eventually become one of the most recognised in American entertainment.
That man was Robert Kardashian Sr., a lawyer and businessman who had gained national attention through his connection to the O. J. Simpson murder trial.
Her Brief Marriage to Robert Kardashian Sr.
Jan Ashley’s relationship with Robert Kardashian began after the death of her first husband. Robert was already well known as a lawyer and as a close friend of O. J. Simpson.
He had also been married to Kris Jenner, with whom he shared four children: Kourtney, Kim, Khloé and Rob Kardashian.
Robert and Kris had divorced years before Jan entered his life. However, their shared responsibilities as parents meant they remained connected through their children.
Jan and Robert developed a relationship and married on 25 November 1998. For Jan, it was her second marriage. For Robert, it was also his second marriage, following his divorce from Kris.
Their wedding might have marked the beginning of a new chapter for both of them. Instead, the relationship proved unusually short.
The marriage broke down, and the couple’s annulment was dealt with in 1999. Although some online accounts describe their time together as lasting just thirty days, the available legal record provides a more detailed picture.
In a declaration signed on 13 May 1999, Robert explained that he and Jan had discussed having a child together before marrying.
According to his statement, both entered the marriage expecting to become parents together. However, Robert later changed his mind because he already had four biological children and did not want any more.
He stated that his decision changed approximately two months after their wedding. This provides an important explanation recorded in his own words during the annulment proceedings.
Jan later gave a different account of the difficulties surrounding their relationship. She suggested that Robert’s continuing family commitments and the situation involving his former wife had caused problems.
These were personal accounts from people involved in the marriage, and they should not be treated as proof that one person alone caused the relationship to fail.
What is clear is that their marriage did not develop into the lasting partnership they may initially have expected.
The couple had no children together, and Robert went on to marry Ellen Pierson in 2003, shortly before his death from cancer.
Although Jan’s marriage to Robert was brief, it remained the main reason her name appeared in later coverage of the Kardashian family.
The Kardashian Controversy, Later Years and Death
Years after her marriage ended, Jan Ashley returned to entertainment headlines because of comments she made about the Kardashian family.
In January 2012, she and Robert Kardashian’s later wife, Ellen, were quoted in reports questioning whether Robert was Khloé Kardashian’s biological father.
Jan claimed that Robert had spoken to her about doubts concerning Khloé’s parentage during their marriage.
The allegations attracted significant media attention, partly because the Kardashian family had become internationally famous through their reality television programmes.
However, the claims were disputed by the Kardashian family and were not independently verified. They should not be presented as established facts about Khloé’s parentage.
Kris Jenner publicly rejected the allegations and defended Robert as Khloé’s father. Khloé also responded strongly, expressing anger that her late father’s name had been brought into the discussion.
The disagreement became widely reported in celebrity news, placing Jan back in the public conversation long after her relationship with Robert had ended.
For readers trying to understand her life, this controversy is only one part of a much longer story. It happened when she was already in her sixties, decades after her Miss Tulsa win and marriage to John Ashley.
Away from the headlines, Jan maintained a relatively low public profile. There are few reliable records of regular interviews, television appearances or business ventures during her final years.
Her family obituary provides a more personal account of this period. It states that she returned to Oklahoma in 2012, following years spent in California.
Moving back brought her to the state where she had grown up, attended school and begun her working life. The exact personal reasons behind her decision were not publicly explained in detail.
Jan died on 1 October 2015, aged 67. Her death was recorded by Floral Haven Funeral Home in Oklahoma.
Her obituary does not give a confirmed medical cause of death, so reports suggesting a particular illness should be treated with caution.
Her family remembered her as a loving sister and aunt. The obituary also stated that she would be laid to rest beside John Ashley at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in California.
A private family service was arranged, keeping her final farewell away from the kind of public attention that had occasionally followed her during her lifetime.
Jan never became a regular figure in the Kardashian family’s television world. Most of her years were spent outside that spotlight, including her childhood in Tulsa, professional career and long first marriage.
Her story continues to attract interest because of the unusual circumstances surrounding her brief second marriage. Yet the family records also preserve a quieter side of her life that celebrity headlines rarely discussed.
Conclusion
Jan Ashley lived through several very different chapters, from her early success as Miss Tulsa 1966 to her years alongside Hollywood producer John Ashley and her short marriage to Robert Kardashian Sr.
Her connection to the Kardashian family brought her the greatest public attention, particularly after the controversy that emerged in 2012. However, it represented only a small part of her life.
Her family obituary offers a different perspective, remembering her through her relatives, her Oklahoma roots and her long marriage to John.
That wider story matters. Jan’s name may remain connected to one of America’s most famous families, but her life began long before that connection and continued well beyond it.
Also read: Eduardo Tamayo: The Private Life of Tulsi Gabbard’s First Husband
(FAQs)
Who was Jan Ashley?
Jan Ashley was an American former beauty queen best known as the second wife of Robert Kardashian Sr. She won the Miss Tulsa title in 1966 and was previously married to Hollywood actor and producer John Ashley.
When was Jan Ashley born?
Her funeral home’s record lists 3 August 1948 as her birth date, although the obituary text gives 1 August 1948. Both identify Amarillo, Texas, as her birthplace.
Why did Jan Ashley and Robert Kardashian separate?
Their marriage ended after disagreements about their future together. In a 1999 legal declaration, Robert said he had changed his mind about having another child. Jan later also described problems involving his family commitments.
Did Jan Ashley have any children?
Robert Kardashian’s 1999 declaration stated that Jan had no children when they married. The couple did not have children together, and there is no reliable public record confirming that she later became a mother.
When and how did Jan Ashley die?
Jan died on 1 October 2015 at the age of 67. Her family obituary confirms her death but does not publicly establish a specific medical cause.
