Comedian Jay Leno has been happily married to his wife Mavis for 43 years. Now he is filing for conservatorship over her affairs as she “has been progressively losing capacity and orientation to space and time for several years,” due to Alzheimer’s disease.
A petition filed in court on Friday said, “Jay is fully capable of continuing support for Mavis’s physical and financial needs, as he has throughout their marriage” but is worried about what might happen should he die before her.
Her “current condition renders her incapable of executing the estate plan.” The court documents said she was being treated for “dementia and mood disorder.”
News of Mavis Leno’s diagnosis has not been widely disseminated, so it is unclear how long she has been struggling with the disease, but a hearing for the conservatorship request will reportedly be held on April 9, 2024.
The Lenos do not have children, but Jay wishes to make provisions that would allow him to execute estate plans for his wife and her brother, who is her sole living heir.
Mavis Leno has long been politically active and championed progressive causes, including fighting a proposed California ballot proposition against affirmative action in the mid-1990s.
She was a board member of the Feminist Majority Foundation and chairwoman of its Campaign for Afghan Women and Girls to ensure that “the women and girls of Afghanistan are not forgotten,” according to the group’s website. The foundation’s campaign for Afghan women was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.
Shortly after the Taliban came to power in Afghanistan, Mavis and Jay Leno donated $100,000 as seed money for the Feminist Majority Foundation’s global women’s rights program.
In an interview in the Los Angeles Times author Sue Smalley expressed her admiration for Mavis and her commitment to causes, saying, “she is someone with a strong sense of purpose, compassion and curiosity. She arrives first, on time [and] doesn’t need hair or makeup.”
