Jan Ashley: Her Life, Marriage to Robert Kardashian, and Story Beyond the Kardashians
Jan Ashley, born Janice Lynn Glass, is best remembered as the second wife of attorney Robert Kardashian Sr., father of Kourtney, Kim, Khloé, and Rob Kardashian. Their marriage was remarkably brief, but it was only one chapter in Ashley’s life. Long before meeting Kardashian, she grew up in Oklahoma, became Miss Tulsa, worked for Phillips Petroleum, and spent many years married to Hollywood actor and producer John Ashley. She later returned to the headlines after making a disputed statement about Khloé Kardashian’s paternity. Ashley died in Oklahoma in 2015 at age 67.
Jan Ashley Quick Facts
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full name | Janice Lynn Glass Ashley |
| Known as | Jan Ashley |
| Born | 1948 |
| Birthplace | Amarillo, Texas, United States |
| Raised in | Tulsa, Oklahoma |
| Education | Will Rogers High School |
| Pageant title | Miss Tulsa, 1966 |
| Known occupation | Executive secretary |
| First husband | John Ashley |
| Second husband | Robert Kardashian Sr. |
| Marriage to Robert Kardashian | November 25, 1998 |
| Children | No children documented |
| Died | October 1, 2015 |
| Age at death | 67 |
| Resting place | Forest Lawn Memorial Park, California |
Ashley’s funeral-home record lists August 3, 1948, as her birth date, although the obituary text on the same site gives August 1. For that reason, 1948 is the clearest uncontested birth information to use.
Who Was Jan Ashley?
Jan Ashley was an American former pageant titleholder and executive secretary whose later life became connected to two men with prominent entertainment and legal careers.
Her family obituary says she was born in Amarillo, Texas, before moving to Tulsa, Oklahoma, as a child. She graduated from Will Rogers High School and became Miss Tulsa in 1966. She later worked as executive secretary to Kenneth “Boots” Adams of Phillips Petroleum.
Those details are important because Ashley’s biography is often reduced to her short marriage to Robert Kardashian. In reality, she had already spent decades working and living around Tulsa and California before becoming associated with the Kardashian name.
Jan Ashley and John Ashley
Before Robert Kardashian, Jan Ashley was married to John Ashley, an actor, singer, and television producer whose entertainment career stretched from 1950s movies to successful network television.
Jan’s obituary says she met John after returning to Tulsa and married him in 1978. The couple then moved to California because of his film and television career.
John Ashley had appeared in films including Beach Party and Beach Blanket Bingo before moving increasingly into production work. He later produced or co-produced television programs including The A-Team, Walker, Texas Ranger, and Hardball.
The Oklahoma Historical Society also documents his transition from acting to producing, including his association with The A-Team and his work on films produced in the Philippines.
John Ashley died in New York City on October 3, 1997, at age 62 while working on the film Scarred City. The Los Angeles Times reported his death shortly afterward.
Jan’s marriage to John represented a far longer portion of her adult life than her later marriage to Kardashian.
How Jan Ashley Became Robert Kardashian’s Second Wife
Robert Kardashian Sr. was already nationally known by the time he married Jan Ashley. The attorney had gained enormous media exposure through his friendship with O.J. Simpson and his involvement with Simpson’s legal defense team during the 1995 murder trial.
Robert had previously been married to Kris Jenner. They had four children together—Kourtney, Kim, Khloé, and Rob—and divorced years before he married Ashley.
Robert Kardashian and Jan Ashley married on November 25, 1998. That exact date appears in a sworn declaration Kardashian signed during subsequent proceedings seeking to have the marriage nullified.
Ashley therefore became Kardashian’s second wife, between his marriages to Kris Jenner and Ellen Pierson.
Why Did Jan Ashley and Robert Kardashian’s Marriage End?
The marriage ended very quickly.
Some celebrity profiles describe Jan Ashley and Robert Kardashian as being married for exactly 30 days, but the surviving legal record presents a more cautious timeline. Robert’s May 1999 declaration says he changed his mind about an important part of their marriage approximately two months after the wedding. Mainstream biographical reporting states that their marriage was ultimately annulled.
The clearest first-hand explanation comes directly from Kardashian’s declaration.
He stated that before marrying, he and Ashley had agreed that they would have a child together because Ashley had no children. Kardashian wrote that he subsequently changed his mind because he already had four biological children and did not want additional children. He expressly said that he was the person who changed the plan.
Private relationships can rarely be explained completely through a single legal filing, but this document is considerably stronger evidence than many later stories about why the marriage failed.
Did Jan Ashley Have Children?
There are no documented children from Jan Ashley’s marriages to either John Ashley or Robert Kardashian.
Robert Kardashian’s 1999 declaration specifically stated that Ashley had no children when they married. Her 2015 obituary lists her brother and nephews among surviving relatives but does not identify any sons or daughters.
Claims about children attributed to Ashley on some biography websites therefore should not be treated as established facts.
Jan Ashley and the Khloé Kardashian Paternity Controversy
Ashley’s name returned to entertainment headlines in January 2012 when she and Robert Kardashian’s later wife, Ellen Pierson, made statements questioning whether Robert was Khloé Kardashian’s biological father.
Ashley told Star magazine that Robert had privately told her Khloé was not his biological daughter. The allegation was widely repeated by news outlets at the time. Khloé Kardashian rejected the claims, while Kris Jenner publicly dismissed them during an appearance on Good Morning America.
The allegation was never established as fact.
There is also an important piece of documentary evidence pointing in the opposite direction: Robert Kardashian’s 1999 sworn declaration concerning his marriage to Ashley explicitly said that he already had four biological children.
No conclusive public DNA evidence has established a different biological father for Khloé Kardashian. Ashley’s 2012 statement should therefore be described as a disputed allegation, not as a confirmed part of Khloé Kardashian’s biography.
Jan Ashley’s Later Years and Death
Ashley eventually returned to Oklahoma.
Her obituary states that she moved back to the state in 2012, bringing her life geographically close to where much of her childhood and early adulthood had taken place. She did not develop the kind of television or social-media career associated with the Kardashian family.
Janice Lynn Ashley died on October 1, 2015, at age 67. Floral Haven Funeral Home and Crematory in Oklahoma published her obituary and announced a private family service.
The obituary stated that she would be interred beside John Ashley at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in California. It did not give a cause of death.
Jan Ashley Timeline
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1948 | Born in Amarillo, Texas |
| Childhood | Moved with her family to Tulsa, Oklahoma |
| 1966 | Became Miss Tulsa |
| 1978 | Married actor and producer John Ashley |
| 1997 | John Ashley died in New York City |
| 1998 | Married Robert Kardashian Sr. on November 25 |
| 1999 | Kardashian marriage ended through annulment |
| 2012 | Ashley appeared in news coverage after making a disputed statement about Khloé Kardashian’s paternity |
| 2012 | Returned to Oklahoma |
| 2015 | Died on October 1 at age 67 |
Frequently Asked Questions About Jan Ashley
Who was Jan Ashley?
Jan Ashley, born Janice Lynn Glass, was an American former Miss Tulsa titleholder and executive secretary. She was married to actor and producer John Ashley and later briefly became the second wife of attorney Robert Kardashian Sr.
How long was Jan Ashley married to Robert Kardashian?
Jan Ashley married Robert Kardashian on November 25, 1998. Their relationship broke down soon afterward, and the marriage was annulled. Robert signed a declaration connected to his request for nullity in May 1999.
Why did Robert Kardashian and Jan Ashley separate?
Robert Kardashian stated under oath that they entered the marriage expecting to have a child together but that he later changed his mind because he already had four biological children and did not want more.
Did Jan Ashley have children?
No children are documented in the main available records. Robert Kardashian stated in his 1999 declaration that Ashley had no children, and her obituary does not identify any children among her surviving relatives.
What did Jan Ashley say about Khloé Kardashian?
In 2012, Ashley alleged that Robert Kardashian had privately told her Khloé was not his biological daughter. Khloé and Kris Jenner rejected the allegation. Robert’s own 1999 sworn declaration described him as having four biological children, so Ashley’s later statement remains disputed rather than established fact.
When did Jan Ashley die?
Jan Ashley died on October 1, 2015, at age 67. Her funeral-home obituary stated that she would be interred beside her first husband, John Ashley, at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in California.
Conclusion
Jan Ashley’s connection to Robert Kardashian lasted only a short period, but it became the best-known part of her biography. Her life before that marriage was more substantial than the celebrity connection suggests: she grew up in Tulsa, became Miss Tulsa in 1966, worked as an executive secretary, and spent many years married to actor and producer John Ashley.
Her later comments concerning Khloé Kardashian created headlines, but they remain disputed and should not be presented as established fact. The surviving obituary, contemporary reporting, and Robert Kardashian’s own legal declaration provide a much clearer account of Jan Ashley’s life than unsupported celebrity biographies or speculative net-worth profiles.
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