Nancy Sinatra Sr., the first wife of legendary crooner Frank Sinatra and mother of singers Nancy Sinatra and Frank Sinatra Jr. and singer and film producer Tina Sinatra, has died. She was 101.
Her daughter Nancy Sinatra broke the news on Twitter Friday night, calling her mother “a blessing and the light of my life.”
My mother passed away peacefully tonight at the age of 101. She was a blessing and the light of my life. Godspeed, Momma. Thank you for everything. 😢💙
— Nancy Sinatra (@NancySinatra) July 14, 2018
Born Nancy Barbato in 1917 in Jersey City, New Jersey, she met Frank Sinatra when they were teenagers, and they married in 1939. Daughter Nancy was born a year later. Frank Jr. was born in 1944, and Tina Sinatra was born in 1948.
Frank and Nancy Sinatra Sr. divorced in 1951, when Frank left her to marry actress Ava Gardner. Frank Sinatra divorced Gardner in 1957. He was married to Mia Farrow from 1966 to 1968, and to Barbara Marx from 1976 until his death in 1998. Nancy Sr. never remarried.
Frank Sinatra Jr. died in 2016 at age 72. Nancy Sr. is survived by her daughters, and two grandchildren.