TLDR: Carolyn Jones was an Academy Award-nominated actress and a genuine Hollywood star before she played Morticia Addams in 1964. She married Aaron Spelling before he became a television mogul. She had no biological children. She died on August 3, 1983, at age 53, from colon cancer, and no, she is not related to Catherine Zeta-Jones.
Millions of Americans know exactly what Morticia Addams looks like: the floor-length black dress, the white face, the raven hair flowing down to her waist, the slow, serene walk of a woman who has decided the world is simply there to be observed.
What most of them do not know is that the woman underneath all of that was a Texas girl with naturally dark hair, a sharp comedic mind, and a career impressive enough to stand entirely on its own without the Addams family attached to it.
From Amarillo to Hollywood
Carolyn Sue Jones was born on April 28, 1930, in Amarillo, Texas, the daughter of a mother who encouraged her performing ambitions from an early age.
She moved to Los Angeles in her late teens, studied at the Pasadena Playhouse, and began landing film roles in the early 1950s.
Her breakthrough came in 1957 when she earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her role in The Bachelor Party, playing a lonely young woman at a bachelor party who makes one of the film’s men briefly reconsider his choices.
She was 27 years old at the time of the nomination and seemed positioned for a major dramatic career. The roles that followed were good but not quite commensurate with her talent, the familiar Hollywood story of a woman who demonstrated she could do more than the industry was willing to give her.
The Aaron Spelling Marriage
In 1957, the same year as her Oscar nomination, Carolyn Jones married Aaron Spelling, then a struggling young writer and producer who had not yet built the television empire that would eventually make him one of Hollywood’s most powerful figures.
The marriage lasted until 1964, the same year The Addams Family premiered.
By the time of their divorce, Spelling was beginning his rise; Jones was about to become nationally famous in a role that would define how the public saw her for the rest of her life.
She had no children with Spelling or with any of her subsequent husbands.
The Real Hair, the Real Person
One of the persistent questions about Jones is whether her black hair was dyed for the role. It was not. Her hair was naturally dark, one of the reasons she was well suited to Morticia’s look without extensive costume intervention.
On set she was warm and professional. John Astin has spoken about their working relationship with genuine affection, describing a genuine chemistry between them that made the Gomez and Morticia romance feel credible rather than performed.
She was a documented heavy smoker throughout her life, which would eventually contribute to the illness that killed her.
After the Addams Family
When the show was cancelled in 1966, Jones returned to the working actress circuit she had navigated before Morticia arrived.
She appeared in television films, guest-starred on drama series, and married twice more, first to producer Herbert Greene in 1968 and then to actor David Huddleston in 1977.
By the late 1970s her health was declining. She was diagnosed with colon cancer and spent her final years managing a serious illness while continuing to work when her health allowed.
Her last major role was a recurring part on the television series Capitol in the early 1980s.
Carolyn Jones died on August 3, 1983, in West Hollywood, California, at age 53. Her estate passed primarily to her fourth husband, Peter Bailey-Britton, whom she had married shortly before her death.
Is She Related to Catherine Zeta-Jones?
No. This question appears in search results frequently enough that it deserves a direct answer. Catherine Zeta-Jones was born in Wales in 1969 and her surname comes from her Welsh heritage.
Carolyn Jones was born in Texas in 1930 to a family with no documented connection to the Zeta-Jones family. The shared surname is a coincidence.
Carolyn Jones and Morticia Addams: Frequently Asked Questions
How did Carolyn Jones die?
Carolyn Jones died on August 3, 1983, at age 53, from colon cancer. She had been ill for several years before her death and was a documented heavy smoker throughout her life.
Was Carolyn Jones related to Catherine Zeta-Jones?
No. The shared surname is a coincidence. Carolyn Jones was from Amarillo, Texas, and Catherine Zeta-Jones is from Wales. There is no documented family connection between them.
Did Carolyn Jones have children?
No. Carolyn Jones had no biological children with any of her four husbands, including Aaron Spelling.
