Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson has announced the death of his wife Joan, aged 80, describing her as his “best friend, rock, and guiding light.”
In a heartfelt Instagram post, the 75‑year‑old entrepreneur wrote: “Heartbroken to share that Joan, my wife and partner for 50 years, has passed away. She was my best friend, my rock, my guiding light, my world. Love you forever, Joan x.”
The couple married in 1989 on Necker Island, Branson’s private Caribbean retreat, and had three children — Holly, Sam, and Clare Sarah, who tragically died after four days — along with five grandchildren.
Joan, raised in Glasgow, worked in a pawnbroker’s shop before moving to London, where she met Branson at a Portobello Road bric‑a‑brac store.
Their daughter Holly once recalled how her father visited daily, buying items he didn’t need just to see her mother.
Holly described Joan as “a stay‑at‑home mum who was always there with a hug, inspiring words of wisdom, and a beautiful, welcoming smile.”
Branson himself previously wrote that he “fell for Joan almost from the moment I saw her.”
The couple met in 1976 at The Manor, a live-in recording studio for Virgin Records.
He has previously revealed how he was taken in by the ‘beautiful, witty, down-to-earth‘ woman when she visited the studio in West London.
After finding out that she worked at a nearby, he recalls how he set about wooing her.
“To win her heart, I had to persistently hang around the shop and buy countless objects before we started courting….“
He signed off the blog: “As the saying goes, behind every man there’s a great woman.”
“Joan you are the greatest woman of all. Happy birthday and thank you for choosing to come on this adventure with me.“
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