Joan Lee, wife of comics icon Stan Lee, dies at 93

Joan Lee, the longtime wife of Marvel Comics icon Stan Lee, died Thursday in Los Angeles at the age of 93.

A spokesperson for the Lee family said in a statement to EW that Joan “passed away this morning quietly and surrounded by her family. The family ask that you please give them time to grieve and respect their privacy during this difficult time.”

Born in Newcastle-on-Tyne, England, Joan met Stan in 1947 while working as a hat model. Though Joan was already married to an American soldier and Stan had been set up on a date with a friend of hers, the two hit it off and wed six weeks later, after she secured a divorce.

“She was the girl I had been drawing all my life,” Stan would recall.

Marvel, home to the majority Stan’s comic creations and where he was once the executive vice president and publisher, mourned Joan in a statement issued Thursday evening: “We are so saddened to hear about the loss of Joan Lee. We lost a member of the Marvel family today and our thoughts and prayers go out to Stan and his daughter Joan in this difficult time.”

Similarly, the comic community shared condolences on social media, including both New York and San Diego Comic-Con, as well as others in the Hollywood community.

The Lees had two children: Joan Celia, who was born in 1950, and Jan, who died days after her birth in 1953.

Joan published a novel, The Pleasure Palace, in 1987, and also did voice work in the 1990s for the Marvel animated series Spider-Man and Fantastic Four.