Valerie June Carter
8 min read
Reading time
1,492
Words
Published
59
Film credits
June Carter Cash, born Valerie June Carter in 1929, co-wrote the song Ring of Fire with Johnny Cash and won a Grammy for her 1999 album Press On. She was an actress known for The Johnny Cash Show and The Apostle, and a member of the Carter Family. She was married to Johnny Cash from 1968 until her death in 2003.
Names, aliases, and relatives of June Carter Cash — birth name, kin, and personal ties.
June Carter Cash by the numbers — life, work, and family.
June Carter Cash — early life, career, personal life, and legacy.
June Carter Cash began performing in the 1940s as part of the Carter Family, the pioneering country group founded by her mother Maybelle Carter. She was born Valerie June Carter on June 23, 1929 in Maces Springs, Scott County, Virginia. Growing up surrounded by music, she joined her sisters Helen and Anita on stage, helping to bring country music from regional to mainstream popularity with hits like Will the Circle Be Unbroken and Keep on the Sunny Side.
In 1949, June Carter Cash performed with Homer and Jethro on a parody recording of Baby, It’s Cold Outside. She studied acting in the 1950s with director Elia Kazan and acting guru Lee Strasberg at the Neighborhood Playhouse. She co-wrote the song Ring of Fire and, with Johnny Cash, won a Grammy in 1967 for Jackson and another in 1970 for If I Were a Carpenter. Her solo album Press On won a Grammy for Best Folk Album in 1999. On screen, she appeared as Sister Ruth on Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman and as Mrs. Dewey Sr. in The Apostle 1997.
June Carter Cash was married three times. She married honky-tonk singer Carl Smith in 1952, divorcing in 1956; together they had daughter Carlene Carter. In 1957 she married Edwin Rip Nix, with whom she had daughter Rosie Nix Adams; they divorced in 1966. She married Johnny Cash on March 1, 1968, and they remained together until her death. Their son John Carter Cash was born in 1970. She was stepmother to Johnny’s daughters Rosanne, Kathy, Cindy, and Tara Cash. Elvis Presley introduced her to Johnny Cash’s music in the mid-1950s, and a chance meeting at the Grand Ole Opry led to their professional and romantic partnership.
June Carter Cash’s songwriting contributions, especially Ring of Fire, remain enduring classics in country music. She earned Grammys for her duets with Johnny Cash and a solo Grammy for Press On in 1999. Her life and career were portrayed by Reese Witherspoon in the 2005 film Walk the Line. She is remembered as a key figure in the Carter Family dynasty and as a versatile performer who bridged country music and acting.
The complete filmography of June Carter Cash — every film, TV show, and documentary credit, ranked by popularity.
A wall of memorable lines from June Carter Cash — lyrics, interviews, and off-the-cuff remarks captured over a lifetime.
I’m Older Than Johnny Cash, but I Deserve to Be. … by the Time I Met Johnny, He Had so Many Miles on Him, I’ll Never Catch Up.
Little-known facts about June Carter Cash — origins, oddities, and behind-the-scenes details from a public life.
Elvis Presley introduced June to the music of Johnny Cash in the mid-50s; she began working with Johnny after a chance meeting at the Grand Ole Opry a few years later. She retired from her solo singing career after marrying Cash in 1968.
June Carter Cash was a distant cousin of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter.
She was godmother of country music star Hank Williams Jr.
She began her career in the 1940s as a member of the Carter Family, a pioneering force in country music’s jump from regional to mainstream popularity. Two of their biggest hits were Will the Circle Be Unbroken and Keep on the Sunny Side.
Among those who attended her funeral were Karen Adams, Anna Bisceglia, Martha Brooks, Ronnie Dunn, Robert Duvall, Rosemary Edelman, Betty Hagewood, Kelly Hancock, Shirley Huffines, James Keach, Merle Kilgore, Peggy Knight, Kris Kristofferson, Luke Lewis, Dan McKinnon, Willie Nelson, Karen Robin, Lou Robin, Scott Robinson, Michele Rollins, Rick Rubin, Jane Seymour, Ramona Stratton, Lisa Trice, Hank Williams Jr., Marie Wolfe, Roland Wolfe, and Wayne Womack.
She studied acting in the 1950s with director Elia Kazan and acting guru Lee Strasberg.
In the 1950s, she was married twice: first to honky-tonk singer Carl Smith daughter: Rebecca Carlene Carter and then to Edwin Rip Nix daughter: Rozanna Rosey Nix Adams. Both daughters became singers. John Carter Cash, born in 1970, was the son from her marriage to Johnny Cash.
She was the sister of Anita Carter and Helen Carter.
She was the daughter of late country singer and matriarch Mother Maybelle Carter.
She is portrayed by Reese Witherspoon in Walk the Line 2005.
She performed with Homer and Jethro on their 1949 parody recording of the Frank Loesser composition Baby, It’s Cold Outside.
She was mother of John Carter Cash, Rosey Nix Adams, and Carlene Carter.
She was stepmother of Rosanne Cash, Tara Cash, Kathy Cash, and Cindy Cash.
She co-wrote hits like Ring of Fire, Long-Legged Guitar Pickin’ Man, and Jackson, the latter winning her and husband Johnny Cash a Grammy in 1967. They shared a second Grammy for their 1970 interpretation of If I Were a Carpenter. Her only solo Grammy came from her 1999 album Press On, which won Best Folk Album.
She was ex-mother-in-law of Nick Lowe.
She was sister-in-law of Tommy Cash, Reba Hancock, and Joanne Cash Yates.
She was aunt of Kelly Cash and Lorrie Bennett.
A book titled Anchored in Love: An Intimate Portrait of June Carter Cash was released by her son John Carter Cash.
She was stepmother of country music star Rosanne Cash.
Her biography appears in The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives, Volume 7, 2003-2005, pages 76-78.
She had a cousin, Gladys Swiney, who resides in Appalachia, Virginia.
Quick answers to the questions readers ask most about June Carter Cash.
Celebrities similar to June Carter Cash — same craft, ranked by reach.
🇺🇸 United States
🇮🇪 Ireland
🇺🇸 United States
🇨🇦 Canada
🇺🇸 United States
🇺🇸 United States
🇺🇸 United States
🇺🇸 United States
🇺🇸 United States
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
🇺🇸 United States
🇺🇸 United States
