Jane Henson, Muppets Cocreator, Dies at 78

Thanks to her and husband Jim Henson, the world got to know Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy and many others

Puppeteer Jane Henson, who helped create the Muppets with husband Jim Henson, has died. She was 78.

According to the Jim Henson Co., Jane passed away on Tuesday at her home in Greenwhich, Conn., from cancer.

Jane and Jim met in a puppetry class at the University of Maryland in 1954, and the two worked together to eventually bring such iconic characters as Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy and Big Bird (just to name a few, of course) to life.

The couple married in 1959 but became legally separated in 1986. Two years after Jim's passing in 1990, Jane founded the Jim Henson Legacy, and in 2001, she established the Jane Henson Foundation for philanthropic work.

Jane and Jim had five children together.

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