Melinda Wayne: Facts about John Wayne's daughter

December 2023 · 3 minute read

Melinda Wayne is the daughter of John Wayne. Melinda Wayne’s father John was an American actor and director who rose to fame as a leading man in films made during Hollywood’s Golden Age, particularly Westerns and war films.

Melinda Wayne: Bio Summary

NameMelinda Wayne
Famous asDaughter of John Wayne
Date of BirthDecember 3, 1940
Birthplace Los Angeles, California, United States
Age at the time of death82 years old in 2022
place of death California, United States of America
EthnicityCaucasian
NationalityAmerican
Zodiac SignCapricorn
Spouses Gregory Munoz (m. 1964–1985)
Children Matthew Munoz
Parents Father- John Wayne, Mother- Josephine Wayne

Melinda Wayne was born on December 3, 1940, in Los Angeles, California, USA. She is an actress, known for The Quiet Man (1952). Melinda is also popular for being the daughter of John Wayne and his wife Josephine Wayne.

She is not the only child of her parents, she has seven other siblings. She is the sister of Michael Wayne, Patrick Wayne, and Toni Wayne. Her Half-sisters are Aissa Wayne, Ethan Wayne, and Marisa Wayne.

Melinda Wayne was previously married to Gregory Munoz. They got married on 4 April 1964 in a beautiful ceremony in the presence of their friends, family, and loved ones. Their marriage was blessed with 5 children. One of their children is called Matthew Munoz. The couple later divorced, Melinda Wayne and her husband divorced in May 1985.

How did Melinda Wayne’s Parents meet?

How did Melinda’s parents meet and fall in love and get married? Aged 15 or 16 when Josephine Wayne whose name then was Josephine Saenz met John Wayne, an actor in college still named Marion Morrison, while at a beach party in Balboa, California. Their relationship met with considerable resistance from her Catholic family because he was a Presbyterian.

After courting for seven years, John Wayne’s financial status improved considerably due to his success at the box office, and he was able to convince her family to allow him to marry Josephine.

The couple married on June 24, 1933, in a garden ceremony at actress Loretta Young’s home in the presence of their family, friends, and loved ones. They later got married and had four children. However, it was John Wayne’s infidelity and Josphine’s indignation that ended their marriage. 

Although he enrolled in a cancer vaccine study in an attempt to ward off the disease, Melinda Wayne’s father, John also died of stomach cancer on June 11, 1979, at the UCLA Medical Center. He was buried in the Pacific View Memorial Park Cemetery in Corona del Mar, Newport Beach.

According to Melinda Wayne’s brother Patrick and her son Matthew Muñoz, who was a priest in the California Diocese of Orange, John Wayne converted to Roman Catholicism shortly before his death. He requested that his tombstone read “Feo, Fuerte y Formal”, a Spanish epitaph Wayne described as meaning “ugly, strong, and dignified”. His grave, which was unmarked for 20 years, has been marked since 1999 with the quotation:

Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It’s perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we’ve learned something from yesterday.

How did Melinda Wayne Munoz die?

John Wayne’s social media page announced the death of his daughter, Melinda Wayne Munoz. She passed away unexpectedly at the age of 82.

The statement described Melinda as “warm, welcoming, and passionate” and can make anyone around her laugh. However, the circumstances surrounding her death were never made public upon posting. The main cause of her death was not made public.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pbXCsqurnZ6ZwG%2BvzqZmpp2cnrulrYywmLKmlWKzoq%2FTrGSamp%2BqwW62zqGlZq%2BRrrumv4ydmK6fmKmys3s%3D

ncG1vNJzZmiclaKuu7vNnmWapaNoe6W1xqKrmqSfmLKiutKpmJydo2OwsLmOppyloZ6Zrm7DwLKlnmWWlrC1v4yamaitpGK3sLTNZq6asZ6aerR5w5qsoKCkmr9ugJVyanFmmKm6rQ%3D%3D