‘Everyone needs a Joan in their life’: As she dies aged 80, how a ship carpenter’s daughter from Glasgow became Lady Branson, her besotted billionaire husband Sir Richard’s ‘constant rock’

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Joan Branson, aged 80, passed away on Tuesday. For 49 years, she was a steadfast and supportive partner to her husband, Sir Richard Branson, both in their personal life and in building his Virgin business empire.

It really broke my heart to see, just days before his wife passed away, that he’d shared a photo of them together. It was a sweet moment – him kissing her forehead – and the caption he wrote was just beautiful: ‘Everyone needs a Joan in their life.’ It really showed how much he loved her.

Sir Richard had known the talented and charming Scottish woman since the early days of Virgin Records, when it was a small company with only a handful of artists.

They first connected in 1976 at The Manor, a residential recording studio owned by the company. This happened three years after Mike Oldfield’s album, Tubular Bells, had made Virgin Records famous, going on to sell approximately 15 million copies globally.

Despite this, the company continued to support lesser-known progressive rock bands. It wasn’t until the next year, with the signing of the Sex Pistols, that it began to include music from more popular genres like punk.

I’ve always been a big Sir Richard Branson fan, and I was fascinated to learn about how he met his wife, Joan. Apparently, while things were stable in his business world, his personal life was completely changed the instant he saw her! He’s said himself that he ‘fell in love’ immediately – he saw her making a cup of tea in the studio and that was it. It’s such a sweet and unexpected story!

Once he discovered she worked at a small antique shop in Westbourne Grove, he began to pursue her, showing the same determined effort he’s used to succeed in business for the past fifty years.

In a 2015 blog post marking her 70th birthday, Sir Richard described Joan as a unique woman: a naturally beautiful, grounded Scottish lady who wouldn’t tolerate nonsense.

I spent a lot of time at her shop, buying things over and over, hoping to get her attention and eventually win her over.

Born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1945, Joan Templeman grew up in a large family with modest means. Her father was a ship carpenter who worked hard to provide for her and her six brothers and sisters.

Even though her husband was famous, she always valued her privacy and stayed out of the spotlight, rarely speaking to the media.

Winning her over would be a challenge for Sir Richard, and he ended up spending a lot of money in her shop before they started dating.

Among the collected items was a ‘Now, That’s What I Call Music’ sign, which later sparked the idea for the record company’s hugely successful compilation albums.

According to the story, Sir Richard was having trouble naming these unique records when he glanced at his wall, saw a particular slogan, and immediately realized he’d found the perfect inspiration.

He once wrote in a blog post from 2020 that he usually forms an opinion of someone within the first 30 seconds of meeting them, and he knew almost immediately upon seeing Joan that he liked her.

During my visits with Joan over several weeks, I gathered a wonderful collection of vintage, hand-painted tin signs. They advertised all sorts of things, like Hovis bread and Woodbine cigarettes.

This was only the beginning. After they started dating later in the year, Sir Richard tried to win over his Scottish girlfriend by buying a whole island.

Let me tell you, sometimes the grandest gestures come from the simplest desires! I heard a fascinating story about how one very successful businessman actually bought Necker Island – yes, the whole island! – just to impress a woman named Joan. Apparently, he’d managed to score an amazing, fully-paid trip to see it back in the late 70s, and he was so captivated – and wanted to make such an impression – that he ended up purchasing it! It just goes to show, a little romance can lead to extraordinary things.

After arriving by helicopter and walking a red carpet, the couple found themselves having to find their own way back to the UK. This happened because Sir Richard offered only $100,000 for whatever they were selling, and that offer was immediately turned down.

Sir Richard’s determination ultimately succeeded. After a year of resourceful effort – gathering funds through any means possible – he was able to purchase the island for $180,000.

Eleven years after his initial connection to the island, he married Joan there. Today, the island is estimated to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

The pair were wed in 1989 when their two children, Holly and Sam, were eight and four. 

Artie and Etta are the children of Holly, while Lola is Holly and Fred’s daughter. Sam and Isabella’s children are Eva-Deia and Bluey Rafe Richard, making a total of five grandchildren for the couple.

Joan has consistently supported Sir Richard as his company, Virgin, grew from a hopeful new record label into one of the UK’s biggest and most successful international businesses.

This isn’t just luck; the billionaire often praises his wife not only for being a supportive partner, but also for her keen business sense.

Indeed, Sir Richard most commonly praises her as a ‘rock’ and ‘source of wisdom’. 

Celebrating 45 years since they first met in west London in 2020, he shared how much he appreciated Joan. He said she’s consistently offered him sound advice and has greatly influenced many of his positive life choices.

In 2015, he had said: ‘As the saying goes, behind every man there’s a great woman.

Joan, you’re amazing! Happy birthday, and I’m so glad you decided to join me on this journey.

Sir Richard announced the sad news on Tuesday that his wife, Joan, with whom he shared 50 years of life and partnership, had passed away. He expressed deep sorrow in his farewell message.

‘She was the most wonderful mum and grandmum our kids and grandkids could have ever wished for.

‘She was my best friend, my rock, my guiding light, my world. Love you forever, Joan x’

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2025-11-26 00:39