Jane Benyo is famously known as the wife of American Musician Tom Petty. It was Jane who was the inspiration behind the song Edge of Seventeen by Stevie Nicks. It was when Jane began narrating when she met Tom Petty, she said “at the age of seventeen” whereas Stevie Nicks perceived her statement to be “edge of seventeen”, a confusion because of her heavy southern accent, this incident led him to title the song according to what he misheard.

Personal Life

There is very little information about Jane Benyo and her personal life, prior to her meeting Tom Petty. Reportedly, the duo met in Gainesville, Florida, which was co-incidentally their hometown as well. They began dating as teenagers and were in high school. Shortly after this they began living together. However, Tom began encountering unprecedented success in his career and therefore a move to Hollywood, Los Angeles was inevitable, but he didn’t want to move out of Florida without Jane Benyo and decided to cement their relationship by getting married in 1974.

However, the marriage wasn’t a stable one as Jane was a drug addict and was suffering from mental illness, this was a catalyst for his own drug addiction and depression related issues. One evening when Tom returned back home post finishing his work at the recording studio he found Jane Benyo in the hallway, passed out. The reason behind this wasn’t just alcohol, it was a heavy dose of heroin as well. Additionally, Tom’s subsequent audition to heroin combined with his rock-star lifestyle mounted the pressure in her personal family life.

The couple did have two children together, both being daughters. The older daughter being Adria, who was born in 1974, she is a movie director. While the younger daughter is AnnaKim Violette, who is an artist and a musician.

In an interview about Tom’s biography Adria confessed that Jane Benyo’s insecurities was the major reason for her addiction to heroin and that addiction had led to her turning violent and abusive towards her daughters, and even her husband at times.

The couple separated after 12 long years when their divorce was granted in the year 1996.One of the major reasons for divorce stemmed from the fact that Tom’s packed schedule and busy day to day life left him with very little time for Jane Benyo. The differences led to the couple almost fighting every single day. Fans were hugely disappointed when the couple separated as they were together for more than 20 years. Post his divorce to Jane Benyo, Tom Petty moved on and married Dana York in the year 2001. It was her contribution to which Petty decided to come clean and improve his relationship with his children.

Professionally Jane Benyo didn’t pursue her own career, instead she decided to be a housewife while Tom pursued his career. Her exact net worth isn’t known, yet her divorce settlement with Tom Petty did gain her a couple of million dollars and some property.