Joyce DeWitt: What Happened to the Three’s Company Star

For millions of Americans who grew up in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Joyce DeWitt was the girl next door as Janet Wood on ABC’s smash sitcom Three’s Company. After the show ended in 1984 after eight seasons, DeWitt largely vanished from the public eye — by choice.

Born: April 23, 1949 ·
Age (as of 2024): 75 ·
Best known role: Janet Wood on Three’s Company ·
Three’s Company run: 1977–1984 ·
Marital status: Never married

The seven key facts about Joyce DeWitt’s life tell a story of careful privacy and deliberate career choices.

What Ever Happened to Joyce DeWitt?

Joyce DeWitt’s life after Three’s Company

When Three’s Company ended in 1984, DeWitt did not follow the typical path of a sitcom star. Instead of immediately taking another network role, she stepped back. Reports from People magazine note that she continued acting through theater work and occasional TV and film appearances, but the Hollywood engine was not for her. She had already earned a master’s degree in theater from UCLA and seemed to prioritize craft over celebrity.

Her current activities in 2024

• Still alive and resides in Los Angeles (Legit.ng article)
• Performs in regional theater productions (Remind Magazine article)
• Occasionally attends fan conventions (Remind Magazine article)
• Recent film role: Ask Me to Dance (2022) (Remind Magazine article)

Is she still acting?

Yes, but selectively. A 2011 interview with SitcomsOnline interview described her stage career as spanning more than forty years. Her most recent credited film role is in Ask Me to Dance (2022), and she continues to perform in regional theater across the country. The pace is slower, but the work is still there.

The trade-off DeWitt traded network fame for creative control. The cost: she largely disappeared from the public eye for nearly two decades. The gain: a career that she actually shaped, rather than one that shaped her.

The pattern: DeWitt consistently chose personal boundaries over public visibility.

Who Has Passed Away from Three’s Company?

John Ritter (2003)

The most devastating loss for the cast. John Ritter, who played Jack Tripper, died on September 11, 2003, from an aortic dissection. He was 54. His death was sudden and shocked the entertainment world. For DeWitt, it was deeply personal. In public statements, she described him as a great friend.

Suzanne Somers (2023)

Suzanne Somers, who played Chrissy Snow, died on October 15, 2023, at age 76. The cause was breast cancer, a battle she had fought for decades. Somers’ death marked the end of an era for the show’s three leads.

Other cast members

• Audra Lindley (Mrs. Roper) — died 1997
• Norman Fell (Mr. Roper) — died 1998
• Don Knotts (Mr. Furley) — died 2006
• Ann Wedgeworth (Lana) — died 2017

The implication: of the main cast, Joyce DeWitt is now the last surviving core tenant of the original Three’s Company apartment.

Was Joyce DeWitt in Love with John Ritter?

Joyce DeWitt’s friendship with John Ritter

Both DeWitt and Ritter publicly denied any romantic involvement. But the question has persisted for decades, partly because of their undeniable on-screen chemistry. In interviews, DeWitt has described Ritter as a close friend and a brilliant comic actor. She was visibly shaken by his sudden death in 2003 and has spoken about the loss with genuine emotion.

Rumored romance

• No credible evidence of a romantic relationship has ever emerged from either party
• Both were in separate relationships during the show’s run
• The rumor appears to be driven by fan speculation and their close on-set friendship

Public statements

DeWitt has remained consistent: they were friends, nothing more. She has been quoted saying, “He was a great friend,” directly addressing the speculation in a 2012 interview. The pattern is clear: the public wanted a love story. The truth is simpler.

The implication: fan speculation does not equal fact.

Did Joyce DeWitt Ever Marry?

Joyce DeWitt’s relationship history

DeWitt was in a long-term relationship with actor Ray Buktenica, whom she met during a stage production. According to Legit.ng article, the relationship lasted from 1973 to 1980. Other sources give different timelines — Tuko.co.ke biography reports the relationship spanned about seven years and ended in 1986. The discrepancy itself is telling: DeWitt has kept her private life extremely guarded.

Why she never married

• She has never publicly explained her reasons
• No confirmed marriages exist on public record
• Some sources claim she was married to Buktenica between 1979–1986, but this is contradicted by other records (Famous Birthdays page)

The catch: the public record is contradictory enough that no definitive statement can be made about her marital history. What is certain is that she has no children and has never confirmed being married.

Her views on marriage

DeWitt has largely avoided discussing marriage in interviews. She has never made a declarative statement about why she chose not to marry, which is itself a statement. The absence of an explanation is the explanation: some people simply prefer privacy over public narratives.

What this means: some stories remain private by design.

What Was the One Line Joyce DeWitt Refused to Say?

The line ‘I’m a woman’ in a specific episode

During the run of Three’s Company, DeWitt was asked to deliver a line in which Janet Wood would exclaim, “I’m a woman!” as part of a physical comedy bit. She refused. Her reasoning was simple: she felt the line was demeaning and didn’t think it was funny (People).

Context of the refusal

• The line was written as a punchline to a misunderstanding about Janet’s femininity
• DeWitt believed the joke relied on a degrading stereotype
• She insisted the line be removed or rewritten

Her rationale

In a 2012 interview, DeWitt explained that she felt the joke reduced her character to a punchline about gender identity, which she found uncomfortable. She did not want to mock the very idea of being a woman. The writers relented, and the line was cut. It is a small moment that reveals a great deal about DeWitt’s principles: even at the height of her fame, she was willing to push back.

The catch: one line refusal reveals a principle that lasted her whole career.

Timeline

• 1949: Born (Legit.ng article)
• 1977: Three’s Company premieres (People)
• 1984: Three’s Company ends (People)
• 2003: John Ritter dies (People)
• 2012: Returns to stage in Miss Abigail’s Guide to Dating, Mating, and Marriage (Remind Magazine article)
• 2023: Suzanne Somers dies (People)
• 2024: Still alive (Legit.ng article)

For a deeper look at her journey away from the spotlight, read more about Joyce DeWitts life after Threes Company.

Frequently asked questions

“He was a great friend.”

— Joyce DeWitt on John Ritter (People magazine)

DeWitt later explained that she didn’t think the line was funny (People).

Joyce DeWitt’s story is not a cautionary tale or a mystery. It is a story of deliberate boundaries. She chose regional theater over network fame, privacy over tabloid narratives, and friendship over manufactured romance narratives. For anyone writing about her, the task is not to uncover what she is hiding. The task is to respect what she has chosen to keep. Joyce DeWitt’s life after the show demonstrates that privacy and personal choice are worth more than public expectation.