10 Facts About Harry Connick Jr.’s Wife, Jill Goodacre

Even after nearly three decades of marriage, the multi-platinum recording artist Harry Connick Jr. still looks at Jill Goodacre like a lovestruck teen. He still only has eyes for her!

“She’s fascinating to me, she’s still mysterious to me, I’m still very interested in her and everything that sort of makes her tick,” he said.

Let’s get to know more about Harry Connick Jr.‘s wife!

1. She’s a Texas native.

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Jill was born on March 29, 1964, in Lubbock, Texas; however, she was raised in Boulder, Colorado. Together with her parents and her brother, Jill moved to Boulder around 1968.

2. Her mother is a famous sculptor.

Jill’s mother is the world-renowned sculptor Glenna Goodacre, who created several famous pieces throughout her life, and is exhibited in more than forty countries. The most famous one is the Vietnam Women’s Memorial in Washington, D.C. – which portrays three uniformed women with a wounded soldier, reminding us of the great support and caregiving roles women played during the war as nurses, air traffic controllers, communication specialists, among others.

She’s also the woman behind the Sacagawea Dollar Coin.

3. She was once engaged to Yannick Noah.

Before finally settling down with Harry, Jill was romantically linked with French tennis star Yannick Noah – there were even claims that the two have been engaged at some point.

4. She is one of Victoria’s Secret’s main catalogue models.

Jill’s biggest breakthrough happened when she became one of the faces of Victoria’s Secret – being the company that swiftly expanded during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Her auburn-haired and envy-enticing body made her a favorite with readers of the catalog, wherein she mostly modeled swimwear, hosiery, and lingerie.

Her rose to fame led to appearances on the David Letterman show and elsewhere.

5. She appeared in one episode of Friends.

'I'm stuck in an ATM vestibule with Jill Goodacre' pic.twitter.com/xHdDM4mAdq

— 𝐄𝐥 𝐁𝐨Я𝐝𝐞𝐫 (@SoyElBorder) February 17, 2021

Jill Goodacre appeared as herself on the first season of NBC television series Friends, on its Episode 7 titled “The One with the Blackout.”

The episode showed a hilarious interaction of Chandler Bling, who found himself stuck in an ATM vestibule with ‘Victoria Secret model Jill Goodacre’ during a New-York City-wide power outage. 

He tried to impress her in many ways, only to fail each time. When he smiled, he did it so much that it creeped her out. When he tried to blow a bubble with the gum, he accidentally spitted it out. And when he tried chewing the gum again, he realized it was somebody else’s gum. Worst of all, he was so shocked that he choked from the gum. Jill had to save his life.

It was the highest-rated episode of Season 1.

6. She caught Harry’s attention at first sight.

Harry met Jill at the height of her modeling career in 1990 at the Sunset Marquis Hotel in Los Angeles, and it was love at first sight for both. Their chemistry was instant that Jill remarked she knew Harry would be the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life “within 30 seconds of meeting him.”

7. She married Harry after four years of dating.

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After two years of dating and two more years of being engaged, Jill and Harry tied the knot in 1994 in St. Louis Cathedral – the oldest cathedral that is still in use in the United States – in front of 300 guests.

8. She was kissed by Frank Sinatra, “right on the mouth.”

During one interview, Harry revealed that he and Jill – who was his girlfriend then – shared an elevator with American singer Frank Sinatra at an event he attended and performed at. While talking to the crooner, Sinatra ignored him and instead kissed Jill “on the mouth, walked out of the elevator, and that was the end of that,” Harry recalled.

Though Jill thought it was hilarious, Harry found it completely inappropriate. 

9. She’s a mother of three.

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Jill is a mother to three gorgeous ladies: Georgia Tatum, 24; Sarah Kate, 23; and Charlotte, 18.

10. She was diagnosed with cancer.

In 2017, Jill revealed that she had been battling breast cancer for five years. She was diagnosed with Stage 1 invasive ductal carcinoma, which required an immediate lumpectomy surgery to remove cancer or other abnormal tissue from her breast, followed by radiation.

And her husband never left her side, giving her all the love and support she needs!

In fact, Harry Connick Jr.’s spouse, Jill Goodacre, is still “the most beautiful woman in the world” for the crooner. “All I wanted to do was grow old with you and have as many years as possible as I could with you,” Harry told Jill during an interview with PEOPLE.