The wife of Marvel Comics legend Stan Lee died Thursday at age 93.
Lee and his family released a statement saying Joan Lee died peacefully Thursday morning. The couple had been married 69 years.
Lee’s longtime publicist Dawn Miller confirmed the statement’s authenticity when contacted by the Associated Press but no additional details were provided and the statement requested privacy.
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Joan had reportedly been hospitalized after suffering a stroke earlier this week, according to Variety.
Stan Lee co-created numerous Marvel Comics superheroes including Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four and the X-Men.
Joan Lee, a former hat model, appeared alongside her husband in his cameo in X-Men: Apocalypse and she lent her voice to a number of animated Marvel projects including The Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, and Iron Man cartoons from the 1990s.
Joan also published a novel in 1987 titled, The Pleasure Palace, about a man striving to build the most luxurious ocean liner ever while romancing several women at once.
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The Hollywood Reporter, which first reported Joan Lee’s death, recounted the couple’s first meeting in a story last year. It said Lee met his future wife while trying to meet another woman for a date in New York. The couple was married in December 1947 and had two daughters, one of whom died days after being born.
The 94-year-old Lee has credited his wife with supporting him early in his career when he was trying to create superheroes that he and others could care about.
Marvel has released a statement offering thoughts and prayers to the Lee family.
“We lost a member of the Marvel family today and our thoughts and prayers go out to Stan and his daughter Joan in this difficult time,” Marvel wrote.
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More condolences started pouring in on Twitter once news of her passing spread.
—With files from The Associated Press
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