All About Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn Carter's Children and Grandchildren

Mar. 15, 2025

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Jimmy CarterandRosalynn Carterbuilt a huge family, and they wouldn’t have had it any other way.

The former president,who died on Dec. 29 at age 100, and first lady shared sons John William “Jack,” James Earl “Chip,” Donnel Jeffrey “Jeff” and daughter Amy Carter. Between their four adult children, they had 22 grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Speaking onThe Lead with Jake Tapperin 2015, Jimmy said that the key to his decades-long marriage was simply embracing time with their family.

“We have a big family now. We have 22 grandchildren and great-grandchildren, 38 of us in all,” he said. “So, we try to hold our family together and just enjoy the family life.”

Jimmybecame the longest-living presidentwhen heturned 98 in October 2022, and his grandchildren have ensured that his legacy will live on. His grandson Jason Carter, who serves on The Carter Center board of trustees, told PEOPLE: “It’s been awe-inspiring to watch my grandfather live out his values for all these decades. My earliest memories are from his years in the White House, and I’ve grown up witnessing and learning from his faith and his belief in equal treatment and respect for all people.”

Jimmy made his final public appearance at Rosalynn’s funeral, and he died over a year later, on Dec. 29, at their Georgia home, his son James confirmed.

Here’s everything to know about Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter’s children and grandchildren.

Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter’s Children

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John William “Jack” Carter, 77

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John William “Jack” Carteris Jimmy and Rosalynn’s eldest child, born in Portsmouth, Va., on July 3, 1947, while Jimmy was serving in the Navy.

In 1971, Jack married Juliette “Judy” Langford, with whom he welcomed son Jason James, born Aug. 7, 1975, and daughter Sarah Rosemary, born on Dec. 19, 1978.

After being discharged from the Navy, Jack went back to Georgia Tech, where he graduated with a degree in nuclear physics, perthe Jimmy Carter Library. He then enrolled at the University of Georgia, where he got a law degree. He began practicing law with Langford’s father, Georgia state Sen. James Beverly Langford, before working on his father’s 1976 presidential campaign efforts.

Jack and Langford resided in Calhoun, Ga., until 1981, when their family moved to Chicago. There, he worked for Citibank as well as the Chicago Board of Trade.

He and Langford eventually divorced, and he married his second wife, Elizabeth Brasfield, on May 15, 1992. He is the stepfather to her children, John Chuldenko and Sarah Reynolds. The family moved to Las Vegas in 2003.

In August 2006, Jack won the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Nevada,NBC Newsreported, but he later lost the general election to incumbent Republican Sen. John Ensign, who would resign from the role in 2011.

James Earl “Chip” Carter III, 74

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James Earl “Chip” Carter IIIis Jimmy and Rosalynn’s second son, born April 12, 1950, in Honolulu, Hawaii.

At the time, Jimmy was stationed in the Hawaiian capital during his Navy service. After being educated in local public schools, Chip worked in the family peanut warehouse before being elected to the Plains city council and working on the Democratic National Committee, he told theUniversity of Georgiain 2008. In 2000, he became the president of the Friendship Force, an international exchange program that his parents co-founded.

In the documentaryJimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President, Jimmy revealed that singerWillie Nelsonand Chip hadsmoked poton the White House roof. In 2015, Chip toldGQthat Nelson told him to keep it a secret.

“When Willie Nelson wrote his autobiography, he confessed that he smoked pot in the White House one night when he was spending the night with me,” Jimmy recalled in the documentary. “And he says that his companion that shared the pot with him was one of the servants in the White House. That is not exactly true — it actually was one of my sons, which he didn’t want to categorize as a pot-smoker like him.”

Chip married Caron Griffin on June 23, 1973, after meeting her three years earlier during his father’s campaign for governor in Georgia. They share a son named James Earl Carter IV, born on Feb. 25, 1977. Chip moved out of the White House in August 1977,theWashington Postreported, amid a rumored separation from Caron. He and Caron finalized their divorce in 1980, perthePost.

He later married Ginger Hodges, with whom he welcomed daughter Margaret Alicia Carter on Sept. 23, 1987. Chip and Hodges also divorced; in 2001, he married his third wife, Becky Payne, with whom he lives in Decatur, Georgia.

Donnel Jeffrey “Jeff” Carter, 72

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The Carters' third son, Donnel Jeffrey “Jeff” Carter, was born on Aug. 18, 1952, in New London, Conn.

Jeff met his wife, Annette Davis, on their first day of college at Georgia Southwestern University; they married four years later on April 6, 1975. In 1978, Jeff graduated with honors from George Washington University, where he studied geography and specialized in computer cartography, perTIME magazine. He and his former professor co-founded their company Computer Mapping Consultants that same year.

Before the Carter presidency ended, Jeff and Annette moved out of the White House to raise their three sons, Joshua Jeffrey (born in 1984), Jeremy Davis (born in 1987) and James Carlton (born in 1991). Annettedied on Sept. 19, 2021, at age 68.

In October 2024, Joshua told PEOPLE that Jeff had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and had been using deep brain stimulation therapy to manage his symptoms.

He added, “He’s not very open about it because he doesn’t want to be the face of anything. It’s just, Parkinson’s sucks. It’s a hard disease. It’s a hard diagnosis.”

Amy Lynn Carter, 57

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Jimmy and Rosalynn’s youngest child and only daughter,Amy Lynn Carter, was born on Oct. 19, 1967, in Plains.

She spent most of her formative years in the White House during her father’s administration.

Amy garnered worldwide attention at 9 years old when she read books during a state dinner hosting Canada’s Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau (father ofJustin Trudeau),reported theWashington Post.

When President Carter’s term ended, Amy moved to Atlanta. In summer 1982, she served as a Senate page in Washington, D.C. She graduated from the Woodward Academy and later enrolled at Brown University but was dismissed for poor academic performance in July 1987,according to theWashington Post. Amy went on to get her bachelor’s degree from theMemphis College of Artin 1991 and her master’s in art history from Tulane University in 1996.

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Amy was politically active from a young age, participating in numerous protests, including ones against U.S. foreign policy in Central America and apartheid in South Africa. In 1986, Amy and several others were arrested forprotesting CIA recruitmentat the University of Massachusetts Amherst;theNew York Timeslater reported that Amy and 14 other protesters were acquitted of charges of disorderly conduct and trespassing.

Amy later went through a divorce, and remarried John Joseph “Jay” Kelly in 2007. They have one son together.

As of 2020, she was a member of theCarter Center’s board of councilors.

Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter’s Grandchildren

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Jason James Carter, 49

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Born Aug. 7, 1975, in Decatur,Jason James Carteris the son of Jack Carter and Judy Langford. Jason graduated from Duke University with degrees in philosophy and political science, according toAtlantamagazine. He served in the Peace Corps in South Africa, where he kept a journal that became the bookPower Lines: Two Years on South Africa’s Borders. He then completed his law degree at the University of Georgia.

In 2005, Jason became a partner atBondurant, Mixson & Elmore, where he’s since worked on high-profile voting rights cases and represented the National Football League Players Association.

Jason followed his grandfather Jimmy and his father Jack’s footsteps into politics. In a May 2010 special election, Jason was elected to the Georgia Senate,ABC Newsreported, and he served as a state senator until 2015. During his tenure, he supported a controversial bill called the Safe Carry Protection Act, which permitted licensed gun owners to bring firearms in public and private places, including schools, churches and bars,CNNreported.

In January 2025, Jason spoke at his grandfather’s funeral, joking that because of his policies, Jimmy was “the first millennial.”

Jason is married to a teacher and former journalist named Katharine, with whom he shares sons Henry Lewis, born Sept. 2, 2006, and Thomas Clyde, born Dec. 22, 2008.

James Earl Carter IV, 47

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James Earl Carter IV was born on Feb. 25, 1977, to Chip and Caron Carter. He also followed in his family’s footsteps into politics but has neither run for nor held public office himself. Instead, he works as an opposition researcher and describes himself as a “policy wonk” in hisTwitterbio.

His research was highly publicized in the 2012 presidential election between then-incumbent PresidentBarack Obamaand Republican nomineeMitt Romney. James was behind the leak of a viral video of Romney at a fundraiser telling the crowd that 47% of Americans “believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it,” among other baseless assertions. James was credited as a research assistant on the story. “I’ve been searching for clips on Republicans for a long time, almost every day,” he toldNew York Magazine. “I just do it for fun.”

James studied at Georgia State University, where he earned a degree in public budgeting and finance, according toNetroots Nation. After publishing the 47% video, he founded his own Atlanta-based research firm specializing in politics. He’s also worked for Better Georgia and for Media Matters for America.

In February 2023, James and his wife, Sally Carter, visited his grandparents at their home in Georgia. This came shortly after it was announced that Jimmy would be moved into hospice care. The visit was anything but ordinary as the couple came prepared to show off their juggling skills.

“We are all juggling a lot lately. But yesterdaymy wife and I got to juggle for my grandparents. They loved it,” James captioned a video on Twitter.

Sarah Rosemary Carter, 46

Sarah Rosemary Carter, daughter of Jack Carter and Judy Langford, was born on Dec. 19, 1978.

Little is publicly known about Sarah’s life, save for her childhood appearances with her grandparents and her impressive academic record. Her handprints are in stone as part of theWhite House Children’s Garden.

She received her bachelor’s degree fromDuke Universityin 2000 and received her Ph.D. in neuroscience from theUniversity of California, San Franciscoin 2007. Sarah married Brendan Keith Murphy, with whom she has a daughter, Josephine Beverly, born on Dec. 29, 2009.

Joshua Jeffrey Carter, 40

Joshua Jeffrey “Josh” Carter, the eldest son of Jeff and Annette Carter, was born in Fairfax, Virginia, on May 8, 1984. He graduated from Georgia Tech, perhis blog. He is the host of theUnchanging Principlespodcast, which he named after a line his grandfather often quoted from his own high school teacher: “We must adjust to changing times and still hold true to unchanging principles.”

“When I saw the events in, you know, 2016 and 2020, I felt like a lot of the things that I kind of held as ‘givens’ for the United States were being attacked, were being minimized. You know, I saw in particular democracy in decline, the rise for strongmen,” he toldGeorgia Public Broadcastingin 2022. “And it’s not just United States, but all across the world. But when I look at what’s happening in United States elections being challenged. And just, you know, gaslighting and just a government that wasn’t serving its people and didn’t seem interested in serving those people. That’s what kind of spurred me to take the lessons that I had learned from my grandfather and put it out there in a podcast to let people know, ‘Okay, these are the core beliefs that were passed to me from my grandfather.’ "

“When I was growing up, the Carter Center had an annual fundraiser every year in February, and it was a ski trip,” he recalled. “And every year at the fundraiser, he would auction off a piece of furniture that he made. So every year when I was at his house for Christmas, I would always go into the shop from when I was eight until like well through college. I would work on the projects that he was working on. I think I worked on every single piece that he made for the auction.”

Josh is married toSarah Carter, who was his first girlfriend at age 11. They have two sons: Charles and Jonathan.

Jeremy Davis Carter

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Jeremy Davis Carterwas the son of Jeff Carter and Annette Carter, born June 25, 1987. After graduating from McIntosh High School in Peachtree City, Georgia, he enrolled at West Georgia University in 2005, according toThe Citizen. Jeremy stayed mostly out of the spotlight until his young life was cut short at age 28. Hedied suddenly from a heart attackin front of his mother on Dec. 20, 2015.

Jimmy announced his grandson’s death the next morning during his Sunday school sermon. The former president shared that Jeremy was home and had lay down for a nap. When Annette came to check on him later, she found that his heart had stopped beating. Annette performed CPR until paramedics arrived, and Jeremy was rushed to the emergency room, where his heart stopped again. Doctors performed CPR for more than 10 minutes, but noted that Jeremy would likely have severe brain damage if he survived beyond that point; the family told them to stop. His brother Josh wrote in an emotional blog post that Jeremy had recently undergone a series of medical tests after he began experiencing achy legs and poor appetite; his doctors had not found any issues with his heart.

At Sunday school, Jimmy told the class that Jeremy was “a very special child” and “a wonderful young man whom we loved very much.”

Margaret Alicia Carter, 37

Margaret Alicia Carter was born Sept. 23, 1987, in Atlanta, to Chip Carter and his second wife, Ginger Hodges. She married Harold Edward Carter and they had a daughter named Alicia Carter, born Sept. 19, 2009.

James “Jamie” Carlton Carter, 33

Hugo James Wentzel, 25

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In 2023, Hugoappeared on the ABC reality seriesClaim to Fame. After being eliminated (his fellow contestants successfully discovered that he was Jimmy Carter’s grandson), he spoke about his relationship with the former president.

“I have had a great life with him,” Hugo told PEOPLE. “He’s been an amazing grandpa. He’s an amazing person. I absolutely love him. Growing up, he’s been a great influence.”

Sarah Chuldenko, 46

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Sarah Chuldenko Reynolds was born in 1978 to Elizabeth Brasfield. Jimmy’s son Jack Carter later married Elizabeth, making Jack her stepfather and Jimmy her step-grandfather.

According to herwebsite, Sarah was originally born in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, and spent more than 10 years in New York City before relocating to Los Angeles, where she currently lives.

Sarah is a professional painter who received her MFA in painting from the New York Academy of Art in N.Y.C. and her BFA in painting from the Cleveland Institute of Art in Cleveland, Ohio. Her work has been featured in exhibitions across the country and she previously worked with contemporary artist Jeff Koons. She also teamed up with her grandfather Jimmy to illustrate a volume of his poetry, titledAlways a Reckoning and Other Poems.

In 2006, Sarah married fellow artist Stephen Reynolds, with whom she shares two daughters.

John Chuldenko

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Born to Elizabeth Brasfield, John Chuldenko is the stepson of Jack Carter.

He’s also currently working on a project a bit closer to home — updating the White House’s secret collection of music records. As John toldNPR, he first learned of the official record collection during a family vacation. After reaching out to the White House (and getting permission from then-first ladyMichelle Obama), John visited the famous home’s screening room in 2010 to give the collection a listen himself.

“We walk in and they’re all in these cardboard boxes,” he described to NPR. “And it’s like, whoa. Here I am in the White House, downstairs in the movie theater, digging through these records that are embossed in presidential seal binders. It is the coolest thing ever for a record collector. It is the most exclusive record library in the world, probably.”

John spent the following years researching and learning more about the collection, which, as of May 2022, he was working to update with the help of the Recording Industry Association of America. According to hiswebsite, John currently lives in Los Angeles with his two daughters.

source: people.com