Stacey Weitzman is an American businesswoman, former publicist, activist, and philanthropist best known publicly as the wife of actor Henry Winkler, the star who became famous as Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli on Happy Days. But her story extends well beyond Hollywood: she built a fashion public-relations career, raised three children, survived breast cancer, supported actress Marlee Matlin during a difficult period, and worked with Henry Winkler on children’s advocacy through the Children’s Action Network.
Born Stacey Cooper Furstman on November 15, 1947, in Los Angeles, California, Weitzman is 78 years old in 2026. She attended the University of North Carolina and eventually established herself in fashion publicity before becoming a familiar figure alongside Winkler.
Who Is Stacey Weitzman?
Stacey Weitzman is best known as Henry Winkler’s wife, but describing her only that way overlooks much of her professional and charitable life. Before meeting Winkler, she operated a fashion public-relations firm whose clients included Van Cleef & Arpels and Jag. She also had limited acting and casting credits.
She later became deeply involved in children’s advocacy. In 1990, she and Winkler were among the couples who helped establish the Children’s Action Network, an organization that uses entertainment-industry visibility to raise awareness of children’s issues and support foster care and adoption.
Stacey Weitzman Profile at a Glance
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full name | Stacey Cooper Furstman |
| Known as | Stacey Weitzman / Stacey Winkler |
| Born | November 15, 1947 |
| Age | 78 in 2026 |
| Birthplace | Los Angeles, California |
| Education | University of North Carolina |
| Profession | Businesswoman, publicist, former actress |
| Husband | Henry Winkler |
| First husband | Howard Weitzman |
| Children | Jed, Zoe, and Max |
| Net worth | Not publicly disclosed |
The supplied sources agree on these core biographical details, although online estimates of her personal net worth vary and should not be treated as verified.
How Old Is Stacey Weitzman?
Stacey Weitzman was born on November 15, 1947, making her 78 years old in 2026. She was born and raised in Los Angeles, where her early family life included her brother Scott.
Early Life, Parents, and Family Background
Where Was Stacey Weitzman Born?
Weitzman was born in Los Angeles, California, and grew up in West Los Angeles. Her family had strong connections to education and the arts.
Who Were Stacey Weitzman’s Parents?
Her mother, Belvy Cooper, worked as an art teacher at Beverly Hills High School before teaching elementary school in Santa Monica. Her father, Edward Furstman, was raised in Wisconsin, served in the U.S. Army, trained as a dentist, and later taught at the USC School of Dentistry. The couple reportedly met at UCLA’s Royce Hall.
Does Stacey Weitzman Have Any Siblings?
The supplied biographies identify a brother, Scott, with whom she grew up in West Los Angeles.
Where Did Stacey Weitzman Go to College?
Weitzman attended the University of North Carolina. Although she had been interested in fashion design, her father encouraged her toward business and economics. She also studied dance and ballet when she was younger.
Is Stacey Weitzman Related to Stuart Weitzman?
No. Stacey Weitzman is not related to shoe designer Stuart Weitzman. Her maiden name was Furstman, and the surname Weitzman came from her first marriage to entertainment attorney Howard Weitzman.
This is an important distinction because the shared surname has led to repeated confusion in online biographies.
Stacey Weitzman’s Career Before Henry Winkler
Stacey Weitzman’s Fashion Public Relations Career
Before her relationship with Henry Winkler made her widely recognizable, Weitzman had an independent career in fashion public relations. She established a PR firm and worked in Los Angeles’s competitive fashion and entertainment scene.
Which Companies Did Stacey Weitzman Work With?
Her reported clients included luxury jewelry company Van Cleef & Arpels, clothing brand Jag, and a Beverly Hills boutique owned by Jerry Magnin. That last professional connection would prove particularly significant because Magnin was Henry Winkler’s uncle.
Did Stacey Weitzman Work as an Actress?
Yes, although acting was only a small part of her career. The supplied sources list her as a casting-department intern on Safe (1995), followed by small appearances in As Told by Ginger and Touch.
Who Was Stacey Weitzman’s First Husband?
Stacey Weitzman and Howard Weitzman
Stacey married entertainment lawyer Howard Weitzman on October 19, 1969. Their son, Jed Weitzman, was born in 1971. The marriage ended in divorce in 1976.
Did Stacey Weitzman Have a Child With Howard Weitzman?
Yes. Jed Weitzman is Stacey’s son from her first marriage. He later graduated from Georgetown University and developed a career in entertainment management.
How Did Stacey Weitzman Meet Henry Winkler?
The Beverly Hills Clothing Store Meeting
Stacey met Henry Winkler in 1976 while managing the PR account for Jerry Magnin’s Beverly Hills clothing store. Winkler visited the shop looking for a sport coat.
What Happened With the Purple Parachute Pants?
According to accounts repeated in the biographies, Winkler immediately noticed Weitzman’s red hair and the purple parachute pants she was wearing. She helped him choose his coat, and when he returned about a week later, he asked her out for a soda.
Stacey Weitzman and Henry Winkler’s First Date
Their first date involved ginger ale at a shop across from the clothing store. What began as an ordinary encounter eventually became a decades-long relationship.
Stacey Weitzman and Henry Winkler’s Wedding
When Did Stacey Weitzman Marry Henry Winkler?
Stacey Weitzman and Henry Winkler married on May 5, 1978. Their marriage has lasted more than four decades.
Where Was Their Wedding Held?
They married at a Manhattan synagogue where Winkler had previously celebrated his bar mitzvah.
How Did Their Blended Family Begin?
When Stacey married Winkler, her son Jed became part of their household. The family later grew when Stacey and Henry welcomed Zoe and Max. The couple ultimately raised three children together as a family.
How Long Have Stacey Weitzman and Henry Winkler Been Married?
As of 2026, Stacey Weitzman and Henry Winkler have been married for 48 years.
What Is the Secret to Their Long-Lasting Marriage?
Weitzman has attributed their longevity to commitment, growth, communication, and allowing one another room to remain individuals. Rather than expecting each other to remain exactly the people they were in 1978, they have emphasized changing while maintaining shared core values.
Stacey Weitzman’s Children and Family
Stacey and Henry have three children, and the family has expanded through grandchildren. Current reliable profiles identify Jed Weitzman, Zoe Winkler, and Max Winkler as their three children.
Who Is Jed Weitzman?
Jed is Stacey’s son from her marriage to Howard Weitzman. He attended Georgetown University and entered entertainment management.
Who Is Zoe Winkler Reinis?
Zoe was born in 1980, attended Loyola Marymount University, and became an educator before moving into humanitarian work. She founded This Is About Humanity, an organization focused on families separated at the border.
Who Is Max Winkler?
Max, born August 18, 1983, followed his father into entertainment. He has worked as a director, screenwriter, and producer, with credits including Brooklyn Nine-Nine, New Girl, Fresh Off the Boat, and American Horror Story.
Stacey Weitzman’s Breast Cancer Journey
When Was Stacey Weitzman Diagnosed With Breast Cancer?
Weitzman was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2001. She underwent a lumpectomy followed by chemotherapy.
Why Did Stacey Weitzman Have a Double Mastectomy?
The cancer later returned, and she underwent a double mastectomy in 2007. The supplied sources state that she has remained cancer-free since that surgery.
How Did Breast Cancer Affect Her Marriage?
Her illness created a difficult period for the couple. According to the supplied accounts, they worked through relationship challenges with therapy and ultimately strengthened their marriage. Weitzman subsequently used her experience to encourage women to pay attention to breast health and early detection.
Why Did Stacey Weitzman Open Her Home to Marlee Matlin?
In the mid-1980s, Stacey and Henry opened their home to actress Marlee Matlin during a difficult period in her life. Matlin ultimately stayed with the family for an extended period and has described the Winklers as a second family.
People has also reported that Matlin and the Winklers developed a close family relationship after meeting years earlier, and that she ultimately regarded them as a second family.
Stacey Weitzman and the Children’s Action Network
Why Did Stacey Weitzman and Henry Winkler Start the Organization?
In 1990, Weitzman and Winkler joined other prominent Hollywood couples, including Steven Spielberg and Kate Capshaw, to establish the Children’s Action Network. The organization’s goal was to use entertainment-industry influence to draw attention to children’s issues.
What Does the Children’s Action Network Do?
Today, the Children’s Action Network says it focuses on raising awareness about children in foster care, finding adoptive homes, and improving outcomes for children in the system. Its current site says more than 100,000 children in U.S. foster care are waiting for adoptive families.
What Is the Heart Gallery?
The Heart Gallery is one of the organization’s best-known approaches to child advocacy. It uses photographs and storytelling to give children waiting for adoptive families a more visible public identity. The supplied article describes it as a traveling photo exhibition designed to put faces to children awaiting adoption.
Stacey Weitzman’s Philanthropy and Advocacy
Weitzman’s philanthropic work has centered particularly on children, foster care, adoption, and health awareness. Her PR background also gave her a natural understanding of how publicity and public attention can be used to promote charitable causes.
The Children’s Action Network remains active today, with programs including National Adoption Day, FosterMore, A Home for the Holidays, and Heart Gallery Los Angeles.
What Is Stacey Weitzman’s Net Worth?
Stacey Weitzman’s personal net worth has not been publicly disclosed or independently confirmed. Some online biographies have estimated it at around $1 million, but that figure should be treated as an estimate rather than an established fact.
It is also important not to confuse her finances with Henry Winkler’s. The two have had separate professional careers, and online estimates of their wealth are not the same thing as verified financial disclosures.
Where Does Stacey Weitzman Live Now?
The supplied biographies place Weitzman and Winkler in Los Angeles and describe their life as increasingly centered on family, grandchildren, advocacy, and occasional public appearances.
What Is Stacey Weitzman Doing Today?
Weitzman maintains a relatively private public profile compared with her husband. Her enduring interests include family and children’s advocacy, particularly through her connection with the Children’s Action Network.
Stacey Weitzman’s Life Beyond Being Henry Winkler’s Wife
Stacey Weitzman’s biography is ultimately a story of several identities rather than one celebrity connection. She was a fashion PR professional before marrying a television star. She became a mother in a blended family, supported a friend through crisis, faced breast cancer twice, and devoted significant energy to children and adoption advocacy.
That broader perspective is important when considering her public life. Henry Winkler’s fame may have introduced her to a much larger audience, but her own career and charitable work form a substantial part of her story.
Stacey Weitzman Timeline
- 1947: Stacey Cooper Furstman is born in Los Angeles.
- 1969: She marries entertainment attorney Howard Weitzman.
- 1971: Her son Jed is born.
- 1976: She divorces Howard Weitzman and meets Henry Winkler.
- 1978: Stacey and Henry Winkler marry.
- 1980: Their daughter Zoe is born.
- 1983: Their son Max is born.
- 1990: Stacey and Henry become co-founders of the Children’s Action Network.
- 2001: Stacey is diagnosed with breast cancer.
- 2007: She undergoes a double mastectomy following a recurrence.
- 2026: She is 78 and remains associated with family and children’s advocacy.
Final Thoughts on Stacey Weitzman
Stacey Weitzman’s life is much broader than her role as Henry Winkler’s wife. From fashion public relations and a brief connection to acting to motherhood, cancer survivorship, philanthropy, and children’s advocacy, she has built a distinctive life alongside one of television’s most recognizable actors.
Her nearly five-decade marriage to Winkler is certainly an important part of her biography, but it is only one chapter. Her professional independence, family life, resilience through illness, and commitment to vulnerable children are what make Stacey Weitzman’s story worth exploring on its own terms.
ALSO READ: Kathy Ambush Biography (2026)
Frequently Asked Questions About Stacey Weitzman
Who is Stacey Weitzman?
Stacey Weitzman is an American businesswoman, former fashion publicist, activist, and philanthropist best known as Henry Winkler’s wife.
How old is Stacey Weitzman?
She was born November 15, 1947, making her 78 years old in 2026.
Who is Stacey Weitzman’s husband?
Her husband is actor Henry Winkler. They married on May 5, 1978.
How did Stacey Weitzman meet Henry Winkler?
They met in 1976 at a Beverly Hills clothing store where Stacey handled PR. Winkler was shopping for a sport coat, and the encounter led to their first date.
Who was Stacey Weitzman’s first husband?
Her first husband was entertainment attorney Howard Weitzman. They married in 1969 and divorced in 1976.
How many children does Stacey Weitzman have?
She has three children: Jed Weitzman, Zoe Winkler Reinis, and Max Winkler.
Is Stacey Weitzman related to Stuart Weitzman?
No. Stacey’s maiden name is Furstman. The surname Weitzman came from her first marriage.
Did Stacey Weitzman have breast cancer?
Yes. She was diagnosed in 2001, underwent a lumpectomy and chemotherapy, and later had a double mastectomy in 2007 following a recurrence.
What is Stacey Weitzman’s net worth?
Her exact net worth is not publicly disclosed. Online estimates exist, but they are not independently confirmed.
What does Stacey Weitzman do now?
She maintains a relatively private life focused on family and children’s advocacy, including her long-standing association with the Children’s Action Network.
