Johanna Griggs, the longtime Better Homes and Gardens host and former Olympic swimmer, has announced the death of her mother, Leigh.
The Seven star shared the news on Instagram on Sunday, describing her mother as the family’s “beautiful matriarch” and “fearless leader”.
“Early this morning our beautiful matriarch passed away,” Griggs wrote. “She was our fearless leader. Our guiding light. Our voice of reason. Our inspiration.”
Griggs said Leigh had given the family its values and principles, while teaching them “the difference between what’s right and wrong” and to stand up for both.
She remembered her mother as “beautiful, loving, kind, passionate, vocal, forthright, sometimes crazy and so unbelievably generous”.
“She was a total boss lady who would fight for all of us like a lioness if we needed protection,” Griggs wrote.
“I quite simply wouldn’t have the life or career I have without her.
“She has shaped us all in ways that are hard to truly capture. We couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful woman to have been our mum.”
Leigh, who was a teacher, had instilled in her family a “very much we’ll take on the world” attitude, Griggs’ sister Emma Lo Russo said in a 2010 profile.
