Who is Bill Moyers' wife? All about family as prominent journalist and former White House secretary dies at 91

Veteran journalist Bill Moyers, 91, died on Thursday, June 26, 2025, in a hospital in Manhattan, New York City, the Washington Post reported. The former White House Press Secretary’s son, William Cope Moyers, told the newspaper that he passed away due to complications from prostate cancer.

Bill is survived by his wife of 70 years, Judith Davidson Moyers. According to IMDb, they got married in December 1954 and raised three children. For the unversed, Judith was Bill Moyers’ frequent collaborator and creative partner while also serving as a producer on many of his projects.

Davidson Moyers is a Dallas native who studied at the University of Texas, where she earned a Bachelor of Science, per BillMoyers.com. According to PBS, Judith was a college classmate of Bill Moyers before they tied the knot in the ’50s. She is also a recipient of several accolades, such as Emmys, Peabody Awards, and more.

Judith Davidson and Bill Moyers also co-founded Public Affairs Television (PAT), an Independent production company. She served as the president of PAT for 14 years and retired as its CEO in 2015, according to BillMoyers.com. Judith Davidson Moyers was credited as executive producer on many of PAT’s projects.

Some of Davidson Moyers’ credits include Earth on Edge, Trade Secrets, The Arab World, Genesis, All Our Children, and Free Speech for Sale. At one point, she also served as a trustee and vice chairman of the board of the State University of New York.

More about Bill Moyers’ family and decades-long career

As mentioned, the acclaimed journalist shared three children with his wife of 70 years. They had two sons and a daughter—William, John, and Alice Suzanne. William Cope Moyers is an author and producer/journalist who is also associated with the Hazelden Foundation. Bill's other two children, John and Alice Suzanne, are a painter and a former teacher/author, respectively.

On the professional front, Bill Moyers had a decades-long career as a broadcast journalist. His first stint as a news reporter was with a local newspaper in his hometown, Marshall. In the following decade, Bill Moyers served as deputy director of the Peace Corps, special assistant to President Lyndon B. Johnson, and White House Press Secretary.

Moyers’ next job was as a publisher of Newsday, which won two Pulitzer awards under him, per BillMoyers.com. He later worked at CBS, NBC, and PBS and won many awards, including Emmys, Peabody Awards, George Polk Awards, and more. Honoring his work at PBS, Paula Kerger, president and CEO of the broadcaster, was quoted as saying after Bill’s demise (via Deadline),

“Not only was Bill a journalist of the highest caliber, he played an essential role in the creation of PBS as a trusted aide to President Johnson. It was my privilege to work closely with him for over three decades, and I was always inspired by the clarity of his vision and his unwavering commitment to the ideals that continue to inspire public media.”

She continued,

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“Bill was always of service: as a journalist, a mentor, and a fierce champion for PBS. He fought for excellence and honesty in our public discourse, and was always willing to take on the most important issues of the day with curiosity and compassion. While he will be greatly missed, we will continue to carry his legacy forward in service to the American people.”

Over more than five decades of career as a broadcast journalist and host, Bill Moyers is known for Bill Moyers’ Journal, Moyers & Company, A World of Ideas, Genesis: A Living Conversation, and many more. At the same time, he also authored books like Listening to America, The Power of Myth, Healing and the Mind, Moyers on Democracy, and more.

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