Vivian Ridge is best known as the first wife of legendary American painter and television personality Bob Ross. Their marriage began years before The Joy of Painting made him a household name. Together, they had a son, Steve Ross, who later followed his father into painting and art instruction.
Although Bob’s television career has been extensively documented, Vivian’s personal history has received considerably less attention. Her marriage, family connections, and an unusual difference in how she is identified in documentary credits provide the clearest picture of her public story.
Vivian Ridge was the first wife of Bob Ross, the American painter and host of The Joy of Painting. They married in 1965, welcomed their son Steve Ross in 1966, and divorced in 1977. Biographical sources establish their relationship, while details about Vivian’s early life, career, and later years remain limited.
Vivian Ridge Family Profile
| Attribute | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Vivian Ridge |
| Known For | First wife of Bob Ross |
| Former Husband | Bob Ross |
| Marriage Year | 1965 |
| Divorce Year | 1977 |
| Son | Robert Stephen “Steve” Ross |
| Son’s Birth Date | August 1, 1966 |
| Family Connection | Mother of painter Steve Ross |
| Documentary Connection | Bob Ross’s first wife is credited as Vicky Ross in a 2021 documentary |
Who Is Vivian Ridge?
Vivian Ridge became part of American art history through her marriage to Bob Ross, whose relaxed teaching style eventually made him one of television’s most recognizable painters. Unlike her former husband, Vivian did not establish a widely documented public career.
Her name appears in established accounts of Bob’s personal life. Biography.com identifies her as his first spouse and places their marriage between 1965 and 1977. PEOPLE also identifies her as the mother of their son, Steve.
These records establish her place in the Ross family without requiring assumptions about her childhood or personal ambitions. They also distinguish her from the women Bob married later in life.
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Vivian Ridge and Bob Ross Before His Television Fame
Vivian Ridge married Bob Ross in 1965, when he was serving in the United States Air Force. At that point, he was far from the internationally recognizable television personality viewers remember today.
Bob spent part of his military career in Alaska, where the mountainous landscape helped inspire his interest in painting. According to his official biography, he took painting lessons while stationed there and began developing his abilities outside his military duties.
During those years, he sold small landscape paintings to supplement his income. His artistic career was still developing, and the television program that would make him famous had not yet begun.
Vivian’s marriage to Bob therefore belonged to an earlier period in his life, when military service and his growing interest in art were central parts of his professional experience. The available biographical accounts offer far less detail about her own activities during that period.
Marriage and Divorce: What Happened Between Vivian and Bob Ross?
The marriage between Vivian Ridge and Bob Ross lasted from 1965 until their divorce in 1977. Their son was born during that relationship, establishing a lasting family connection even after the marriage ended.
Although the divorce is documented, dependable public reporting provides limited direct testimony from Vivian about the relationship’s breakdown. The existence of their divorce should not be taken as evidence for any particular account of their private disagreements.
The timing is also significant. Their marriage ended before Bob retired from the Air Force in 1981 and before The Joy of Painting premiered in 1983.
As a result, Vivian was his wife during an important stage of his artistic development, rather than during the years when his television program brought him widespread recognition.
Vivian Ridge and Steve Ross: Their Mother-Son Connection
One of the strongest documented details about Vivian Ridge is her relationship with Robert Stephen “Steve” Ross.
According to PEOPLE’s profile of Steve Ross, Bob and Vivian welcomed their son on August 1, 1966. Steve later became a painter and instructor, developing a public career connected to his father’s artistic methods.
Bob also had another child from an earlier relationship, as PEOPLE reports. Steve was the child he shared with Vivian.
The distinction matters because online accounts sometimes discuss Bob Ross’s children without explaining their different family backgrounds. Vivian’s documented parental connection is specifically to Steve.
While established sources provide substantial information about Steve’s adult career, they offer much less direct detail about his mother’s approach to parenting or their private family life.
How Steve Ross Continued His Father’s Artistic Work
Steve’s artistic career provides an important connection between Vivian’s family history and the television legacy associated with Bob Ross.
Steve appeared on The Joy of Painting, sometimes taking over the canvas to demonstrate his own landscape techniques. His father introduced him warmly and spoke proudly of his painting abilities.
An episode preserved by PBS, titled Surprising Falls, includes Bob introducing Steve as his son and explaining that he traveled around the country teaching painting.
Steve also demonstrated the wet-on-wet technique associated with his father’s television instruction. His appearances allowed audiences to see another member of the Ross family developing an artistic identity.
These programs provide direct evidence of Steve’s professional abilities and his relationship with Bob. They do not, however, establish whether Vivian worked as an artist or participated in his instruction.
Is Vivian Ridge Also Known as Vicky Ross?
An interesting detail in the public record concerns the name Vicky Ross.
Major biographies identify Bob’s first wife as Vivian Ridge. However, the 2021 Netflix documentary Bob Ross: Happy Accidents, Betrayal & Greed includes a participant credited as Vicky Ross.
The American Film Institute lists Vicky Ross among the film’s cast, while TV Guide identifies her specifically as Bob’s first wife.
Taken together, these records indicate that the woman identified as Vivian Ridge in biographical reporting is also represented under the name Vicky Ross in documentary credits.
The credits provide an important connection, although they do not independently establish every detail of her legal name history.
The documentary explores Bob’s personal and professional legacy, particularly disagreements surrounding the ownership and management of his business after his death. It also features Steve, whose account became central to the film.
Is Vivian Ridge Still Alive? What About Her Age and Death?
Questions about Vivian Ridge’s death and current age appear frequently in online searches, but trustworthy documentation is considerably narrower than some celebrity biography websites suggest.
Established biographical reporting identifies her marriage and family relationships. Documentary records also identify Bob’s first wife under the name Vicky Ross in a film released in 2021.
That credit is relevant to her later public record, but the documentary’s release date alone does not establish when her footage was recorded or prove her current living status.
As of October 2026, the authoritative sources reviewed for this article do not establish a dependable date of death for Vivian Ridge. They also do not provide a sufficiently reliable birth date or birth year to calculate her age.
Claims assigning her a specific death year, cause of death, or present age should therefore be treated cautiously without supporting records.
Did Vivian Ridge Have an Art Career or Own a Farm?
Vivian Ridge is sometimes associated with searches about art and a farm, reflecting interest in her life beyond her marriage.
However, the strongest available sources primarily document Bob’s painting career and Steve’s later work as an instructor. They do not establish a comparable professional painting career for Vivian.
Similarly, the biographical and institutional records reviewed here do not provide dependable evidence identifying a farm owned or operated by her.
This distinction prevents Bob and Steve’s well-documented artistic activities from being mistakenly attributed to Vivian.
Her importance to the family history is established through her marriage and motherhood, without assigning her a profession or property history that the evidence does not support.
Bob Ross’s Later Marriages and Family Life
Following his divorce from Vivian Ridge in 1977, Bob Ross married Jane Lee Zanardelli. Jane became associated with the period when his painting career developed into a successful television and commercial enterprise.
She died in 1992. Bob subsequently married Lynda Brown in 1995, shortly before his own death on July 4 of that year.
These relationships are documented in established biographies and help explain why accounts of Bob’s family sometimes mention several different women.
Vivian was his first wife, Jane his second, and Lynda his third. Their individual places in his personal history should not be confused.
Steve, meanwhile, continued to have a public connection to his father’s artistic legacy, including through the documentary released decades after Bob’s death.
Conclusion
Vivian Ridge remains an important figure in Bob Ross’s family history as his first wife and the mother of their son, Steve Ross. Their marriage lasted from 1965 to 1977, before Bob’s television career transformed him into an internationally recognized artist.
Reliable biographies, Steve’s documented career, and later film credits establish the principal family connections. Much of Vivian’s personal background and later life remains outside detailed public reporting, making those established relationships the strongest foundation for her biography.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Who was Vivian Ridge to Bob Ross?
Vivian Ridge was Bob Ross’s first wife. They married in 1965, had a son named Steve Ross, and divorced in 1977.
2. Is Vivian Ridge still alive?
Reliable sources reviewed as of October 2026 do not establish her current living status or a verified death date. A 2021 documentary credits Bob’s first wife under the name Vicky Ross.
3. How old is Vivian Ridge?
An authoritative birth date or birth year was not established in the sources reviewed, so her age cannot be calculated reliably.
4. Did Vivian Ridge and Bob Ross have children?
Yes. Their son, Robert Stephen “Steve” Ross, was born on August 1, 1966. He became a painter and appeared on his father’s television program.
5. Was Vivian Ridge married to Bob Ross when he became famous?PedroVazPaulo Business Consultant: Services & Facts
No. Their divorce took place in 1977, six years before The Joy of Painting premiered in 1983.
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