Rosalynn & Jimmy Carter’s Children: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter has four children with his wife, Rosalynn Carter. Their children are John William Carter, James Earl Carter III, Donnel Jeffrey Carter and Amy Lynn Carter, according to the Jimmy Carter Library.

All four children survived Rosalynn Carter, who died on November 19 at her home in Plains, Georgia on November 19, 2023. She had been living with dementia and her health was declining. She entered hospice about nine months after her husband, Jimmy Carter, had entered hospice.

Here’s what you need to know.

1. Jack Carter, the Oldest Child, Served in the Military & Made an Unsuccessful Bid for Senator

Jack Carter has been married twice. His first wife was Juliet “Judy” Langford Carter, with whom he had two children: Jason and Sarah, Country Living reported. He’s currently married to Elizabeth Brasfield and has two stepchildren with her: John Chuldenko and Sarah Reynolds.

Jack Carter served in the military in the 1960s until he was discharged in 1970, The Telegraph reported. He received a law degree in 1975 from the University of Georgia, according to the Jimmy Carter Library. After working in law, he ran a grain elevator and traded soybeans, and then shifted to dealing bond futures after the business went under, Atlanta Magazine reported. He has owned an investment business and made an unsuccessful bid for Senate in 2006.

2. Chip Carter Has Worked Closely With His Father Almost His Entire Life

James Earl “Chip” Carter III worked closely with his dad and served as a political consultant for many Democrats’ campaigns, Country Living reported. He’s been married three times and has two children: James IV with his first wife Caron Griffin and Margaret with his former wife Ginger Hodges. Margaret Alicia was born in 1987 and James Earl IV was born in 1973, Georgia Encyclopedia reported. Today, he’s married to Becky Payne.

People reported that Chip Carter has spent much of his life focused on promoting peace through the Friendship Force.

3. Jeff Carter’s Wife Died in September 2022

Donnell Jeffrey “Jeff” Carter was born in 1952, Yahoo reported. He has a degree in geography and is the co-founder of Computer Mapping Consultants, the Georgia Encyclopedia reported. He married Annette Jene Davis and they had three children: Joshua Jeffrey, Jeremy Davis, and James Carlton, reported JimmyCarter.info, a website run by the Plains Historical Preservation Trust.

His son Jeremy Carter died in 2015. He was only 28 and was found unresponsive in his home.

Jeff Carter’s wife, Annette, died in September 2021 at the age of 68, People reported. She had three grandchildren: Charles Carter, Jonathan Carter, and Rayna Carter. Annette Carter’s son, Joshua Carter, wrote an obituary for his mom. He said she was a homemaker who met his dad on the first day of school at Georgia Southwestern University, when he saw her across the student center.

4. Amy Carter Was Jimmy Carter’s Only Child To Grow Up in the White House

GettyAmy Carter Weds Jim Wentzel. From L-R: Jimmy, Rosalyn, Amy Cater, Jim, Judy, And Jim Wentzel in 1996.

Amy Carter was born in 1967, Yahoo reported.  The youngest of Jimmy Carter’s children, she was only eight years old when her father got elected and was the only child to actually grow up in the White House, People reported.

She became an anti-apartheid activist and was arrested three times in protests. She married James Wentzel and has a son, Hugo, who was born in 1999, reported JimmyCarter.info, a website run by the Plains Historical Preservation Trust.

She drew the illustrations for a children’s book, “The Little Baby Snoogle-Fleejer,” that her father wrote and published in 1995, CSMonitor reported. She has served as a board member of the Carter Center and earned a master’s degree in art history at Tulane University.

5. One of Jimmy Carter’s Grandchildren Hurt Mitt Romney’s Campaign, in Part Because of Romney’s Negative Statements About His Grandfather’s Presidency

James Carter IV grabbed national attention after he discovered Mitt Romney’s 47% fundraiser video in 2012, NPR reported. He tracked down the person who made the video and convinced them to release it to Mother Jones. The video heavily damaged Romney’s campaign, Daily Mail reported.

He said Romney’s attacks on his grandfather’s presidency were part of his motivation, NPR reported.

“I’m proud of my role in being able to track him down,” he told NBC News at the time. “I’m a partisan Democrat. My motivation is to help Democrats get elected.”

But, he added, Romney’s attacks on his grandfather’s presidency — including claiming Carter’s foreign policy was weak — also motivated him.

“It gets under my skin — mostly the weakness on the foreign policy stuff,” he said. “I just think it’s ridiculous. I don’t like criticism of my family.”