If you’ve spent any time digging into the dark underbelly of Old Hollywood, you know the name Cheryl Crane. She was the 14-year-old girl at the center of the most explosive scandal of 1958—the night she stabbed her mother’s mobster boyfriend, Johnny Stompanato, to death in a Beverly Hills bedroom. Because that story feels like it belongs to a black-and-white era of history, people often assume the participants are long gone. But fans of the Golden Age still frequently ask: is Cheryl Crane still alive?
Yes. She is.
As of early 2026, Cheryl Crane is alive and living a quiet, remarkably stable life in Palm Springs, California. Born on July 25, 1943, she is currently 82 years old. It’s a bit of a miracle, honestly, when you look at the trauma she packed into her first two decades of life. She didn't just survive the Stompanato killing; she survived a childhood of neglect, sexual abuse at the hands of her stepfather Lex Barker, and the crushing weight of being "Lana Turner's daughter."
The Quiet Life in Palm Springs
Most people expect the children of tragic legends to end up in a spiral of their own. Cheryl did the opposite. She didn't become a cautionary tale. Instead, she became a real estate broker.
She spent decades building a career in the high-end property market in Southern California. She wasn't trading on her name; she was actually working. For a long time, she was a fixture in the Palm Springs real estate scene, which makes sense—that desert town has always been the ultimate sanctuary for Hollywood royalty looking to escape the paparazzi.
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Her Relationship with Josh LeRoy
One of the coolest things about Cheryl’s story is her long-term stability in her personal life. She has been with her partner, Joyce "Josh" LeRoy, for over 45 years. They finally got married in November 2014, shortly after same-sex marriage became legal in California.
- They live in a comfortable home in Palm Springs.
- Josh is a former model.
- The couple has mostly stayed out of the limelight, appearing only for specific interviews or documentaries about Lana Turner’s legacy.
It’s a stark contrast to her mother’s seven marriages (and eight wedding ceremonies). Cheryl seems to have craved the one thing her mother could never quite grasp: a singular, lasting partnership.
Dealing with the Stompanato Legacy
You can't talk about whether is Cheryl Crane still alive without addressing the "elephant in the room"—that night on Good Friday in 1958.
Even at 82, Cheryl is still defined by those few seconds in a bedroom at 730 North Bedford Drive. For the uninitiated: Johnny Stompanato was an enforcer for Mickey Cohen and was notoriously abusive toward Lana Turner. That night, he was threatening to disfigure Lana with a razor. Cheryl, fearing for her mother’s life, used a kitchen knife to protect her. The courts ruled it "justifiable homicide."
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Writing Her Own Narrative
Cheryl didn't let the tabloids have the last word. She’s an accomplished author.
- Detour: A Hollywood Story (1988): This was her first big memoir. It was a bombshell because she finally told the truth about her stepfather, Lex Barker, molesting her—something her mother didn't know until years later.
- Lana: The Memories, the Myths, the Movies (2008): This was more of a tribute, a coffee-table book filled with gorgeous photos. It showed that despite everything, she and Lana had reconciled and found a way to love each other before Lana passed away in 1995.
- The Nikki Harper Mystery Series: Interestingly, she also turned to fiction. She wrote a series of mystery novels (like The Bad Always Die Twice) featuring a protagonist who is—wait for it—a real estate agent to the stars.
She’s basically the queen of "turning lemons into lemonade."
Why We Are Still Obsessed With Her
Honestly, Cheryl Crane is one of the last living links to the "real" Old Hollywood. Not the sanitized, PR-heavy version we see in modern biopics, but the gritty, dangerous, high-stakes world where mobsters and movie stars actually shared beds.
She represents a weird kind of resilience. She didn't run away from her past, but she didn't let it destroy her either. When you see her in recent years—usually with short-cropped silver hair and a very direct, no-nonsense way of speaking—she looks like a woman who has done a lot of therapy and has zero time for nonsense.
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She’s a survivor.
What You Should Know If You're Researching Her
If you are looking for more info on her current status, here are the facts to keep straight:
- Residence: Palm Springs, CA.
- Occupation: Retired from real estate, primarily focuses on her writing and managing her mother’s estate.
- Health: While she’s in her 80s, there have been no major public health scares reported as of 2026. She stays relatively private.
- Reconciliation: She remained close to Lana Turner until the actress died of throat cancer in 1995. Cheryl was actually the primary beneficiary of Lana's estate, which caused some drama with Lana’s final husband/companion, but Cheryl handled it with her usual "I've seen worse" attitude.
Moving Forward: How to Engage with This History
If you want to understand the woman behind the "killer daughter" headlines, your best bet is to find a copy of Detour. It’s out of print in some places but easy to find used. It’s a masterclass in how to process trauma while living in a fishbowl.
You should also check out the 2020 documentary Lana Turner: The Incomparable, which features interviews that give a better sense of Cheryl’s voice today. She sounds like a veteran of a war that ended decades ago—wise, a little tired of the same questions, but ultimately at peace.
For those tracking the lives of Hollywood’s surviving legends, Cheryl Crane remains a fascinating figure of strength. She’s still here, she’s still married to Josh, and she’s still the definitive keeper of the Turner flame.