Dana York is among those celebrities who walked into fame by marrying a famous person. She came to be known as the wife of the popular American musician and record producer, Tom Petty who was the leader of several musical bands including Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Mudcrutch and the Traveling Wilburys. She got married to her late husband in 2001 and later became the scheduling manager for Tom Petty’s band musical concerts.

Dana was a very supportive wife who stood by the side of her husband throughout the time, he was struggling with drug addiction and she finally helped him to overcome it. It’s quite sad that the famous musician died in 2017 from an accidental drug overdose. For more details about Dana York’s biography and family life, read on.

Biography

Tom Petty’s ex-wife was born in Flint, Michigan, United States of America in 1964. Her family relocated to Flushing, Michigan when she was little and there she acquired her basic education and graduated from high school in 1982. York’s mother resides in Fenton, Michigan. Other details her father and siblings are not available.

Concerning her career, Dana York has not revealed much about her career. She reportedly served in the education field before getting married to the American songwriter, Tom Petty. The information available on the media revealed that she worked at the University High School in Michigan, where she occupied the position of the Principal. Dana York eventually quit her job after her marriage to Petty in order to focus on her family life.

During that time, she became her husband’s musical band scheduling manager and was in charge of the scheduling of the band’s musical tours and concerts.

Dana York’s Husband

York’s husband was born as Thomas Earl Petty in October 1950. He was an American musician, songwriter, record producer, and an actor as well. He became famous as the leader of the musical band called Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Tom Petty was rated as one of the best-selling music artists of all time as he sold more than 80 million records worldwide.

He was inaugurated into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002 along with his Heartbreakers bandmates. As an actor, he featured in a few movies like The Postman and Made in Heaven. Petty was into drugs but initially hid it from his wife and when Dana got to know about it, she helped him to overcome his drug addiction struggles.

As a result of that, Tom Petty publicly acknowledged his wife’s help and enormous support in his fight against drug addiction. Sadly, on 2nd October 2017, Dana York’s husband died from accidentally mixed drug toxicity. He initially had a full cardiac arrest and was resuscitated and taken to the University of California, Los Angeles Medical Center in Santa Monica where he passed on two weeks before his 67th birthday.

In order to keep her husband’s legacy alive, Dana York collaborated with Tom Petty’s daughters, bandmates and producer to drop his major hit album titled, Greatest Hits.

Her Family Life

Dana York first came in contact with her late husband, Tom Petty in 1991 at a musical concert in Texas. At the time of their meeting, the pair were married and because of that, they didn’t actually hook up until the next five years when they met again. Coincidentally at that period, both were processing their divorce from their respective spouses.

Soon after, they kicked off a love affair which lasted for six years before they finally tied the knot in a small wedding ceremony at Las Vegas on the 3rd of June 2001. Later on, in the following month, the couple had a second marriage ceremony at their residential home in Malibu. The duo was happily married for close to two decades before the death of Tom Petty. Their union didn’t produce any child, however, the two already had kids from their previous marriages. Tom Petty had two daughters namely Annakim and Adria together with his first wife, Jane Benyo while Dana York welcomed Dylan her son from her first marriage.

Recently, she has been at loggerheads with her stepdaughters, Adria and Annakim to the extent that she filed a lawsuit against them. She stated that Tom Petty’s daughters were hindering her from managing their father’s estate as well as holding back the release of the album they collaborated on along with the reissue of the famous musician’s 1994 solo tracks titled Wildflowers in commemoration of its 25th anniversary. On the other hand, Adria and Annakim have reportedly filed a lawsuit against Dana York, stating that she wants to prevent them from being part of the family’s decision makers.