Jane Nebel Henson, co-inventor of The Muppets died yesterday

At the age of 78 and after a long battle with cancer, Jane Nebel Henson passed away yesterday, she was the wife of the Muppets creator Jim Henson.

Henson was a “creative and integral business partner,” said the company, owned by the family’s five children. Born in Queens, New York, in 1934, she was one of the first  puppeteers and designer of  puppets for The Muppets, best known for characters like Kermit the Frog (Rene) and pig Miss Piggy, who starred in several television shows and movies.

In the mid 1950s he met Jim Henson puppets in a class at the University of Maryland. Both created together the TV show “Sam and Friends”, of five minutes and a forerunner of The Muppets.

Although Henson  stopped working as a puppeteer to take care for her children in 1960, she continued to be responsible for recruiting talent and occasionally participated in the children’s program “Sesame Street.” Henson was legally separated from her husband in 1986. She later founded The Jim Henson Legacy to promote their work. She is survived by her five children.