Valerie Lundeen was far more than the wife of television’s famous Tarzan. Before marrying Ron Ely, she worked as a flight attendant, won a major airline beauty competition and became Miss Florida USA 1981. She later stepped away from pageant fame to build a family with Ron, raising three children during a marriage that lasted about 35 years. Her life ended tragically in October 2019 at the family’s California home, creating a devastating chapter that continued through a controversial police shooting and years of legal proceedings.
Quick Bio of Valerie Lundeen
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Valerie Ann Lundeen Ely |
| Known As | Valerie Lundeen |
| Born | 1957 |
| Raised | Miami-Dade County, Florida |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Miami Palmetto Senior High School |
| Early Profession | Flight attendant |
| Pageant Title | Miss Airlines International 1980 |
| Major Crown | Miss Florida USA 1981 |
| Husband | Ron Ely |
| Marriage | 1984–2019 |
| Children | Kirsten, Kaitland and Cameron Ely |
| Residence | Hope Ranch, Santa Barbara County, California |
| Date of Death | October 15, 2019 |
| Age at Death | 62 |
| Known For | Pageant career and marriage to Ron Ely |
Contemporary reporting identifies Valerie as a 1974 graduate of Miami Palmetto Senior High School and says she later worked as a flight attendant before entering major beauty competitions.
Who Was Valerie Lundeen?
Valerie Lundeen was an American former beauty queen and flight attendant who later became the longtime wife of actor Ron Ely.
Ron was famous for playing the title character in NBC’s Tarzan from 1966 to 1968.
His version of Tarzan helped make him a recognizable television star, and he later appeared in films and other television productions.
Yet Valerie had already experienced a taste of public attention before they built a life together.
She competed successfully in pageants during the early 1980s.
Then she largely exchanged that public world for family life.
For decades, photographs showed Valerie beside Ron at events and with their children, but she never appeared interested in becoming a Hollywood celebrity in her own right.
Valerie Lundeen’s Early Life
Valerie was born in 1957.
Her exact birthday does not appear to have been widely established by major public sources.
She grew up in the Miami-Dade area of Florida and graduated from Miami Palmetto Senior High School in 1974.
During high school, she was connected with a performance group associated with the school’s marching band.
Those early experiences placed her around public performance well before she entered beauty competitions.
After school, Valerie eventually worked in aviation.
She became a flight attendant, a profession that would unexpectedly help launch the next chapter of her life.
Valerie Lundeen Was a Flight Attendant
Before being widely known as Ron Ely’s wife, Valerie worked as a flight attendant.
That career became directly connected to her first major pageant success.
In 1980, Valerie won Miss Airlines International, a competition associated with airline employees.
It was an unusual title.
Instead of simply entering a traditional state competition, Valerie was representing a professional world she actually belonged to.
The victory increased her visibility.
And the following year, she reached an even bigger pageant milestone.
Valerie Lundeen Became Miss Florida USA 1981
In 1981, Valerie Lundeen won the title of Miss Florida USA while representing Miami.
The official Miss Florida USA Hall of Fame lists Valerie as the state’s 1981 titleholder.
She was reportedly 24 during the competition.
Winning the state crown gave Valerie the opportunity to represent Florida in the Miss USA system.
For a young flight attendant from Miami, this was a major achievement.
She had gone from working aboard aircraft to representing an entire state.
And her pageant years would soon connect her with the man she eventually married.
How Did Valerie Lundeen Meet Ron Ely?
Ron Ely hosted the Miss America pageant during the early 1980s.
Associated Press reporting published after his death says that he met Valerie during that period.
The timing made sense.
Valerie was active in pageants.
Ron was working as a pageant host after already becoming famous through television.
Their lives were moving inside overlapping entertainment circles.
A relationship developed.
By 1984, they were married.
When Did Valerie Lundeen Marry Ron Ely?
Valerie and Ron married in 1984.
Ron was roughly two decades older than Valerie.
He had already experienced both Hollywood fame and an earlier marriage.
Valerie, meanwhile, was moving away from her pageant years.
Their marriage would ultimately last until Valerie’s death in 2019—about 35 years.
That is a significant length of time, particularly for a couple whose life remained connected with entertainment and public attention.
Ron Ely’s Life Before Valerie
Ron Ely was born in Texas in 1938 and became best known through Tarzan.
He also starred in the 1975 film Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze.
Before marrying Valerie, Ron had previously married his high-school sweetheart, with that marriage ending in the early 1960s.
By the time Valerie entered his life, Ron had already experienced years of acting and celebrity.
Their relationship therefore belonged to a more settled stage of his adult life.
Eventually, family became more important than continuing to chase every available acting role.
Valerie Lundeen and Ron Ely’s Children
Valerie and Ron had three children together:
Kirsten Ely, Kaitland Ely and Cameron Ely.
Family photographs from the 1980s and 1990s show the couple with all three children.
One widely circulated image shows Ron and Valerie standing beside Kirsten, Kaitland and Cameron during a family event.
These photographs reveal a side of Ron that television viewers did not always see.
Instead of Tarzan swinging through the jungle, he was simply a father standing beside his wife and children.
For Valerie, raising those children became one of the central parts of her adult life.
Ron Ely Stepped Away From Acting for His Family
One particularly meaningful detail about the Ely marriage is what happened to Ron’s career.
Associated Press reported that he essentially retired from acting in 2001 so he could focus on raising his family.
That says something about the life Valerie and Ron had built.
Hollywood was no longer the only priority.
The children were growing.
Family responsibilities mattered.
Ron also pursued writing, publishing mystery novels.
The couple’s later years therefore became much quieter than his early television fame might suggest.
Life in Hope Ranch, California
Valerie and Ron eventually lived in Hope Ranch, an affluent residential community near Santa Barbara, California.
The area is known for large properties and a quieter coastal lifestyle.
For the Elys, it offered a very different setting from Hollywood.
Their family home became a place where Valerie spent the later part of her life.
Unfortunately, it was also the site of the tragedy that ended it.
The Night Everything Changed
On October 15, 2019, authorities responded to a call reporting a family disturbance at the Ely home.
Sheriff’s deputies arrived shortly after 8 p.m.
Inside the house they found Valerie, aged 62, suffering from fatal stab wounds.
Authorities identified the couple’s 30-year-old son, Cameron Ely, as the suspect.
Ron was also inside the home.
He survived physically unharmed.
The night, however, was not over.
What Happened to Cameron Ely?
Deputies searched the property and later encountered Cameron outside the house.
Authorities said he posed a threat to the officers.
Four deputies opened fire, killing him.
Cameron was 30 years old.
He had previously attended Phillips Exeter Academy and studied at Harvard, where he played football.
The circumstances surrounding the police shooting quickly became controversial.
Authorities maintained that the deputies believed they were facing an immediate threat.
The Ely family later strongly disagreed with parts of that account.
Valerie and Cameron Died on the Same Night
For Ron and his daughters, the tragedy was almost unimaginable.
Valerie had been killed.
Minutes later, Cameron was dead too.
In one evening, the family lost both a mother and a son.
The initial news reports understandably focused on the shocking sequence of events.
But the story did not end when the police investigation concluded.
Ron and his surviving daughters later challenged how law enforcement had handled the situation.
The District Attorney’s Decision
In 2020, the Santa Barbara County District Attorney reviewed the deputies’ actions.
The shooting of Cameron was ultimately ruled justifiable, and the four deputies were not criminally charged.
Authorities said Cameron had acted in a way that made deputies believe he could be reaching for a weapon.
He was ultimately found to be unarmed.
The Ely family disputed the official version of the encounter.
This disagreement became the basis for a major civil case.
Ron Ely’s Lawsuit After Valerie’s Death
Ron Ely and his daughters filed a federal lawsuit connected with the deaths of Valerie and Cameron.
The lawsuit accused deputies and the Sheriff’s Office of using excessive force against Cameron and failing to provide sufficiently prompt medical assistance.
The family argued that Cameron was attempting to surrender when he was shot.
They also argued that medical responders should have been allowed to reach Valerie sooner.
The Sheriff’s Office rejected those allegations.
This transformed a private family tragedy into a legal battle lasting years.
What Happened to the Lawsuit?
The case eventually went before a jury in 2022.
The jury sided with the Santa Barbara County defendants.
It found that the deputies had not acted negligently or used excessive force and awarded the Ely family no damages.
The verdict legally resolved the major federal claims.
It did not, of course, erase the family’s loss.
For Ron and his daughters, Valerie and Cameron remained family members rather than simply names in a legal case.
How Valerie Was Remembered by Her Daughter
One of the more personal glimpses of Valerie comes from her daughter Kirsten.
Before the 2019 tragedy, Kirsten had shared affectionate posts about her mother on social media.
A 2016 post described Valerie in deeply admiring terms and thanked her for teaching Kirsten to care for herself.
This gives readers a picture that police reports cannot.
Valerie was not simply “the victim in the Ron Ely home.”
She was someone’s mother.
Someone’s wife.
A former beauty queen.
A woman whose daughters clearly admired her.
Those quieter details are important when remembering her life.
What Happened to Ron Ely After Valerie’s Death?
Ron lived for nearly five more years after Valerie’s death.
His later years were mostly private.
He continued to be connected with his daughters Kirsten and Kaitland.
Ron died on September 29, 2024, at the home of one of his daughters in Los Alamos, California.
He was 86.
His death was publicly announced several weeks later by daughter Kirsten.
Associated Press noted that he was survived by Kirsten and Kaitland.
This meant the two sisters had experienced the loss of their mother, brother and father within five years.
Valerie Lundeen’s Pageant Legacy
Because Valerie’s death became such a major news story, it can overshadow everything that came before it.
But her biography did not begin in 2019.
She was a young woman from Florida who worked as a flight attendant.
She won Miss Airlines International.
Then she became Miss Florida USA.
The official pageant organization still lists Valerie Lundeen as its 1981 winner.
That places her permanently in Florida pageant history.
Long before tragedy made headlines, she had already achieved something thousands of contestants dream about.
Was Valerie Lundeen an Actress?
Valerie was married to an actor, but she is not mainly documented as having pursued a significant professional acting career.
Her own public accomplishments were more closely connected with aviation and pageantry.
This distinction matters.
Being married to a Hollywood actor does not automatically make someone an actress.
Valerie occasionally attended public events and was photographed with Ron, but she did not build a long movie or television career comparable to his.
What Was Valerie Lundeen’s Net Worth?
There is no authoritative public record showing Valerie Lundeen’s exact personal net worth.
Various celebrity websites may provide estimates, but those numbers are difficult to verify.
Valerie and Ron lived together for decades and owned property in California.
Ron had earned money through acting, writing and entertainment work.
But shared household wealth does not automatically tell us Valerie’s individual financial position.
Therefore, an exact dollar figure would be speculation.
How Old Was Valerie Lundeen When She Died?
Valerie was 62 years old when she died in October 2019.
She was born in 1957.
One pageant-history source records her as 24 when she won Miss Florida USA in 1981, which matches that birth year.
Her exact day and month of birth are less clearly documented.
So it is better to avoid giving a precise birthday unless a stronger primary record becomes available.
Valerie Lundeen’s Lasting Legacy
Valerie’s legacy has several very different parts.
Pageant fans may remember her as Miss Florida USA 1981.
Fans of Ron Ely may remember her as the woman who spent more than three decades beside the Tarzan star.
Her daughters remember something much more personal.
And the wider public often associates her name with the deeply tragic events of 2019.
But no person’s entire life should be reduced to the way it ended.
Valerie lived more than six decades.
She travelled.
She worked.
She competed.
She became a wife.
She raised three children.
And she shared roughly 35 years of marriage with Ron Ely.
Those years deserve to remain part of the story too.
Interesting Facts About Valerie Lundeen
Valerie was raised in the Miami area and graduated from Miami Palmetto Senior High School in 1974. She later became a flight attendant and won Miss Airlines International in 1980. One year later, she represented Miami and won Miss Florida USA 1981. She met actor Ron Ely during the period when he was hosting the Miss America pageant, and the couple married in 1984. They had three children—Kirsten, Kaitland and Cameron—and eventually lived in Hope Ranch near Santa Barbara. Valerie died at age 62 on October 15, 2019. Ron remained deeply connected with their two surviving daughters until his own death in 2024.
Why People Still Search for Valerie Lundeen
There are several reasons Valerie’s name continues to attract searches.
Ron Ely remains an important part of television history.
Old episodes of Tarzan still introduce him to new viewers.
Those viewers naturally become curious about his family.
Then they discover Valerie.
Her pageant history adds another interesting layer.
And finally, the heartbreaking circumstances surrounding her death generated international coverage.
All of these things combine to keep her name visible years later.
Yet the most meaningful part of Valerie’s story may be much simpler.
For most of her adult life, she was not constantly making headlines.
She was building a family.
Final Thoughts
Valerie Lundeen lived a life containing both remarkable success and extraordinary tragedy.
She began as a young woman in Florida, graduated from Miami Palmetto Senior High School and became a flight attendant.
She won Miss Airlines International in 1980 and Miss Florida USA in 1981.
Then came Ron Ely.
They married in 1984 and raised Kirsten, Kaitland and Cameron together.
Ron eventually stepped away from regular acting so family could become his main focus.
For roughly 35 years, Valerie’s story was largely about marriage and motherhood rather than constant celebrity attention.
Then everything changed on October 15, 2019.
Her death and Cameron’s death devastated the family and led to years of legal arguments over the police response.
A jury ultimately ruled for the authorities in 2022.
Ron died two years later in 2024.
Today, Valerie’s life should be remembered for more than its tragic final night.
She was a pageant winner, flight attendant, wife, mother and grandmother-aged woman whose life had already included decades of experiences before her name appeared in heartbreaking headlines.
That fuller picture is the real story of Valerie Lundeen.
FAQs About Valerie Lundeen
Who was Valerie Lundeen?
Valerie Lundeen Ely was a former flight attendant and beauty queen who became Miss Florida USA 1981. She was also the longtime wife of Tarzan actor Ron Ely.
When was Valerie Lundeen born?
Valerie was born in 1957. Her exact publicly verified birthday is less clear.
Was Valerie Lundeen Miss Florida?
Yes. She won Miss Florida USA in 1981, representing Miami.
Was Valerie Lundeen a flight attendant?
Yes. She worked as a flight attendant and won Miss Airlines International in 1980.
Who was Valerie Lundeen’s husband?
Her husband was actor Ron Ely, best known for starring in the 1960s television series Tarzan.
When did Valerie Lundeen marry Ron Ely?
Valerie and Ron married in 1984.
How many children did Valerie Lundeen have?
She and Ron had three children: Kirsten, Kaitland and Cameron Ely.
Where did Valerie Lundeen live?
Valerie and Ron lived in Hope Ranch, a residential community near Santa Barbara, California, during the later years of their marriage.
When did Valerie Lundeen die?
Valerie died on October 15, 2019, at age 62.
What happened to Valerie Lundeen?
Authorities said Valerie was fatally attacked by her son Cameron during a family disturbance at the Ely home. Cameron was later shot and killed by responding sheriff’s deputies.
What happened to Valerie Lundeen’s son Cameron?
Cameron Ely was shot and killed by sheriff’s deputies after they encountered him outside the family home. Authorities said they believed he posed a threat, while the Ely family later disputed important parts of the official account.
Did Ron Ely sue after Valerie and Cameron died?
Yes. Ron and his surviving daughters brought a federal case alleging excessive force and failures to provide timely medical aid. A jury ruled for the county and deputies in 2022.
Is Ron Ely still alive?
No. Ron Ely died on September 29, 2024, aged 86.
What was Valerie Lundeen’s net worth?
Her individual net worth was never reliably disclosed publicly, so exact online estimates should be treated as speculation.
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