Last updated: October 29, 2026
Diane Lou Oswald is the mother of Oscar-nominated actor Woody Harrelson. She is not a public figure in her own right. She is a private woman from Lebanon, Ohio, who worked as a legal secretary and raised three sons mostly by herself. This article explains what is truly known about her life story, and it also marks clearly what is still unclear, because many websites repeat wrong details.
Diane Lou Oswald Quick Facts
| Detail | Information | Confirmed? |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Diane Lou Oswald (later known as Diane Harrelson) | Yes |
| Known for | Mother of actor Woody Harrelson | Yes |
| Birthplace | Lebanon, Warren County, Ohio | Yes |
| Birth year | About 1937 (a few sites say 1936) | No, exact date not public |
| School | Lebanon High School, Class of 1955 | Yes |
| Work | Legal secretary / legal assistant | Yes |
| Former husband | Charles Voyde Harrelson (1938–2007) | Yes |
| Marriage | Late 1950s (1958 or 1959, depending on source) | Date disputed |
| Children | Jordan, Woody (born 1961), Brett (born 1963) | Yes |
| Current home | Reportedly Lebanon, Ohio | Not confirmed |
| Net worth | No reliable figure exists | Unknown |
Which Diane Lou Oswald Is This?
Search results for this name are messy. Some pages call her an environmental activist, a journalist, a Pennsylvania politician, or even the mother of Taylor Swift. I found no reliable source for any of these claims. Taylor Swift’s mother, for example, is Andrea Swift.
Trusted sources such as Wikipedia, IMDb, the Dayton Daily News, and Texas Monthly describe only one Diane Lou Oswald: Woody Harrelson’s mother. Her last name also matches Lee Harvey Oswald’s, but I found no reliable source that links the two families. Oswald is simply her birth name.
Early Life in Lebanon, Ohio
Diane was born and raised in Lebanon, a small city in Warren County, Ohio, between Cincinnati and Dayton. Local reporting says she graduated from Lebanon High School in 1955. That fits the birth year of about 1937 that most profiles give, although no official record of her exact birth date is public.
Some websites name her parents as Kenneth Earl Oswald and Mary Lou Oswald. I could only find this on low-quality sites, so I treat it as unverified.
Marriage to Charles Harrelson
Diane married Charles Voyde Harrelson, a Texas man who later became a convicted contract killer. Texas Monthly reported that she married him quickly, while he was home on leave from the Navy. When he served a prison term in California in 1960 for theft, she stood by him.
The couple settled in Midland, Texas, where Woody was born in July 1961 and Brett in June 1963. Wikipedia lists the marriage as 1959 and the divorce as 1964. Some other pages cite a 1958 wedding in Pasadena, Texas, but I could not check that record myself.
Charles was later convicted of killing federal judge John H. Wood Jr. in 1979 and received two life sentences. He died in prison in 2007. Texas Monthly noted that Diane never remarried and that Charles had left the family in 1968.
Career and Raising Three Sons
Diane worked as a legal secretary. The Dayton Daily News reports that after the move to Ohio she worked as a legal assistant for a law firm in Franklin. Wikipedia notes that the family was poor and relied on her wages.
In 1973, when Woody was 12, she moved with her sons back to her hometown. One former teacher quoted by Texas Monthly said neighbors in Houston had teased Woody about his father’s criminal record, and that this was why the family left. That is one person’s account, not a confirmed reason.
Faith, Values, and Her Influence on Woody
Texas Monthly described Diane as a decent and deeply religious woman who raised three sons on a secretary’s salary. Woody went to Sunday school, a church youth group met at the family home, and his church helped arrange his scholarship to Hanover College in Indiana. Some profiles say the family was Presbyterian.
Public glimpses of their bond are small but warm. Woody has said she was thrilled to meet Robert Redford when Indecent Proposal came out in 1993. She also told the Dayton Daily News that he struggled for about a year after moving to New York.
Timeline of Key Dates
| Year | Event | Source quality |
|---|---|---|
| c. 1937 | Born in Lebanon, Ohio | Approximate |
| 1955 | Graduates from Lebanon High School | Local news |
| 1958 or 1959 | Marries Charles Harrelson | Disputed |
| 1960 | Charles serves prison time in California | Magazine report |
| 1961 | Son Woody is born in Midland, Texas | Well documented |
| 1963 | Son Brett is born in Midland, Texas | Well documented |
| 1964 | Divorce, per Wikipedia | Disputed |
| 1973 | Moves her sons to Lebanon, Ohio | Well documented |
| 1979 | Woody graduates from Lebanon High School | Well documented |
| 2007 | Charles Harrelson dies in prison | Well documented |
What Is Still Unclear
Many competitor pages state these points as facts. I list them as open questions instead.
- Exact birth date: Only the year (about 1937) appears in sources, and even that is an estimate.
- Marriage year: 1958 and 1959 both appear.
- End of the marriage: Wikipedia says 1964, while Texas Monthly says Charles left in 1968. He may have left later than the legal divorce.
- Parents’ names: Reported only on weak sources.
- Jordan Harrelson: His birth date and details are not well documented.
Why Her Story Matters to Readers
Most people search for Diane Lou Oswald because they want to know who raised Woody Harrelson. The answer is a working mother who faced hard choices. She stayed in her marriage while her husband was in trouble with the law, then rebuilt life for her children in her own hometown, with a regular job and steady church ties. Her story is quiet, but it explains a lot about the Ohio years that shaped her famous son.
It is also a good reminder to be careful online. A mother who avoids interviews can easily become the subject of invented biographies, and this is exactly what has happened here. Readers should be cautious about any page that gives her height, weight, religion, or wealth without naming a source.
Where Is Diane Lou Oswald Now?
I found no obituary or death report in the sources I checked. Several websites say she lives quietly in Lebanon, Ohio, but they do not point to a source I could verify. If she was born around 1937, she would be about 88 or 89 in 2026, which is an estimate only.
Her son’s work is in the news this year, including the Apple TV comedy Brothers (2026). I found no confirmed 2026 news about Diane herself, and she appears to value her privacy.
How This Was Researched
I researched this biography using Wikipedia entries, IMDb, a 1994 Texas Monthly profile, Dayton Daily News coverage, and about a dozen ranking pages on this keyword. Many of those pages repeat the same thin facts, add invented details, or mix her up with other people. Where sources disagreed, I showed both versions instead of guessing. My goal was to build the clearest and most careful guide to this topic that I could find.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Diane Lou Oswald?
Diane Lou Oswald, also known as Diane Harrelson, is the mother of actor Woody Harrelson and his brothers Jordan and Brett. She worked as a legal secretary.
How old is Diane Lou Oswald?
Her exact birth date is not public. Most profiles say she was born around 1937, which would make her about 88 or 89 in 2026.
Is Diane Lou Oswald related to Lee Harvey Oswald?
No reliable source shows a family link. Oswald is her birth name, and pages claiming a connection do not support it with evidence.
Was Diane Lou Oswald married to Charles Harrelson?
Yes. They married in the late 1950s and had three sons. Sources disagree on the exact year of the wedding and on when the marriage ended.
What is Diane Lou Oswald’s net worth?
No reliable figure exists. One site lists an estimated $500,000 as of 2026, but it gives no source, so treat it as unconfirmed.
Where does Diane Lou Oswald live?
She is reportedly in Lebanon, Ohio, her hometown. This is not confirmed by a source I could verify.
Accuracy Note
This biography is based on publicly available information, including news coverage, magazine reporting, and reference sites. Where facts conflict or cannot be confirmed, we have said so. If you spot anything outdated or incorrect, please let us know so we can update it.
Written and researched by Muhammad Huzaifa, contributor at Aurel Magazine.
