Tammy Faye
| Tammy Faye Messner | |
|---|---|
Tammy Faye Messner in April 2004
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| Born |
Tamara Faye LaValley March 7, 1942 International Falls, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Died | July 20, 2007 (aged 65) Loch Lloyd, Missouri, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Colon Cancer |
| Occupation | Christian singer, evangelist, entrepreneur, author, actress, television personality, co-founder of Heritage USA and PTL-The Inspirational Network |
| Years active | 1962–2007 |
| Spouse(s) |
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| Children | Tammy Sue Bakker Chapman, Jamie Charles Bakker |
| Parent(s) | Carl LaValley and Rachel Fairchild |
| Website | tammyfaye.com |
Tamara Faye LaValley Bakker Messner (March 7, 1942 – July 20, 2007) was an American Christian singer, evangelist, entrepreneur, author, talk show host, and television personality. She was married from 1961 to 1992 to televangelist, and later convicted felon, Jim Bakker. She co-hosted with him on The PTL Club (1976–1987). She was a participant in the 2004 season of the reality show The Surreal Life.
The eldest of eight children, Tammy Faye was born Tamara Faye LaValley in International Falls, Minnesota, to Pentecostal preachers Rachel Minnie (née Fairchild) and Carl Oliver LaValley. Her parents were married in 1941. Shortly after she was born, a painful divorce soured her mother against other ministers, alienating her from the church.
In 1960, she met Jim Bakker when they were students at North Central Bible College in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Tammy Faye worked in a boutique for a time while Jim found work in a restaurant inside a department store in Minneapolis. They were married on April 1, 1961. The following year, they moved to South Carolina, where they began their ministry.
Their marriage produced two children, Tammy Sue (Sissy) Bakker Chapman (born 1970) and Jamie Charles (Jay) Bakker (born 1975). Jay Bakker suffered from alcoholism as a result of his parent's issues in the media, and now has begun a new strand of churches throughout the United States, including in New York City, where he now resides.
Jim and Tammy Bakker had been involved with television from the time of their departure from Minneapolis until they moved to the Charlotte area via Portsmouth, Virginia, where they were founding members of the The 700 Club. While in Portsmouth, they were hosts of the popular children's show "Jim and Tammy". They then created a puppet ministry for children on Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) from 1964 to 1973. Jim and Tammy founded the The PTL Club (Praise The Lord) in the mid-1970s.
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