• Cindi Knight is an American former actress and the widow of the late actor, comedian and singer Andy Griffith.
• She was born in Jacksonville, Florida USA, on 2 May 1953 and holds American nationality.
• She married Andy Griffith in 1983, and the marriage ended when he passed away in 201•
• Cindi is a philanthropist and enjoys travelling, reading, watching films and spending time with her family.
• She has an estimated net worth of over $30 million, mostly from the inheritance she received from Andy.
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Who is Cindi Knight?
Cindi was born in Jacksonville, Florida USA, on 2 May 1953 – her zodiac sign is Taurus, and she holds American nationality. She’s a former actress, but she’s probably known best for having been the wife of the late American actor, comedian and singer Andy Griffith.
Early life and education
Cindi was raised in Jacksonville by her mother Muriel and father Bobby Knight; not a lot is known about them because she respects their privacy, but it’s said that her father was a businessman, and her mother a housewife. Because Cindi hasn’t mentioned having any siblings, most of her fans believe her to be an only child.
She studied at a local elementary school in Jacksonville, and was interested in several activities during her four years there, including acting with the school’s drama club, and playing a couple of sports. Cindi progressed to high school in 1967 and continued being physically active, while she also appeared in a couple of school plays.
She matriculated in 1971, and because she hasn’t spoken of her further education, it’s believed that she didn’t attend college.
Cindi’s career
She hasn’t shared many details with the public concerning her career, but it’s believed that she has spent the majority of it teaching at an elementary school.
Cindi has only two acting credits. She portrayed Julia Turner in the 1983 crime movie “Murder in Coweta County”, directed by Gary Nelson, and which starred Johnny Cash, Andy Griffith and Earl Hindman. It’s a true story of how Sheriff Lamar Potts managed to bring wealthy John Wallace to justice, and the movie was nominated for an Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Television Feature or Miniseries.
Cindi also played Secretary in the 1982 episode “Who Would Kill Ramona?” and the 1983 episode “Fear for Tomorrow” of the mystery crime series “Matt Houston”, created by Lawrence Gordon, and which starred Lee Horsley, Pamela Hensley and Lincoln Kilpatrick.
It follows a wealthy Texan who has come to California to help his family with their offshore drilling business, while his main hobby is being a private investigator. The series aired from 1982 to 1985, and was nominated for four awards.
Love life and marriage with Andy
Cindi hasn’t shared many details concerning her and Andy’s marriage, but it’s known that they met when they were shooting together for the movie “Murder in Coweta County” in 1982. They went on to marry on 12 April 1983, in a private ceremony attended by only a couple of their friends and family members; Cindi and Andy didn’t have children; the marriage ended when Andy died from a heart attack on 3 July 2012.
Cindi hasn’t spoken of any other men whom she has perhaps been with, while it’s widely known that Andy was married twice prior to meeting her. He exchanged vows with his first wife Barbara Bray Edwards on 22 August 1949, and they adopted two children: a boy Andy Samuel ‘Sam’ Griffith Jr. who was born in 1957, and a daughter Dixie Nann Griffith; Andy and Barbara’s divorce was finalized in 1972, and their son Sam died in 1996, from complications caused by his alcoholism. Andy was married to his second wife, Greek actress Solica Cassuto from 1973 to 1981.
As of June 2022, Cindi seems to be single, was married to Andy Griffith, and doesn’t have children.
Hobbies and other interests
Cindi became interested in travelling when she was still a teenager, and visited a couple of US states with her parents, mostly because of her father’s work. She has since been to more than 30 states, and has also travelled to a couple of European and Asian countries, including France, Italy and China.
She’s a philanthropist, and so was her late husband; the two donated money to several charity organizations working with underprivileged children, as well as to hospitals trying to find a cure for cancer.
Cindi enjoys reading books in her spare time; her favorite author is Agatha Christie, while a couple of her favorite books include “Five Little Pigs”, “Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?” and “The A. B. C. Murders”.
She’s also into watching films – her favorite actor is Leonardo DiCaprio, while a couple of her favorite movies include “Titanic”, “Inception” and “Shutter Island”.
Age, height and net worth
Cindi’s age is 69. She has long brown hair and brown eyes, her height is 5ft 5ins (1.65m) and she weighs around 145lbs (65kgs).
As of June 2022, her net worth has been estimated at more than $30 million, mostly what she received after her husband Andy passed away; the other half of Andy’s $60 million wealth was left to his daughter Dixie.
Who was her husband Andy?
Andy Samuel Griffith was born in Mount Airy, North Carolina USA, on 1 June 1926 – his zodiac sign was Gemini, and he held American nationality.
He appeared in 72 movies and TV series, and is perhaps still remembered best for his portrayal of Andy Taylor, the main character in the critically acclaimed family comedy series “The Andy Griffith Show”. It was created by Sheldon Leonard and Aaron Ruben, also starred Ron Howard and Don Knotts, and follows the lives of Sherriff Andy Taylor and his son Opie; the series aired from 1960 to 1968, and won 20 awards, including six Primetime Emmys, while it was nominated for five other awards.
Andy was raised in Mount Airy as an only child, by his mother Geneva (nee Nunn) and his father Carl Lee Griffith; his parents weren’t financially stable, and Andy spent the first three years of his life living with his relatives, prior to his father buying a house for the family.
He was mostly interested in singing and acting while attending Mount Airy High school, and upon matriculating in 1945, he enrolled at the University of North Carolina, from which he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in music in 1949.
Andy spent the following a couple of years teaching drama and music at Goldsboro High School.
He made his debut TV series appearance in the 1955 episode “No Time for Sergeants” of the comedy drama “The United States Steel Hour”, and he then made his debut film appearance by playing Larry ‘Lonesome’ Rhodes in the 1957 musical drama “A Face in the Crowd”.
Andy became famous thanks to his role in “The Andy Griffith Show”, and was thus invited to star in the 1972 crime thriller movie “The Strangers in 7A”, the 1973 drama film “Go Ask Alice”, and the 1977 drama mini-series “Washington: Behind Closed Doors”. What marked the ‘80s for him was perhaps his portrayal of the supporting character Colonel Ticonderoga in the western comedy movie “Rustlers’ Rhapsody”, written and directed by Hugh Wilson, and which starred Tom Berenger and G. W. Bailey.
It follows the cowboy Rex O’Herlihan and his adventures in the Wild West.
Between 1986 and 1995, Andy starred as Ben Matlock in all the 181 episodes of the crime mystery series “Matlock”, which won six of the 11 awards for which it was nominated, and his final three roles were in the 2007 romantic comedy movie “Waitress”, the 2008 short comedy film “Ron Howard’s Call to Action”, and the 2009 romantic comedy movie “Play the Game”.
Andy won six of the 10 awards for which he was nominated, including a 1981 Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or a Special, for his performance in “Murder in Texas”. He was awarded his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 1991.
Andy had also released close to 20 music albums, with his debut having been “What It Was, Was Football” in 1953, and his final “Pickin’ and Grinnin’: The Best of Andy Griffith” in 2005.
