Jenny Curran was the love of Forrest’s life in Forrest Gump, but she unfortunately passed away at a very young age. Forrest Gump is one of the most iconic movies in film history, and part of the reason it has such a legendary status is because it has so many highs and lows. From highs like Lieutenant Dan’s recovery to lows like Bubba’s death in Vietnam, Forrest Gump is an emotional roller coaster. One of the most tragic moments in the entire film was Jenny’s death, and it was made even more heartbreaking by her young age when she passed.

The timeline of Forrest Gump isn’t very clearly labeled, but there are a few historical events Forrest was part of and other clues that help determine which era each part of the film took place in. He met a young Elvis Presley, he fought in the Vietnam War, and he witnessed the Watergate break-in, just to name a few of Forrest Gump‘s historical events. Those moments provide a broad but fairly intuitive timeline of Forrest’s life from when he was a child to when he married his lifelong love. Determining how old Jenny was when she died, however, wasn’t as obviously shown.

Jenny Is 36 When She Dies In Forrest Gump

Forrest Gump mostly alluded to Jenny’s age throughout its runtime, but there was one moment that established her age very specifically, down to her birthdate and death date. Jenny’s tombstone proved that she was born on July 16, 1945, and died on March 22, 1982, making her 36 years old when she passed. That young age makes sense, given Jenny’s character arc through Forrest Gump. For most of her time in the movie, Jenny was concerned with living her life while she was young, and many of the mistakes she made were those of a young person.

Jenny’s age wasn’t the only confusing part of her death. Audiences have also been left wondering what disease Jenny died from, as Forrest Gump only ever specified that it hadn’t been identified yet in 1981. There are two prevailing theories about Jenny’s illness: she likely had either HIV/AIDS or Hepatitis C. Her illness was one of the reasons she finally decided to marry Forrest, as she saw that she could finally slow down, and she wanted him to take care of their son, Forrest Jr. In any case, Jenny’s illness took her life quite quickly, and she died shortly after she married Forrest.

How Long Jenny & Forrest Gump Were Married Before Her Death

Jenny’s date of death provides a definitive end to her marriage to Forrest, but the exact length is a bit harder to determine. Luckily, another of Forrest Gump‘s historical moments gives a fairly accurate timeline. Forrest got the letter from Jenny that said she wanted to meet again as John Hinckley Jr.’s attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan was being broadcast. That assassination attempt happened on March 30, 1981, meaning Forrest married Jenny shortly after March 1981. Because Jenny died in March 1982, Forrest and Jenny were married for a bit less than a year before her death.

While Forrest and Jenny were married for almost a year, Forrest Gump didn’t depict much of their life together. In fact, their marriage only takes up less than two and a half minutes of Forrest Gump‘s runtime, from the time they were married to Jenny’s death. A significant portion of that time also showed Jenny when she was bedridden from her illness, near the end of her life. The short length of their marriage was tragic, and it was a major reason the ending of Forrest Gump, and Forrest’s monologue over Jenny’s grave, was as emotionally moving as it was.

Forrest and Jenny’s relationship is one of the most iconic – and tragic – romances in movie history. Many viewers feel that Jenny gave Forrest a raw deal in the end, that she only decided to be with him once her life was nearing its end. While that could be the case, her marriage to Forrest is also beautiful, because it displayed just how deeply Forrest loved her. He only got to be with her for less than a year before she died at the age of 36, but Forrest’s enduring love for Jenny was one of the best parts of Forrest Gump.