Joyce Marie Horman (born December 3, 1944) is an American human rights activist. She is known as the wife of journalist Charles Horman, who went missing in 1973 while the couple was living in

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

. Her search for what happened to him was chronicled in the 1982 film ''

Missing Missing or The Missing may refer to: Film * ''Missing'' (1918 film), an American silent drama directed by James Young * ''Missing'' (1982 film), an American historical drama directed by Costa-Gavras about the 1973 coup in Chile *, a Belgian film ...

'', in which she was portrayed by

Sissy Spacek Mary Elizabeth "Sissy" Spacek (; born December 25, 1949) is an American actress and singer. She has received List of awards and nominations received by Sissy Spacek, numerous accolades throughout her career spanning over five decades, including ...

. Spacek was nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

for her performance as Horman. Her family's story was first told in the 1978 book by

Thomas Hauser Thomas C. Hauser (born February 27, 1946) is an American author known for his biographies and novels and writing about boxing. Biography Hauser graduated from Mamaroneck High School in 1963, Columbia College in 1967 and Columbia Law School i ...

titled ''The Execution of Charles Horman: An American Sacrifice''.

Personal life

Horman was born in Owatonna,

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, the daughter of Vernita (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Sauke 1923–2010) and Arthur "Duffy" Hamren (1921-2010). Her paternal grandmother Marie Hamren (1890-1985), was born in

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

to Norwegian immigrants. She has one brother, Jerome Hamren. Her parents owned and operated a grocery store in Owatonna called "Duffy's Superfair". She graduated from

Owatonna Senior High School Owatonna High School (OHS) is a public school in Owatonna, Minnesota, United States. The school was established in 1877. Construction of the current building started in 2021 and finished in 2023 and opened for students fall 2023. It currently has ...

in 1962 and then graduated from the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

. In 1964 while on break from college she traveled to

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

with a friend, where she met her future husband Charles Horman. They teamed up together and traveled around

. Joyce graduated from college and moved to New York City, where Charles was originally from, and they were engaged in 1968. Soon they moved to

Santiago, Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

, where Charles, a freelance journalist, had accepted a job. The couple was living in Chile during the

1973 Chilean coup d'état The 1973 Chilean coup d'état () was a military overthrow of the democratic socialist president of Chile Salvador Allende and his Popular Unity (Chile), Popular Unity coalition government. Allende, who has been described as the first Marxist ...

, a military takeover of the government. Her husband was kidnapped and tortured before being killed. Initially Joyce did not know what had happened to Charlie. Her husband's father,

Edmund Horman Edmund C. Horman (April 15, 1906 – April 16, 1993) was an American businessman who flew to Chile in 1973 in search of his son, Charles Horman, knowing that soldiers had seized him, but unaware that he had been shot dead by the Chilean military f ...

, flew to

after learning of his son's disappearance, and Ed and Joyce along with their friend, Terry Simon, fought the local political regime for several weeks for information on what happened to him. In 1977 the family began work on a wrongful death lawsuit against the United States for their lack of help in investigating Charlie Horman's murder.

Later life

Horman lives in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. After her husband's death she remained close with her in-laws, Edmund and Elizabeth Horman. Edmund died in 1993, and Joyce lived with Elizabeth, an artist, until her death in 2001. Joyce created the ''Horman Truth Foundation'', which fights for continued research and prosecution for those involved with her husband's murder, which included

Augusto Pinochet Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean military officer and politician who was the dictator of Military dictatorship of Chile, Chile from 1973 to 1990. From 1973 to 1981, he was the leader ...

. Joyce travels around the country as a guest speaker, telling students and others about her experience of living in Chile during the 1973

Coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

. She has never remarried and has no children.

Portrayal in media

was cast to portray Joyce Horman in the 1982 film ''

''. Joyce stated she felt uneasy about what the outcome of the film would be, and asked director

Costa-Gavras Konstantinos "Kostas" Gavras (; born 12 February 1933), known professionally as Costa-Gavras, is a Greek-French film director, screenwriter, and producer who lives and works in France. He is known for political films, such as the political thril ...

to change her name in the film from Joyce to "Beth Horman" to distance herself. The film premiered at the 1982 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for four

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

, including Best Picture, and won the Academy Award for Best Screenplay.Missing in Chile
accessed 3/25/2015

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Horman, Joyce 1944 births Living people American human rights activists People from Owatonna, Minnesota 21st-century American women