Lyssa Rae Brittain (née Greene) is an American businesswoman and homemaker best known as the third wife of Duane “Dog” Chapman the legendary American bounty hunter and star of the hit A&E reality series Dog the Bounty Hunter and as the mother of the show’s beloved personality, Lyssa “Baby Lyssa” Chapman.
Born in Denver, Colorado, and raised with strong Christian values and a university education, Lyssa Rae’s life has been shaped by her nine-year marriage to one of television’s most recognizable personalities, the joys and heartbreaks of motherhood, and a deliberate retreat from the public spotlight that has defined her post-divorce years.
| Lyssa Rae Brittain (née Greene) | |
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Lyssa Rae Brittain (née Greene): History · Bio · Photo
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| Wiki Facts & About Data | |
| Full Name: | Lyssa Rae Brittain (née Greene) |
| Born: | July 15, 1954 |
| Age: | 71 years old |
| Birthplace: | Denver, Colorado, USA |
| Nationality: | American |
| Occupation: | Businesswoman, Homemaker, Entrepreneur |
| Height: | 5 feet 4 inches (1.63 m) |
| Religion: | Christian |
| Spouse: | Duane "Dog" Chapman (m. 1982 – div. 1991); previously a minister (divorced prior to meeting Dog) |
| Children: | Barbara Katie Chapman (1982–2006, deceased); Tucker Dee Chapman (b. 1983); Lyssa Rae "Baby Lyssa" Chapman (b. 1987); Nicholas Chapman |
Early Life
Lyssa Rae Greene was born on July 15, 1954, in Denver, Colorado. She grew up in Denver in the post-World War II era, raised with traditional American family values in what she has described as a conventional middle-class household.
She was shaped by the conservative, faith-centered culture of her upbringing a Christian worldview that would prove both a bond with, and ultimately an insufficient anchor for, her most famous marriage.
Before meeting Duane Chapman, Lyssa had been married to a Christian minister. That marriage ended in divorce after she discovered he had been unfaithful. The experience of betrayal by a man she had trusted in both love and faith left her deeply wounded but also seeking connection.
It was shortly after this divorce that she encountered Duane Chapman at a bar. According to accounts of their meeting, Duane was nursing his own emotional wounds following the departure of his second wife, Anne Tengell, who had taken his children. The two bonded over their shared Christian faith and their mutual experience of heartbreak.
Education
Lyssa Rae Brittain is a college graduate a fact often overlooked in coverage that focuses primarily on her connection to Dog the Bounty Hunter.
She attended Denver High School and subsequently enrolled at the University of Colorado, where she earned a degree in Business.
Following graduation, she worked for her father’s business before eventually leaving the corporate world to focus on domestic life and family. Her business education gave her a foundation of professional competence that she would later apply to her own entrepreneurial pursuits.
Relationship and Marriage to Dog Chapman
Lyssa Rae and Duane “Dog” Chapman married in 1982 with Lyssa already pregnant with their first child at the time of the wedding. The ceremony was notably conducted by an indigenous official rather than a traditional minister or Christian pastor. Their marriage lasted nine years, during which they had four children together.
The relationship was turbulent, defined by Dog’s dangerous career in bounty hunting, personality conflicts, and what Baby Lyssa has described as a complicated home environment for the children. The couple divorced in 1991.
Children and Family Tragedies
Lyssa Rae Brittain is the mother of four children with Duane Chapman. Her eldest daughter, Barbara Katie Chapman, was born on June 8, 1982.
Tragically, Barbara died in a car accident near Fairbanks, Alaska on May 19, 2006 at just 23 years old. The devastating news reached the Chapman family on the eve of Dog’s wedding to Beth Chapman, casting a shadow over the occasion.
Barbara had herself been a teenage mother, leaving behind a young son named Travis Drake-Lee, who was four years old at the time of her death. Her son Tucker Dee Chapman (b. September 8, 1983) has had a complex public history, including the 2007 scandal in which he sold an audio recording of his father using a racial slur to the National Enquirer resulting in A&E placing Dog the Bounty Hunter on hiatus.
Her daughter Lyssa “Baby Lyssa” Chapman (b. June 10, 1987) became a central figure on Dog the Bounty Hunter and a fan favorite, later becoming a licensed bail bondswoman and entrepreneur. A fourth child, Nicholas Chapman, has lived almost entirely away from the public eye.
Life After Divorce
Following her 1991 divorce from Duane Chapman, Lyssa Rae relocated with her daughter Baby Lyssa to Anderson, a remote small town in Alaska. Life in Alaska was a significant change quieter, more remote, and far removed from the emerging celebrity orbit of her ex-husband.
Baby Lyssa, who has spoken about this period in interviews and in her 2013 memoir Walking on Eggshells, has described her mother’s home in Alaska as more peaceful than her father’s, but noted that Lyssa struggled with alcohol dependency during this period.
Baby Lyssa has said that their relationship became strained, particularly when Lyssa’s boyfriend moved in and Baby Lyssa at 14 years old and pregnant was effectively left to fend for herself in the family trailer.
The relationship between Lyssa Rae and Baby Lyssa remained difficult for years, with Baby Lyssa noting in a 2016 interview that she had not seen her mother since 2006.
Despite these family difficulties, Lyssa Rae Brittain has continued to live quietly in Alaska and has become a grandmother through her surviving children.
She has pursued entrepreneurial activities, although the specifics of her business ventures are not extensively documented publicly. She has largely avoided media attention, preferring a private life far from the cameras that captured her ex-husband’s world for a decade.
Personal Life
Lyssa Rae Brittain currently resides in Alaska and maintains a very private life. She is known to be a grandmother and has continued to practice her Christian faith.
Her physical description standing approximately 5 feet 4 inches tall with blonde hair and dark brown eyes reflects a woman who has maintained her appearance throughout her 70s. She has not remarried or entered any known public relationship since her divorce from Duane Chapman.
Her story is one of the quieter but deeply human chapters of the Dog the Bounty Hunter legacy a woman who shared nearly a decade with one of America’s most recognizable reality stars and chose, after their separation, to live as far from that world as geography would allow.
Net Worth
Lyssa Rae Brittain’s personal net worth is not publicly documented.
Her business ventures in Alaska have generated private income, and she received divorce settlements from her marriage to Duane Chapman. Her ex-husband Dog the Bounty Hunter’s estimated net worth is approximately $6 million.
FAQs
Who is Lyssa Rae Brittain?
Lyssa Rae Brittain is the third ex-wife of Duane “Dog” Chapman and the mother of Baby Lyssa Chapman from the A&E reality series Dog the Bounty Hunter. She was born on July 15, 1954, in Denver, Colorado.
How long was Lyssa Rae Brittain married to Dog Chapman?
They were married from 1982 to 1991 nine years. They had four children together during their marriage.
Who are Lyssa Rae Brittain’s children?
Her children are Barbara Katie Chapman (1982–2006, deceased in car accident), Tucker Dee Chapman (b. 1983), Baby Lyssa Chapman (b. 1987), and Nicholas Chapman.
Where does Lyssa Rae Brittain live now?
She has lived in Alaska since the early 1990s following her divorce from Duane Chapman and largely remains there, living privately away from the media spotlight.
Conclusion
Lyssa Rae Brittain’s story is one of faith, resilience, loss, and the complex aftermath of a high-profile marriage.
Her four children one of whom was taken far too soon in a heartbreaking accident, and another of whom became a beloved reality television figure are the most enduring chapters of her legacy.
While her ex-husband became famous and her daughter Baby Lyssa became a television personality in her own right, Lyssa Rae chose the road less traveled: a quiet life in remote Alaska, far from cameras and celebrity. In doing so, she wrote the most private chapter of one of American reality television’s most public family stories.
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