Maxine Sneed is known primarily as the first wife of comedian and actor Tommy Chong, one half of the comedy duo Cheech & Chong. She married Chong in 1960, before he found fame, and the couple had two daughters — actresses Rae Dawn Chong and Robbi Chong — before divorcing around 1970.
Maxine has kept an almost entirely private life. She has never given a public interview, has no verified public statements on record, and most of what circulates online about her career and heritage traces back to unsourced celebrity-blog content rather than confirmed reporting. This article separates what is documented from what is repeated but unverified.
Quick Facts
| Known for | First wife of comedian Tommy Chong |
| Birthplace | Canada (city and date not publicly documented) |
| Birth date | Not publicly confirmed |
| Marriage to Tommy Chong | 1960 – circa 1970 (CONFIRMED per Chong’s own biography) |
| Children | Rae Dawn Chong (b. 1961), Robbi Chong (b. 1965) |
| Brother | Floyd Sneed, drummer for Three Dog Night (CONFIRMED) |
| Ethnicity | Black Canadian / African-American, per genealogical research (REPORTED — “Cherokee” claim is unverified) |
| Career | Reported as a magazine editor; specific outlet unverified |
| Net worth | Not publicly documented |
Who Is Maxine Sneed?
Maxine Sneed was born in Canada; her exact birthdate has never been made public. She is the older sister of Floyd Sneed, the drummer best known for his work with the rock band Three Dog Night — a family connection confirmed in multiple obituaries and biographical sources following his death in 2023.
Genealogical research into her family (including her parents, Napoleon Sneed and Willa Carothers, whose roots trace to Louisiana, Kansas, and Texas) describes her background as Black Canadian, with her family having moved to Canada from the United States. This is the most substantiated account of her ancestry. Some celebrity-blog articles additionally describe her as having “Cherokee” heritage, but no genealogical source or family statement supporting that claim was found — it should be treated as unconfirmed.
Beyond her marriage and family ties, little about Maxine’s early life, education, or personal history has been documented. She has not given interviews and does not appear to have a public social media presence.
How Old Is Maxine Sneed?
Her exact age is not publicly known. Based on her marriage in 1960 and the birth of her first daughter in 1961, she was likely born in the early-to-mid 1940s, which would put her in her early-to-mid 80s in 2026. This is an estimate, not a confirmed figure.
Marriage to Tommy Chong
Maxine married Tommy Chong in Canada in 1960, before he became known as part of Cheech & Chong. This date, along with her identity as Floyd Sneed’s sister, is documented in Chong’s own biographical record.
The marriage lasted roughly a decade, ending in divorce around 1970 — a period that overlapped with Chong’s transition from musician to the comedy career that later made him famous alongside Cheech Marin. Chong went on to marry Shelby Fiddis (Shelby Chong) in 1975; she remains his wife today.
Specific details about why the marriage ended have not been confirmed by either party in any documented interview. Some unsourced blog posts claim the marriage broke down over an alleged affair involving Chong and a claim that Rae Dawn was not Maxine’s biological daughter. No credible source — including Chong’s own public statements or verified biographies of Rae Dawn Chong — supports that claim, and Rae Dawn Chong is consistently described in reliable sources as Maxine’s biological daughter. That rumor is addressed directly in the “Fact vs. Rumor” section below.
Children and Family Life
Maxine and Tommy had two daughters: Rae Dawn Chong, born February 28, 1961, in Edmonton, Alberta, and Robbi Chong, born in 1965. Both are confirmed as Tommy and Maxine’s biological children in standard biographical references.
Rae Dawn Chong became a prominent actress, with credits including The Color Purple and Commando. She has spoken publicly about her mixed heritage over the course of her career.
Robbi Chong worked as a model and actress, appearing in film and television roles of her own. Both sisters have half-siblings from Tommy Chong’s second marriage to Shelby Chong, including actress Precious Chong.
What Maxine’s life looked like after the divorce, including whether she remarried or how involved she remained day-to-day, has not been documented in any source located for this article.
Career: What’s Verified and What Isn’t
Widely circulated online content describes Maxine Sneed as having worked as an editor for a publication called “Black Radio Magazine.” This claim appears across dozens of near-identical celebrity-biography websites, but none of them cite an original source — no archived issue, staff masthead, industry record, or contemporaneous news mention of her in that role was found during research for this update.
Because this claim cannot be independently verified through any primary or reputable secondary source, it should be treated as unconfirmed rather than fact. It is presented here for context, but readers should understand it has not been substantiated the way her marriage dates and family details have been.
Maxine Sneed Ethnicity
The best-documented account of Maxine’s background describes her family as Black Canadian, with roots in the American South (Louisiana, Kansas, and Texas) before relocating to Canada. This is consistent with how her daughter Rae Dawn Chong’s ancestry has been documented in genealogical research.
Claims that she also has Cherokee ancestry appear on a number of celebrity-content sites but are not supported by any genealogical record found in this research. Until a primary source surfaces, that detail should be considered unverified rather than repeated as settled fact.
Maxine Sneed Net Worth
No credible source publishes a net worth figure for Maxine Sneed, and none should be assumed. Any specific dollar figure attached to her name online is not backed by financial records, and this article does not include one. By contrast, Tommy Chong’s net worth has been estimated by entertainment-industry outlets given his decades-long, highly public career — but that figure applies to him, not to Maxine.
Fact vs. Rumor
- Confirmed: Maxine Sneed married Tommy Chong in 1960 in Canada; they had two daughters, Rae Dawn (1961) and Robbi (1965); the marriage ended in divorce around 1970; Maxine is the sister of Three Dog Night drummer Floyd Sneed.
- Reported, not independently verified: That she worked as a magazine editor at a publication sometimes named as “Black Radio Magazine.” No primary documentation of this career was located.
- Unverified/likely inaccurate: Claims that Maxine has Cherokee ancestry. No genealogical source supports this; documented research describes her family as Black Canadian/African-American.
- Unverified and contradicted by available sources: A rumor circulating on some low-quality sites that Rae Dawn Chong was born from an affair between Tommy Chong and another woman, and that Maxine “took in” the child. This is not supported by any reliable biography of Tommy or Rae Dawn Chong, both of which describe Rae Dawn as Maxine’s biological daughter. Readers should disregard this claim absent credible sourcing.
- Not publicly known: Maxine’s exact birthdate, her life after the 1970 divorce, and any net worth figure.
Life After Divorce
Maxine has not given interviews and has not been the subject of independent news coverage. What little visibility she has comes from being mentioned occasionally in coverage of her daughters’ careers, and from Tommy Chong’s own public references to his first marriage.
This sustained absence from public life, spanning more than five decades since her divorce, is itself the most consistent and verifiable fact about her post-marriage life: she chose not to build a public profile around her connection to a famous ex-husband.
FAQ
Who is Maxine Sneed?
She is the first wife of comedian Tommy Chong, whom she married in 1960 and divorced around 1970. She is the mother of actresses Rae Dawn Chong and Robbi Chong.
Is Maxine Sneed related to Floyd Sneed of Three Dog Night?
Yes. She is his older sister. This is documented in biographical coverage of Floyd Sneed, including reporting following his death in 2023.
What did Maxine Sneed do for a living?
She is widely described online as having worked as a magazine editor, sometimes specifically tied to a publication called Black Radio Magazine. This claim is repeated across many websites but has not been independently verified through any primary source.
Is Rae Dawn Chong Maxine’s biological daughter?
Yes, according to all reliable biographical sources. A rumor claiming otherwise circulates on some low-quality sites but is not supported by credible evidence.
What is Maxine Sneed’s net worth?
It has never been publicly disclosed, and no reliable estimate exists. Figures attached to her name online are not backed by verifiable financial information.
Final Thoughts
Maxine Sneed’s documented story is narrower than much of what’s published about her: a marriage to Tommy Chong in 1960, two daughters who became public figures in their own right, a divorce around 1970, and more than fifty years of staying out of the public record entirely. Everything beyond that — her career specifics, her ancestry beyond “Black Canadian,” and her life after the marriage — remains either unconfirmed or unknown.
That gap is worth stating plainly rather than filling in with unsourced detail. Her choice to stay private, even as her daughters built careers in entertainment, is itself the most consistent thread in her story.
Sources
- Tommy Chong — Wikipedia (marriage dates, children, Floyd Sneed relation)
- Rae Dawn Chong — Wikipedia (birth date, birthplace, parentage)
- EthniCelebs.com — Rae Dawn Chong ethnicity/genealogy breakdown
- Reporting on Floyd Sneed’s death (2023), various outlets, confirming his relation to Maxine Sneed
