it open . In a few years , he had spent $ 50 million . In 1988 , he funded the production of Tin Toy , one of the company ’ s earliest computer animated films . According to Young and Simon , “ It was a pivotal moment in Pixar ’ s history .” 47 Tin Toy would go on to win an Oscar for the best animated short film and would be the inspiration for Pixar ’ s first full-length movie , Toy Story . But those successes were still in the future .
Ups and Downs at Home
Steve ’ s personal life was also having its ups and downs . In 1986 , his mother Clara Jobs died of cancer . His father had died years earlier . His mother ’ s death hit Steve hard . He found that working helped him deal with his grief .
At the same time , new people were entering his life . He had accepted his daughter Lisa into his life and was on amiable terms with Chris-Ann . His long-term search for his birth parents led him to Joanne Simpson , his birth mother , and his sister Mona Simpson , with whom he became quite close .
In 1989 , he met Laurene Powell at a lecture he gave at Stanford University , where she was a graduate student studying business administration . Jobs was immediately struck by Powell ’ s beauty and made a point of speaking to her . He found that she was as intelligent as she was attractive , and she was a vegetarian , like Jobs . The two hit it off immediately . “ We walked into town ,” Jobs explains describing their first date . “ And we ’ ve been together ever since .” 48
The couple was married in a Buddhist ceremony in Yosemite National Park on March 18 , 1991 . The wedding was like Jobs , unconventional and informal . The couple ’ s first child , Reed , a son named after Reed College , was born in September 1991 . Two daughters followed , Erin in 1995 and Eve in 1998 . Jobs had finally become a traditional family man , and he loved it . He could often be seen in-line skating with Lisa , playing ball with Reed , or pushing a baby carriage around the home in Palo Alto where the Jobs family lived .
Down but Not Out 65