Johanna Griggs has shared the heartbreaking news that her beloved mother Leigh has died, paying tribute to the woman she described as her family’s “beautiful matriarch”.

The longtime Better Homes and Gardens host announced the loss in an emotional social media post on Sunday, revealing her mother had passed away earlier that morning.

“Early this morning our beautiful matriarch passed away,” Griggs wrote.

“She was our fearless leader. Our guiding light. Our voice of reason. Our inspiration.”

Griggs, a former Olympic swimmer who has become one of Australian television’s most familiar faces during more than two decades at the helm of Better Homes and Gardens, spoke movingly about the enormous influence her mother had on her life.

“She gave us our values, our principles… and taught us the difference between what’s right and wrong.

“And then she taught us to stand up for, or against both of those things. She was beautiful, loving, kind, passionate, vocal, forthright, sometimes crazy and so unbelievably generous.”

Leigh was a former teacher and had long been credited with instilling a fierce sense of determination and independence in her daughters.

Johanna’s sister, businesswoman Emma Lo Russo, previously described their mother’s approach to raising the family as having a “very much we’ll take on the world” attitude.

That strength was something Griggs remembered in her own tribute, describing her mum as fiercely protective of the people she loved.

“She was a total boss lady who would fight for all of us like a lioness if we needed protection,” she wrote.

But perhaps the most poignant part of Griggs’ farewell was her acknowledgement of just how much of the woman Australians have come to know on television was shaped by her mum.

“I quite simply wouldn’t have the life or career I have without her,” she said.

“She has shaped us all in ways that are hard to truly capture. We couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful woman to have been our mum.”

For Griggs and her family, the loss marks the passing of a woman who was clearly far more than a mother and grandmother – she was the centre of their family and the person they looked to for strength, guidance and love.

Griggs summed up that enduring bond in a final message of love to her mum: “You are so loved, valued and appreciated and always will be.”

Images: Instagram