Biography of Jill Biden, Professor and First Lady

Jill Biden (born Jill Tracy Jacobs on June 3, 1951) is a professor and First Lady of the United States. She has championed America's military families, promoted the importance of community colleges and technical instruction within U.S. higher education, and brought attention to breast cancer prevention. She is married to former Vice President Joseph R. Biden.

Early Years

Jill Biden (née Jacobs) was born on June 3, 1951 in Hammonton, New Jersey. Her father, Donald Jacobs, was a bank teller, and her mother, Bonny Jacobs, was a homemaker. The eldest of five sisters, Biden spent most of her early years in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia. She graduated from Upper Moreland High School in Montgomery County in 1969, then went on to earn a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Delaware in 1975.

Marriage and Personal Life

Jill met Joe Biden in 1975 on a blind date arranged by Joe Biden's brother. The pair married in 1977, a little more than two years later. It was the second marriage for both of them. Joe's first wife, Neilia Hunter, had died in a vehicle crash four years earlier, and Jill's first marriage, to Bill Stevenson, had ended in divorce in 1976.

Jill Biden has said during interviews that she was initially reluctant to marry Joe because of the tragic death of his first wife and its impact on the couple's two young sons: “I said, ‘Not yet. Not yet. Not yet.’ Because by that time, of course, I had fallen in love with the boys, and I really felt that this marriage had to work. Because they had lost their mom, and I couldn’t have them lose another mother. So I had to be 100 percent sure.”

Legacy and Impact

Biden's career as a teacher includes decades of work in public-school classrooms and community colleges, which she continued to champion as the second lady.

Her legacy will also include her status as the first First Lady (and second lady) to continue her career while her husband served as vice president. Biden's 2009 announcement that his wife would teach English at Northern Virginia Community College during his first term office drew headlines. "I have always believed in the power of community colleges to endow students with critical life skills, and I am pleased that I can make a difference by doing what I love to do, teaching people who are excited to learn," Biden said in a White House press release. Following her husband's victory in the 2020 presidential election, Biden confirmed that she also planned to continue teaching during her tenure as First Lady.

Jill Biden's legacy also includes championing the sacrifices of military families through the launch of Joining Forces, which seeks to help veterans and spouses find jobs, and advocating for early detection of breast cancer among women through the Biden Breast Health Initiative. Biden has said her role model is Eleanor Roosevelt, whom she has called a "true humanitarian and champion of women's rights and civil rights."

Sources

• Hi, I'm Jill. Jill Biden. But please, call me Dr. Biden, The Los Angeles Times, Feb. 2, 2009.
• Jill Biden Heads Toward Life in the Spotlight, The New York Times, Aug. 24, 2008.
• Jill Biden Biography, The White House.