Key Facts
Career & Education
About
Jill Tracy Jacobs Biden, born on June 3, 1951, in Hammonton, New Jersey, is an American educator, author, and public figure who served as the First Lady of the United States from 2021 to 2025, as the wife of President Joe Biden. The eldest of five sisters, she grew up in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, and graduated from Upper Moreland High School in 1969. Biden pursued a career in education, earning a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Delaware in 1975. She began teaching English at St. Mark's High School in Wilmington, Delaware, in 1976, and later worked with emotionally troubled adolescents at a psychiatric hospital. She continued her education, obtaining a Master of Education from West Chester University in 1981 and a Master of Arts in English from Villanova University around 1987. In 1993, she became a professor at Delaware Technical Community College, and in 2007, she earned a Doctor of Education from the University of Delaware. Biden met Joe Biden on a blind date in 1975, and they married on June 17, 1977. She became a stepmother to his sons Beau and Hunter, and in 1981, they welcomed their daughter Ashley.
During Joe Biden's tenure as Vice President from 2009 to 2017, Jill Biden served as Second Lady, focusing on initiatives like support for military families through Joining Forces and education advocacy. She continued her teaching career at Northern Virginia Community College from 2009 to 2024, becoming the first presidential spouse to hold a salaried job outside the White House for the majority of her husband's administration. As First Lady, she prioritized cancer research via the Cancer Moonshot, women's health research, and community college education. Biden is also an author, having published the memoir 'Where the Light Enters: Building a Family, Discovering Myself' in 2019, children's books 'Don't Forget, God Bless Our Troops' in 2012 and 'Joey: The Story of Joe Biden' in 2020, and 'Willow the White House Cat' in 2024. Her lifelong commitment to education and family has defined her public role.