Dr Jill Biden, the potential next First Lady of the United States, is often described as her husband’s biggest defender and one of his most trusted political advisers.
The talented 69-year-old has been married to Joe Biden for 43 years, becoming a stepmother to Beau and Hunter Biden, his two sons from his first marriage, after their mother and baby sister died in a car accident in 1972.
Yet, despite the high profile which will come with her new role in life, the probable new First Lady describes herself as an introvert and has maintained a low-key presence during Joe’s political career.
But alongside her busy job and responsibilities, who is the doctor, teacher and mother?
Potential First Lady of the United States Dr Jill Biden is often described as her husband’s biggest defenders and one of his most trusted political advisers but who is the 69-year-old doctor, mother and teacher?
The dedicated teacher has balanced motherhood with her own blossoming career while long-supporting her husband’s political ambitions (pictured, with Beau, Hunter and Ashley Biden)
Dr Jill is known to be close friends with former FLOTUS Michelle Obama (left) and developed a vibrant and playful sense of style, opting to match her face masks to her dresses in recent months (right)
Meanwhile the First Lady is also a dedicated teacher, and is believed to be keen to continue her work while her husband is in the White House
Loving wife
Jill married her first husband Bill Stevenson in 1970 when she was just 20 years old. They divorced in 1975, the same year the then 24-year-old met Senator Joe Biden, who was 33 at the time.
The couple went on a blind date set up by Joe’s brother Frank, whom Jill knew from college.
Although he was nearly nine years her senior, she was impressed by his more formal appearance and manners compared to the college men she had known.
But Jill didn’t accept Joe’s first proposal of marriage, instead revealing he asked five times before she said yes.
In a speech at the 2012 Democratic National Convention, Jill said: ‘Joe often tells people that I didn’t agree to marry him until the fifth time he asked me.
‘The truth is, I loved him from the start.’
Jill has since been by his side for every political move, joining him as he became Vice President to Barack Obama in 2008 and will now join him in the White House (pictured together in 2013)
The couple’s close relationship was evident throughout the campaign, with the pair often embracing during rallies and after speeches
They held their wedding ceremony at the United Nations chapel and a reception lunch at Sign of the Dove in New York City. They took sons Beau and Hunter on their honeymoon.
In his biography Promises to Keep, which was released in 2007, Joe wrote: ‘She gave me back my life. She made me start to think my family might be whole again.’
Jill has since been by his side for every political move, joining him as he became Vice President to Barack Obama in 2008 and will now join him in the White House.
Life-long teacher
As well as raising a family and supporting her husband’s political ambitions, Jill has remained dedicated to her own career in teaching.
Dr Jill earned four degrees while raising her family, including a doctorate in education from the University of Delaware.
During her time as Second Lady in Barack Obama’s administration, she broke from tradition by continuing to teach English full-time at community college.
Writing in her 2019 memoir, Where the Light Enters, she wrote: ‘Being a teacher is not what I do but who I am.’
As well as raising a family and supporting her husband’s political ambitions, Jill has remained dedicated to her own career in teaching
In April 2019, she took a break from teaching for the first time since 1981 in order to help her husband on the campaign trail.
One of her most high profile appearances during the campaign came when she delivered a rousing speech from a classroom at the virtual Democratic Convention.
She said she intends to continue teaching alongside her duties as First Lady if her husband makes it to the White House.
Meanwhile, Joe has said: ”Just think of your favorite educator who gave you the confidence to believe in yourself, that’s the kind of First Lady Jill will be.’
Dedicated mother
Dr. Biden married Joe Biden in 1977 and became a step-mother to his two young sons Hunter and Beau, whose mother and baby sister had died in a car crash five years earlier
Jill went on to raise the boys as her own, alongside Ashley, the daughter she had with Joe in 1981
When Jill married Joe in 1977, she became a step-mother to his two young sons Hunter and Beau, whose mother and baby sister had died in a car crash five years earlier.
The teacher has spoken openly about the importance of taking on the role of stepmother within her husband’s family when she was in her twenties.
She explained in her 2019 book that when Joe proposed repeatedly, one of her biggest concerns was how Hunter and Beau would adapt to the new woman in their lives.
The fourth time he proposed, Jill’s concern for his boys led her to turn down her future husband.
She said: ‘They had endured the loss of one mother already, and I couldn’t have them losing another.’
Meanwhile, in her DNC speech earlier this year, she said: ‘I never imagined, at the age of 26, I would be asking myself: how do you make a broken family whole?
‘Still, Joe always told the boys, “Mommy sent Jill to us,” and how could I argue with her?’
She went on to raise the boys as her own, alongside Ashley, the daughter she had with Joe in 1981.
Jill later said the loss of her son Beau Biden to brain cancer in 2015 was ‘totally shattering’ (pictured, with Hunter, Beau and Joe in 2009)
Tragedy struck the Biden family again in 2015, when Beau died from brain cancer.
She later said the loss ‘was totally shattering. My life changed in an instant. All during his illness, I truly believed that he was going to live, up until the moment that he closed his eyes, and I just never gave up hope.’
Meanwhile, Hunter has struggled with alcohol addiction and drug abuse for decades, which the Trump campaign has tried to use against Biden in the lead-up to the election.
Hunter has also been the center of unfounded conspiracy theories stoked by President Trump concerning his business dealings and his father’s corruption efforts in the Ukraine while serving as Vice President of the United States.
In late October, the New York Post released emails and photos purporting to be from Hunter’s laptop that Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani says he got from a computer repair shop owner who gave it to his own lawyer.
It contains a trove of information and personal photos purporting to show business connections between Biden and his son.
The emails surfaced as U.S. officials warned that Russia, which backed Trump´s 2016 campaign through hacking of Democratic emails and a covert social media campaign, is interfering again this year.
The Washington Post reported that intelligence agencies had warned the White House last year that Giuliani was the target of a Russian influence operation.
Joe denied the legitimacy of the claims, calling it a ‘desperate campaign’ to smear him.
Despite all of their family’s strife, Jill has maintained her youthful exuberance and sense of humor, with her grandchildren revealing she is far from the conventional ‘granny.’
Hunter’s daughter Naomi, 26, has said: ‘I’d say she’s not your average grandmother. She’s the grandmother who wakes you up at 5 a.m. on Christmas Eve to go to SoulCycle.
‘She’s a prankster … when she goes on a run she’ll find like a dead snake, and she’ll pick it up and put it in a bag and use it to scare someone.’
Ultra-glamorous style
The stunning blonde has a clear love of fashion, and was often seen donning the vibrant dresses and sky high heels on the campaign trail
Jill was dressed to impress when she joined Joe at the ballot box on Monday morning as they voted early in Delaware’s primary election last month
She donned a pair of Stuart Weitzman’s 50/50 Vote boots that have the word ‘VOTE’ stenciled in funky silver letters
The stunning blonde has a clear love of fashion, and was often seen donning the vibrant dresses and sky high heels on the campaign trail.
The teacher has maintained a love of classic styles and shapes in bright colours, with sharp accessories and shoes that are to die for.
Like her husband, she has regularly been seen wearing face coverings in recent months, but the First Lady often dons masks in vibrant prints to match her outfit.
In recent months, she has used her outfits to make a political statement.
Jill wowed fashionistas the world over in September by wearing a politically-minded pair of $695 Stuart Weitzman boots with the word ‘VOTE’ written down the sides.
Friends in high places
Jill’s low-key presence over the years has meant she is more likely to surround herself with her student’s parents and fellow teachers than A-list stars.
Yet the future First Lady enjoys a particularly close relationship with Barack and Michelle Obama.
Michelle and Jill became close after Joe Biden was tapped as Barack Obama’s running mate in the 2008 election
Michelle and Jill became close after Joe Biden was tapped as Barack Obama’s running mate in the 2008 election.
Jill and Michelle worked on veteran’s issues together and supported military families.
And Michelle also remains close to Kathleen Biden, the former wife of Hunter Biden. The two women have been workout buddies for years.
Additionally, the children of both – Maisy, Finnegan, and Naomi Biden and Malia and Sasha Obama – all attended Sidwell Friends, the upmarket Washington, D.C. private school that also counts Chelsea Clinton as one of its alumni.
Campaign trail ally
In the run to the White House, Jill has been assisting Joe every step of the way, offering guidance and support when the Democrat candidate faltered.
She’s been on the campaign trail for Joe, and in late August, she embarked on a multi-week ‘Back to School Tour’ that stopped in 10 cities around the country.
It was seen as a smart move from the Biden camp, particularly because Joe had been facing criticism for relying too much on virtual campaigning.
A mask-clad Jill was by Joe’s side when he addressed voters after early results came out on Election Night
Jill Biden repeatedly hit the campaign trail for her husband late in the summer, including a rally in Florida, days before Election Day (pictured)
And in late October, with Election Day just a few weeks away, she was the one facing campaigning for Biden in Michigan, a swing state that gave her husband the points he needed to go the White House.
She also relentlessly appeared on the set of daytime shows, including The View to voice her support for Joe and his running mate Kamala Harris.
Speaking during the ABC show she said she had positive energy about the campaign, but did not want to take anything for granted.
Talking to CNN on September 27, the former Second Lady said she could not wait to see her husband lead the country,’ and said it was ‘night and day between the two candidates.’
When she was poked by Jake Tapper about her husband’s numerous gaffes, including, she refused to discuss the issue, saying: ‘You can’t even go there. After Donald Trump, you can’t even say the world “gaffes”,’ she said.
Biden’s gaffes have included mixing up former presidents’ names at rallies, and telling his opponent to ‘s*** up, man’ during their disastrous presidential debate.