Teresa Heinz Kerry

Teresa Heinz Kerry spent her early childhood in Mozambique, where her father, a physician, operated a clinic. She often accompanied him on house calls to treat the impoverished, an experience she credits with shaping her understanding of social responsibility. After attending schools in Switzerland, she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in romance languages and literature from the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa in 1960. With fluency in five languages, she furthered her education at the Interpreters School of the University of Geneva, graduating in 1963. While working as an interpreter for the United Nations in Geneva in 1962, she met John Heinz, a scion of the Heinz ketchup company founders, whom she married in 1966. Together, they had three sons. Following the death of Senator John Heinz in a plane crash on April 4, 1991, Teresa Heinz Kerry declined the opportunity to take his Senate seat. Instead, she assumed leadership of the Howard Heinz Endowment and Heinz Family Philanthropies, which managed substantial assets. She later reconnected with John Kerry, whom her first husband had introduced her to in 1990, and they married on May 26, 1995. A registered Republican for many years, she changed her party affiliation in 2003 after Kerry announced his candidacy for U.S. President. Known for her unconventional and outspoken nature, Heinz Kerry has consistently championed environmental and women's issues as a social activist. During the 2004 Democratic National Convention, she delivered a notable speech where she defended her right to express her opinions, advocating for women to be recognized as "smart and well-informed."