About Teresa Heinz Kerry

Born in Mozambique, fluent in several languages, Teresa Heinz Kerry has combined compassion and common sense to become a force for innovation and social progress as leader of one of the nation's large private foundations. After studying at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa and the University of Geneva, she moved to the United States and got a job working for the Trusteeship Council of the United Nations. In 1966, she married Senator John Heinz whom she met when they were graduate students and with whom she had three sons. Shortly after celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary in 1991, she lost her husband in a plane crash.

Turning down offers to seek election to her husband's Senate seat to take care of her sons, family and professional responsibilities, she became chairman of The Howard Heinz Endowment and the Heinz Family Philanthropies. Under her leadership, the Heinz foundations are widely known for developing innovative strategies to protect the environment, improve education and the lives of young children, reduce the cost of prescription drugs, promote the arts and help women achieve financial economic security. She established the Women's Institute for a Secure Retirement in 1996 to educate women about pensions, savings, and retirement security.

Their mutual interest in environmental issues brought Teresa and John together. She was first introduced to John Kerry by Senator Heinz at an Earth Day rally in 1990. In 1992, she met John Kerry again at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro when President George H. W. Bush appointed her as part of a State Department Delegation representing U.S. non-governmental organizations. She and John Kerry were married in the presence of her three sons and his two daughters on Memorial Day weekend in 1995. Teresa has received numerous awards and 10 honorary degrees for her many works. In September 2003, she was presented with the Albert Schweitzer Gold Medal for Humanitarianism for her work protecting the environment, promoting health care and education and uplifting women and children throughout the world. She was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2001.

In addition to her three sons and two step-daughters, Teresa is the proud grandmother of one grandchild.