Karine Jean-Pierre
Karine Jean-Pierre (born August 13, 1974)[a] is an American political advisor who has served as the White House press secretary since May 13, 2022. She is the first black person and the first openly LGBT person to serve in the position.[2] Previously, she served as the deputy press secretary to her predecessor Jen Psaki from 2021 to 2022 and as the chief of staff for U.S. Vice Presidential candidate Kamala Harris during the 2020 presidential campaign.[3][4][5]
Karine Jean-Pierre
Olivia Dalton (Principal Deputy)
Joe Biden
Brian Morgenstern
August 13, 1974
Fort-de-France, Martinique, France
1
Prior to her work with Harris during the 2020 election and with the Biden–Harris administration, Jean-Pierre was the senior advisor and national spokeswoman for the progressive advocacy group MoveOn.org. She was also previously a political analyst for NBC News and MSNBC and a lecturer in international and public affairs at Columbia University.
Early life and education
Jean-Pierre was born in Fort-de-France, Martinique, France, the daughter of Haitian immigrants.[6][7][8][9] She has two younger siblings, and was age five when her family relocated to Queens Village, a neighborhood in Queens, New York City.[10] Her mother worked as a home health aide and was active in her Pentecostal church,[11] while her father was a taxi driver,[10] who had trained as an engineer. Jean-Pierre was often responsible for caring for her siblings, eight and ten years younger, because both parents worked six or seven days per week.[5]
Jean-Pierre graduated from Kellenberg Memorial High School, a college-preparatory school on Long Island, in 1993.[12] Her parents wanted her to study medicine, and she studied life sciences at the New York Institute of Technology as a commuter student, but performed poorly on the Medical College Admission Test.[13] Changing career tracks, she earned a bachelor's degree from the New York Institute of Technology in 1997.[14] She earned a Master of Public Affairs from the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University, in 2003, where she served in student government and decided to pursue politics.[10][15] At Columbia University, one of her mentors was Ester Fuchs, whose class she attended during the Fall 2001 semester.[10]
She is fluent in English, French, and Haitian Creole.[10]
Career
Early career
Following graduate school, Jean-Pierre worked as the director of legislative and budget affairs for New York City councilor James F. Gennaro. In 2006, she was hired as the outreach coordinator for Walmart Watch in Washington, D.C.[10] She was the southeast regional political director for John Edwards' presidential campaign in 2004.[16][4] She joined the Columbia University faculty in 2014, where she is a lecturer in international and public affairs.[17][18]
Personal life
Jean-Pierre was in a relationship with former CNN correspondent Suzanne Malveaux until September 2023. They have an adopted daughter.[39]
Jean-Pierre's book, Moving Forward: A Story of Hope, Hard Work, and the Promise of America, was published in 2019.[40] She reviews her life and encourages people to become involved in politics. It was described by WJLA-TV as "part memoir, part call to arms".[41]