King, 37, is a former cast member on Bravo's The. And so began the 50-year narrative that propelled Joe into the White House: Scrappy, working-class family man beats the odds and prevails. Remembering Bidens 72 U.S. Senate run, Owens recalled (via BuzzFeed News) how folks "did believe at the time [] that a womans role in a campaign was to open and close the headquarters and to get coffee." The fact that Owens was introduced to her husband by her brother comes as no surprise since Biden has always been involved in his sisters love life. But because I'm over 50, Ive learned so much, and Ive learned that just as much as anger and rage and bitterness can come from hardships, so too can come goodness and kindness and compassion. Mit unserem einfachen Abonnement erhalten Sie Zugriff auf die besten Inhalte von Getty Images. Valerie jumped from high school teacher to Senate campaign manager at 26. In 2014, she became a resident fellow at Harvards Institute of Politics, creating a class called Politics: Up Close and Personal, which was comprised of six students who she taught at her apartment. In 2009, she was invited as a media trainer and consultant to Liberia. The Sun website is regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), Our journalists strive for accuracy but on occasion we make mistakes. Valerie graduated from the University of Delaware. You may not recognize her name or know much about her, but Owens has an equally noteworthy life story, both personal and professional. Undeterred and heavily caffeinated, we dove into the 274 pages. I went at the urging of my husband and kids, who said mom, youre always telling us to reach and risk. Owens studied at University of Delaware and eventually married attorney John T. Owens, with whom she has three children. Biden's younger sister also led his seven straight US Senate victories and has been his key surrogate along his campaign trails. People in Washington know that Valerie Biden Owens is the most powerful woman in politics that most people have never heard of, says Deb Futter, publisher of Biden Owenss new memoir, Growing Up Biden. In fact, there are very few secrets left about Joe Biden, but thats not the case when it comes to his younger sister and favorite sibling Valerie Biden Owens. No one questioned whether a high school teacher had the political chops to oversee the race because no one believed Joe had a chance in hell of winning - except the family, who threw everything they had into his candidacy. Do something thats interesting to you, Owens, 75, told Mika Brzezinski in an interview that aired on Wednesday's "Morning Joe." One of Valerie Biden Owens first major wins as Joe Bidens campaign manager was helping her 29-year-old brother win a seat in the US Senate in 1972. Self: Frontline. When speaking about the Biden family on The View Valerie added that "the threads" that bound their family together are the same as "many" of the families that are watching. It was an unhappy time in my life, and the boys healed all of us. Asked to define "the Biden way," she also shared how her parents put great emphasis on respect, saying, "Mom and Dad told us that the most important thing in life was family and that it was our job to take care of each other." In a year when Democrats were overwhelmingly defeated, Biden became a U.S. senator by just over 3,000 votes. Valerie Biden Owens met her husband through Joe Biden In the mid-1970s, Valerie Biden Owens went through a major upheaval in her personal life. In December 2020, Reuters published a "fact check," clarifying that "Joe Bidens sister is not married to Dominion Voting Systems owner after multiple social media posts alleged that Owens husband was Stephen Owens. Valerie helped Joe's campaigns by really understanding her brother. He currently works for Felker Toczek Suddleson Abramson LLP, according to All California Attorneys. He said, This is my sister. Barnes and Noble currently sells the hardcover of the book for $22.99. She worked on her brothers campaigns as he rose the ranks from county councilman to senator and beyond. Her first marriage ended in divorce at age 28, which could have been a source of contention in the family. "I'm Aunt Val," explains Biden Owens, who has three children with her husband, John T. Owens. While Meghans family seemed supportive of her relationship, fans of the former Bravo star were surprised to learn about the duo's whirlwind wedding. The couple, who made their romance Instagram official last month, made headlines on Monday, October 11, when news broke that they were set to tie the knot. ", Following the tragic loss of his wife and daughter in 1972, U.S. Senator-Elect Joe Biden considered dropping out of the Senate, but Valerie Biden Owens wouldnt allow it. As The New York Times notes, she got divorced, remarried, and had her oldest daughter, Missy, while living with her brother. And while Democratic strategist Hilary Rosen did add that "Valerie is the Presidents oldest and closest political advisor [and] that will never change," she conceded that Owens "is the first to know that his role is different now and so is hers.". We were a conservative state, and we didnt have the party to rely on. Biden Owens was a teacher, as was Bidens then-wife Neilia Hunter Biden. Things dont always work out the way you want. [podcast_block], Credit: Courtesy of Meghan King/Instagram. We won't post to any of your accounts without asking first. ", As The Washington Post noted, even with the arrival of two younger brothers, Jim and Frank, the "personal partnership" between Owens and Biden couldnt be broken, and its intact to this day. It was extraordinary. She talks about taking family trips in a Jeep. Owens is the son of the president's sister, Valerie Biden Owens, and her husband, Jack. It was a mans playground, and women were relegated to opening and closing the headquarters and getting the coffee. Having a brotherhers in particularrunning the show gave her a clear way in. After graduating from the University of Delaware, Valerie married a man named Bruce Saunders. | Valerie was born to Joseph Robinette Biden Sr. and Catherine Eugenia Biden. According to White House correspondent Kelly ODonnell, the small family wedding would be celebrated at the home of Owens parents, Valerie and Jack Owens, with both the president, 78, and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, in attendance. But if you hold on, you can come out of it. According to the book overview Valerie "writes of the role of family, faith, and fate in shaping her life, and the power of empathy and kindness in the face of turmoil and division." We just happen to be in the public eye. Some fans were convinced the snap was taken at a rehearsal for the wedding. Owens, 74, is married to her second husband, John Owens, a lawyer and businessman who was Joe Biden's best friend at Syracuse Law School. I must say, I think I did a pretty good job., For the 2020 presidential election, Jen OMalley Dillon served as Bidens campaign manager while Biden Owens worked as a national chair. He gets up and keeps moving forward., In Growing Up Biden, Biden Owens seeks to illustrate the fundamental human elements that she believes tie a thread from the First Family to all Americans. I just wanted to help my brother") so it was impossible to know if her political skills would have translated to any other candidate. But around age 50, she decided to venture out on her own. One Facebook post even showed a photo of Joe Biden with L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti and said the latter was actually "his brother-in-law Stephen D Owens owner of Dominion voting system!" Her many achievements also include impressive keynote addresses at Harvard Law School and around the world, plus being chosen to serve as the Alternate Representative of the United States to the 71st Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations by President Obama. Beau, Hunter, and Valerie playing in the backyard in fall 1973. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Das Getty Images Design ist eine eingetragene Marke von Getty Images. I was by no means a born-ready mom, she says. 2. When his sister and "best friend" decided to write a book, her older daughter asked what else Valerie and Joe had to say. My brother pulled up a chair for me at the table, and literally our table was all men. Powered By: Veda Theme by Veda Digital Media. Joe Biden has one sister, Valerie Biden Owens. Is it more difficult to handle the brutal barbs of politics today when the subject of them is a sibling you revere? But, that doesnt mean you quit or give up, she said. Thats all the recognition I need. Which may explain why the president, famously, is a teetotaler, as is his sister. And Beau and Hunter healed us. The recognition I have for it is that Joe was elected. According to The New York Times, Owens quit her job teaching social studies at Wilmington Friends School and moved in with Biden for four years to help raise Beau and Hunter. My number one job is raising an older brother, she says. "I remain very much in their lives. From the time he was a little boy, he stuttered. It takes a little bit longer. Biden Owens brings up an oft-cited Biden line, Faith sees best in the dark, from Sren Kierkegaards Gospel of Sufferings, after I mention how my own faith was tested in the past two yearsalbeit to a considerably minor degree than anything shes experiencedand that my family stepped up in such a way that I came to see my parents in a new light. Shes been right by her big brothers side for decades (you may have even spotted her on the campaign trail without realizing it!) document.write("