Rachel Anne Maddow (/ˈmædoʊ/; born April 1, 1973) is an American television host, political commentator, and author.[1][2] Maddow hosts a nightly television show, The Rachel Maddow Show, on MSNBC.[3] Her syndicated talk radio program of the same name aired on Air America Radio. Maddow is the first openly gay anchor of a prime-time news program in the United States.[4][5][6][7]
Asked about her political views by the Valley Advocate, Maddow replied, "I'm undoubtedly a liberal, which means that I'm in almost total agreement with the Eisenhower-era Republican party platform."
Early life and education
Maddow was born in Castro Valley, California. Her father, Robert B. "Bob" Maddow, is a former United States Air Force captain who resigned his commission the year before her birth and found civilian work as a lawyer for the East Bay Municipal Utility District. Her mother, Elaine Maddow (née Gosse), is a school program administrator from Newfoundland, Canada.[9][10][11] She has one older brother, David. Her father is of Russian and Dutch descent and her mother is of English and Irish ancestry.[11] Maddow's mother was raised a strict Roman Catholic, and Maddow herself grew up in a community that her mother has described as "very conservative."[12][13] Maddow was a competitive athlete and played three sports in high school.[14] Referencing John Hughes films, she describes herself in high school as "a cross between the jock and the antisocial girl."[13]
A graduate of Castro Valley High School in Castro Valley, California, she attended Stanford University. While a freshman, she was outed by the college newspaper when an interview with her was published by the student newspaper before she could tell her parents.[15] Maddow earned a degree in public policy from Stanford in 1994.[16] At graduation she was awarded the John Gardner Fellowship.[17] She was also the recipient of a Rhodes Scholarship and began her postgraduate study in 1995 at Lincoln College, Oxford. In 2001, she earned a Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil) in politics from Oxford University.[18] Her thesis is titled HIV/AIDS and Health Care Reform in British and American Prisons (supervisor: Dr Lucia Zedner). She was the first openly gay American to win a Rhodes scholarship.[19][20]
more:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachel_Maddow
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