10 Things You Didn't Know About Jeri Kehn Thompson

Compiled by the U.S.News & World Report library staff

1. Jeri Kehn was born on Sept. 30, 1966, in Hastings, Neb. Her family moved to Naperville, Ill., when she was 3. Growing up, Jeri spent summers on her grandparents' farm in Nebraska.

2. Her parents divorced when she was around 12. Her mother, Vicki, a librarian, married Ronald Keller, a music teacher, about three years after her divorce.

3. Jeri is a 1984 graduate of Naperville North High School. While at Naperville North, she was a member of the school's dance squad, the Starlettes. During Jeri's junior year of high school, the Starlettes won the state championship.

4. She graduated from DePauw University in 1988, where she majored in English. To help pay her tuition, Jeri worked part time as a waitress. She was a member of the Pi Beta Phi sorority.

5. After graduating, Jeri worked in the Chicago area. She held positions in sales and mortgage banking.

6. Contemplating attending Vanderbilt University, Jeri moved to Nashville in 1996.

7. Jeri and Fred met in a Nashville grocery store checkout line on July 4, 1996. Fred, who was in line with a can of beanie weenies, carried her groceries, and she invited him to a party.

8. Since moving to Washington in 1998, Jeri has worked for the Republican National Committee and Senate Republican Conference as a spokeswoman and media liaison. She has also worked as a political and media consultant for the D.C. law firm Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, McPherson & Hand. Jeri worked for Burson Marsteller in a consulting position.

9. Jeri and Fred married in a small ceremony in Naperville in June 2002. They have two children—Hayden, 4, and Samuel, 1.

10. If Fred is elected, she will be the youngest woman to become first lady since Jacqueline Kennedy.

Sources:
Chicago Sun-Times
New York Post
Newsweek
People
Tennessean
Washington Post