Anne Wojcicki facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Anne Wojcicki
|
|
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg)
Wojcicki in 2017
|
|
| Born | July 28, 1973 Palo Alto, California, U.S.
|
| Education | Yale University (BS) |
| Known for | Co-founder and CEO of 23andMe |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | 3 |
| Parents |
|
| Relatives |
|
Anne E. Wojcicki (born July 28, 1973) is an American businesswoman. She is best known for co-founding and being the CEO of 23andMe. This company helps people learn about their DNA. She started 23andMe in 2006 with Linda Avey and Paul Cusenza. Anne Wojcicki is also a co-founder and board member of the Breakthrough Prize, which celebrates big achievements in science.
Contents
Early Life and School
Anne Wojcicki was born in Palo Alto, California. She has two older sisters. Her sister Susan Wojcicki used to be the CEO of YouTube. Her other sister, Janet, studies people and health.
Anne's parents are Esther Wojcicki, an educator and journalist, and Stanley Wojcicki, a physics professor. The three sisters grew up near Stanford University. When Anne was 14, she learned to figure skate. Later, she started playing ice hockey.
Anne went to Gunn High School in Palo Alto. She was the editor of the school newspaper. She even won a scholarship for her sports stories. In 1996, she earned a science degree in biology from Yale University. While at Yale, she played on the women's ice hockey team. She also did research on tiny living things at the National Institutes of Health.
Her Career Journey
After college, Anne Wojcicki worked as a healthcare consultant. She helped investment companies understand health care businesses. For four years, she focused on companies that use biotechnology. She felt that the business world didn't care enough about health care. So, she decided not to go to medical school. Instead, she wanted to focus on biological research.
Anne is part of a group called Xconomists. These are advisors for a tech news company called Xconomy. In 2013, Fast Company magazine called her "The Most Daring CEO." She is also a co-founder of the Breakthrough Prize. In 2020, Forbes magazine listed her as one of the World's 100 Most Powerful Women. In 2021, Anne joined the board of a company called Cazoo.
Anne Wojcicki has also been involved in her local community. She and her former husband, Sergey Brin, bought several shops in downtown Los Altos, California. They used a company to support local events and improve the area. This company is now called Los Altos Community Investments. In 2021, they opened a food hall there called the State Street Market.
Starting 23andMe
Anne Wojcicki is the co-founder and CEO of 23andMe. This company offers DNA testing directly to people. It helps them learn about their family history and health risks. She started the company in 2006 with Linda Avey and Paul Cusenza. Her goal was to give everyday people access to their own genetic information. She hoped this could help find cures for diseases.
Customers can buy testing kits from 23andMe. They send in a saliva sample. The company then processes the DNA data. The results, which show ancestry, health risks, and traits, are posted online for the customer to see.
The company's name, 23andMe, comes from the 23 pairs of chromosomes in a normal human cell. In 2008, Time magazine named 23andMe's DNA test kit "Invention of the Year." Since 2015, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved many of 23andMe's health tests. These tests can show risks for conditions like cystic fibrosis, sickle cell anemia, some cancers, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and coeliac disease. In 2018, 23andMe teamed up with GlaxoSmithKline to develop new medicines.
In 2021, 23andMe became a public company. This means its shares could be bought and sold by anyone. Forbes magazine called Anne Wojcicki a "self-made billionaire" after this happened.
Personal Life
Anne Wojcicki married Google co-founder Sergey Brin in May 2007. They have a son, born in 2008, and a daughter, born in 2011. They separated in 2013 and divorced in 2015.
Anne and Sergey still work together on the Brin Wojcicki Foundation. They have given a lot of money to charities. For example, they donated to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's research. In 2009, they gave $1 million to help immigrants. In 2022, Anne joined The Giving Pledge. This means she promised to donate most of her wealth to good causes. In July 2019, Anne had her third child, another daughter.
Her grandfather, Franciszek Wójcicki, was a politician in Poland. Her grandmother, Janina Wójcicka Hoskins, was a librarian. She helped build the largest collection of Polish books in the United States at the Library of Congress.
See also
In Spanish: Anne Wojcicki para niños
Images for kids
-
Anne Wojcicki in 2017
