Jennifer Siebel Newsom facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jennifer Siebel Newsom
Siebel Newsom in 2018
First Partner of California
Current
Assumed role January 7, 2019
Governor	Gavin Newsom
Preceded by	Anne Gust Brown (as first lady)
Second Lady of California
In role January 10, 2011 – January 7, 2019
Lieutenant Governor	Gavin Newsom
Preceded by	Laura Maldonado
Succeeded by	Markos Kounalakis (as Second Gentleman)
First Lady of San Francisco
In role July 26, 2008 – January 10, 2011
Mayor	Gavin Newsom
Preceded by	Kimberly Guilfoyle
Succeeded by	Anita Lee
Personal details
Born	Jennifer Lynn Siebel (1974-06-19) June 19, 1974 (age 50) San Francisco, California, U.S.
Political party	Independent (2008–present)
Other political affiliations	Republican (before 2008)
Spouse	Gavin Newsom ​ (m. 2008)​
Children	4
Relatives	Thomas Siebel (cousin)
Education	Stanford University (BA, MBA)

Jennifer Lynn Siebel Newsom (née: Siebel, born June 19, 1974) is an American documentary filmmaker and actress who is the current First Lady of California as the wife of Governor Gavin Newsom. She is the director, writer, and producer of the film Miss Representation (2011), which premiered in the documentary competition at the Sundance Film Festival. The film examines how the media has underrepresented women in positions of power. The Mask You Live In (2015), her second film which she wrote, produced and directed, scrutinizes American society's definition of masculinity.

During her tenure as the wife of the governor, the role of first lady was retitled "first partner" to be gender inclusive. She was previously the state's second lady from 2011 to 2019 and first lady of San Francisco from 2008 to 2011.

Early life and education

Jennifer Lynn Siebel was born in San Francisco, to Kenneth F. Siebel Jr., an investment manager, and Judy Siebel (née Fritzer), the co-founder of the Bay Area Discovery Museum in Sausalito. She grew up in the suburb of Ross, California.

Siebel Newsom is the second oldest of five girls and attended Ross Grammar School and The Branson School. When she was six, her older sister Stacy died at age eight from a golf cart accident. Siebel Newsom has stated she carries a lot of guilt as she was present at the time of the accident. During high school, she played varsity basketball, soccer, and tennis. She later graduated with honors from Stanford University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Latin American studies in 1996 and Master of Business Administration in 2001.

At Stanford, she was recruited to play on the women's soccer team. While pursuing her MBA, Siebel Newsom also studied at the American Conservatory Theater, where she completed a certificate program. After completing her education, Siebel Newsom traveled to Africa, Latin America, and Europe on assignments with Conservation International, a global environmental coalition.

Career

In 2002, Siebel Newsom moved to Hollywood, where she concentrated on building her acting career. Siebel Newsom earned many roles in television, film, and theater. She has appeared on such television shows as Life, Mad Men, Strong Medicine, and Numb3rs.

Miss Representation premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival to mostly positive reviews. The film went on to screen at numerous other festivals, including the San Francisco International Film Festival, Athena Film Festival and won the Audience Award at the Palo Alto International Film Festival. The film interweaves stories from teenage girls with interviews with, among others, Condoleezza Rice, Lisa Ling, Nancy Pelosi, Katie Couric, Rosario Dawson, and Gloria Steinem discussing the media and its message regarding women. On February 10, 2011, Oprah Winfrey announced that she had acquired the film for the OWN Documentary Film Club.

Siebel Newsom raised $101,111 on Kickstarter to fund the production of her second film The Mask You Live In, which premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. Her third film was The Great American Lie. She directed the documentary film Fair Play in 2022.

Siebel Newsom co-founded The Representation Project, an organization which works to end gender stereotypes. The Representation Project's board members include Jan Yanehiro, Nathan Ballard, Susie McCormick, and Maureen Pelton. In 2021, The Sacramento Bee revealed that from 2011 to 2018, Siebel Newsom earned $2.3 million from her film work through her nonprofit organization, which had received $800,000 in donations from companies with business before California's government as her husband Gavin Newsom's political career ascended, and continued to draw her salary after he became governor. While the practice is allowed by California law, outside ethics experts expressed concerns about conflicts of interest; a spokesperson for The Representation Project said Siebel Newsom had not overseen fundraising since 2015.

Personal life

In the early 2000s, Siebel Newsom dated actor George Clooney.

She met Gavin Newsom on a blind date set up by a mutual friend at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in October 2006. The couple announced their engagement in January 2008. Jennifer and Gavin wed in July of the same year at her parents' ranch in Stevensville, Montana. The Newsoms have four children.

In 2011, Siebel Newsom and her family moved from San Francisco to Kentfield, where she had grown up. In 2019, Siebel Newsom and her family moved to Fair Oaks, California.

Her sister, Melissa Siebel, is married to Joshua Irwing Schiller, son of Boies Schiller Flexner LLP co-founder Jonathan Schiller.

Siebel Newsom was registered as a Republican until 2008, before re-registering as No Party Preference. Prior to registering as an independent voter, she accidentally registered with the far-right American Independent Party, before correcting her party to "decline to state".

Filmography

Film

Television