Teresa Heinz | |
|---|---|
 Heinz in 2013 | |
| Born | Maria Teresa Thierstein Simões-Ferreira (1938-10-05)October 5, 1938 (age 86)[1] |
| Nationality | American Portuguese |
| Other names | Teresa Heinz Kerry |
| Education | |
| Occupation(s) | Businesswoman, philanthropist |
| Political party | Democratic (since 2003) Republican (until 2003) |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 3, includingAndré andChristopher |
Teresa Heinz (bornMaria Teresa Thierstein Simões-Ferreira; October 5, 1938),[1][2] also known asTeresa Heinz Kerry,[2] is a Portuguese-American businesswoman and philanthropist. Heinz is the widow of formerU.S. SenatorJohn Heinz and the current wife of formerUnited States Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, longtime U.S. Senator, and2004 Democratic presidential nomineeJohn Kerry. Heinz has served as chair of theHeinz Endowments and the Heinz Family Philanthropies.
Maria Teresa Thierstein Simões-Ferreira was born in the city of Lourenço Marques (later renamedMaputo) in the east African colony ofPortuguese Mozambique, which later became the nation ofMozambique.[1][3] Her parents were José Simões-Ferreira Jr.,[4] a Portuguese-born oncologist[1] and tropical disease specialist,[4] and Irene Thierstein, a Portuguese and British[5] national.[6] Irene Thierstein's father was the scion of a Swiss-German family living inMalta, and her mother was the half-French, half-Italian daughter of an Alexandrian shipowner who traded with Russia during theCrimean War;[1] both emigrated to Portuguese East Africa.[7][8] Simões-Ferreira was raisedRoman Catholic.[2]
In 1960, Simões-Ferreira earned a Bachelor of Arts inRomance Languages and Literature from theUniversity of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. In 1963, she graduated from the School of Translation and Interpretation at theUniversity of Geneva; after her graduation, she moved to the United States to be aninterpreter at theUnited Nations.[9]
On February 5, 1966, atPittsburgh, Pennsylvania's gothicHeinz Chapel on the campus of theUniversity of Pittsburgh, Simões-Ferreira married future U.S. SenatorJohn Heinz, an heir to theH. J. Heinz Company.[10][1] The couple had three sons: H.John IV,André, andChristopher.[10] In 1971, Teresa Heinz became anaturalized United States citizen.[11] John Heinz died ina plane crash on April 4, 1991.[10] Teresa Heinz inherited a fortune from her husband upon his death.[12]
In 1990, Teresa Heinz met Senator John Kerry at anEarth Day rally. This was the only reported time the two met before John Heinz's death. In 1992, Teresa Heinz met Kerry again, this time at theEarth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Heinz was a member of aState Department delegation appointed by then-PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush.[citation needed] Heinz and Kerry were married May 26, 1995, inNantucket, Massachusetts.[13]
Following her marriage to Kerry, Heinz retained the name Teresa Heinz. In May 2004, she said:
My legal name is still Teresa Heinz. Teresa Heinz Kerry is my name... for politics. Just so people don't ask me questions about so and so is so and so's wife or this and that. Teresa Heinz is what I've been all my growing-up life, adult life, more than any other name. And it's the name of my boys, you know ?... So, that's my legal name and that's my office name, my Pittsburgh name.[2]
In addition to Portuguese (her native language),[14] Heinz speaks English, Spanish, French, and Italian.[15] She isRoman Catholic.[1]
In December 2009, Heinz revealed that she was being treated for breast cancer.[16] Heinz indicated that she had undergone several lumpectomies and would be following up with a targeted type of radiation therapy treatment called accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI).[17][18]
On July 7, 2013, Heinz was taken by ambulance toNantucket Cottage Hospital after showing symptoms consistent with a seizure. She was described as being in "critical but stable" condition. Heinz was then flown toMassachusetts General Hospital for further medical treatment and tests. Her condition was upgraded to fair the next day,[19][20] and doctors were able to rule out a heart attack, brain tumor, stroke, and other triggers.[21] On July 11, she was transferred to Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital to continue her recovery.[22] Heinz was released on July 17, 2013, fromSpaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston. She recovered at home after some limited out-patient treatment.[23]
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Heinz has served as chair of theHeinz Endowments and the Heinz Family Philanthropies, disbursing money to various social and environmental causes. She assists the City of Pittsburgh, where the Heinz family has many financial and family connections. In recognition of her philanthropy and activism, Heinz has receivedhonorary doctoral degrees from the following institutions:
In 2003, Heinz was awarded theAlbert Schweitzer Gold Medal for Humanitarianism. She has been elected aFellow of theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences. She has been a Trustee of theSt. Paul's School (Concord, New Hampshire), which Kerry attended.
Heinz is on the Board of Selectors ofJefferson Awards for Public Service.[24][better source needed]
Heinz has contributed to the environmental movement through many programs and outreach efforts. In 1990, she co-founded the Alliance to End Childhood Lead Poisoning (later known as the Alliance for Healthy Homes, it has since merged with theNational Center for Healthy Housing), through the first environmental grant of the Vira I. Heinz Endowment.[25] In 1992, she was a Delegate to theEarth Summit, representing Non-Governmental Organizations.[26][27]
In 1993, with Kerry and environmentalist academic Dr.Anthony Cortese, she co-founded Second Nature, which brings "Education for Sustainability" to college campuses.[28] In 1993, she founded theHeinz Awards, including a category for Outstanding Contributions to the Environment.[29] In 1995, with a $20 million grant, the Heinz Endowments provided initial funding for The Heinz Center,[25] "a nonprofit institution dedicated to improving the scientific and economic foundation for environmental policy through multisectoral collaboration among industry, government, academia, and environmental organizations."[30]
Since 1996, Heinz has hosted an annual "Women's Health and the Environment" conference series.[31] She founded Teresa Heinz Scholars for Environmental Research, which annually awards eight $10,000 awards for doctoral dissertation support and eight $5,000 awards for Masters' thesis support for research having "public policy relevance that increases society's understanding of environmental concerns and proposed solutions."[32] Heinz is a board member of theEnvironmental Defense Fund.[33]
In 1995, the bookPensions in Crisis: Why the system is failing America and how you can protect your future (later republished asThe Pension Book) was published, with support from the Teresa and H. John Heinz III Foundation, and a foreword by Heinz.[34][35]
Spurred by the issues uncovered byPensions in Crisis, Heinz and her foundation created the Women's Retirement Initiative to "extend that investigation and examine how the dynamics of our pension and retirement system contribute to the disproportionate rate of poverty among older women."[34]
In 1996, the Heinz Foundations created WISER, the Women's Institute for a Secure Retirement.[36]
Heinz is estimated to be worth between $750 million and $1.2 billion.[37] In 2017 Heinz and Kerry listed an ocean-front home onNantucket for sale at $25 million.[38]
Like her first husband, Heinz was a registeredRepublican for most of her voting life, and she remained a registered Republican despite being married to Kerry. In January 2003, she changed her registration to theDemocratic Party.[citation needed][39]
In 2003, Heinz was named to thePoliticsPA list of "Pennsylvania's Most Politically Powerful Women".[40]
Heinz is said to have been encouraged to run for her first husband's vacant Senate seat after his death. Heinz declined and refused to endorse Republican CongressmanRick Santorum's1994 bid for the seat. She publicly denounced him as the "antithesis" of her late husband, and later called him "Forrest Gump with attitude."[41] It was rumored she would challenge Santorum in2006 (as a Democrat),[citation needed] but she did not enter the race, and the Democratic nomination went toState TreasurerBob Casey Jr., who went on to defeat Santorum.
In a 2004 interview, Heinz criticizedGeorge W. Bush'sIraq War policy, stating, "Our first priority was terrorism. We have now made enemies of people who were our friends, and even our allies distrust us. And that's a terrible thing."[42]
Heinz has a reputation in the media as a very direct personality.[43][44] In an interview published inUSA Today in July 2004, Heinz was asked about the differences between then-First LadyLaura Bush and herself:
"Well, you know, I don't know Laura Bush. But she seems to be calm, and she has a sparkle in her eye, which is good. But I don't know that she's ever had a real job — I mean, since she's been grown up. So her experience and her validation comes from important things, but different things. And I'm older, and my validation of what I do and what I believe and my experience is a little bit bigger — because I'm older, and I've had different experiences. And it's not a criticism of her. It's just, you know, what life is about."[45]
Heinz retracted the statement later, saying she was "sincerely sorry" for the remark. "I had forgotten that Mrs. Bush had worked as a schoolteacher and librarian, and there couldn't be a more important job than teaching our children", Heinz said. "As someone who has been both a full time mom and full time in the workforce, I know we all have valuable experiences that shape who we are. I appreciate and honor Mrs. Bush's service to the country as first lady, and am sincerely sorry I had not remembered her important work in the past."[46]
Bush brushed it off, saying, "It didn't matter to me. It didn't hurt my feelings. It was perfectly all right that she apologized. She didn't have to apologize. I know how tough it is. And actually I know those trick questions."[47]
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