Speaker
Dr. Jill Biden
Appearances over time
1 episodes
Episodes
1
Podcasts
Quotes & moments
Jill Biden turned down Joe Biden's marriage proposal five times before finally saying yes when he gave her an ultimatum after returning from a Senate trip to Africa.
The Bidens have been married for 49 years, built on mutual support, shared family dinners, and each respecting the other's career choices.
Jill quit her teaching job for two years early in her marriage to Joe to establish herself as Beau and Hunter's mother and make them her sole focus.
After Joe Biden was rushed to the hospital with a brain aneurysm in 1988, he stayed at Walter Reed for approximately seven months while Jill commuted nearly two hours after school to visit him.
Before 1993, all medical research was conducted on male subjects — even the lab mice were male — meaning all diagnoses and prescriptions were based on male bodies.
President Biden's White House initiative on women's health put $1 billion into women's health research in a single year, which Jill Biden called the catalyst for a wider investment movement.
Beau Biden was diagnosed with glioblastoma — an aggressive brain cancer — and died after the family exhausted every trial, medicine, and operation available, with doctors holding out hope until the final day.
Joe Biden has stage 4 cancer that has metastasized to his bones; at 83 years old, he will be on cancer medication indefinitely while still writing his book and traveling.
Hunter Biden has been sober for approximately seven to eight years after a prolonged addiction battle that included multiple rehab stints and periods where his family didn't know his whereabouts.
When political supporters pushed Joe Biden to run for president at home while a young Jill was poolside, she took a black magic marker, wrote 'NO' on her stomach, and walked silently through the room.
As a community college English teacher, Jill Biden's oldest student was 83 years old, illustrating the broad age range she served as an educator.
Jill Biden had skin cancer removed from her eyelid and chest while living in the White House, and she now advocates for sun protection and preventative care for young women.
Joe Biden's 1987 presidential campaign ended when he was accused of plagiarizing a passage from British politician Neil Kinnock, but dropping out likely saved his life when he suffered a brain aneurysm months later.
Jill Biden watched the 2024 presidential debate from the green room and feared Joe Biden was having a stroke when he froze on stage; afterward he told her, 'I really effed up, didn't I?'
To build her relationship with Beau and Hunter after marrying Joe Biden, Jill quit teaching for two years, volunteered in the school library, attended every game, and made sure there were always cookies on the counter. She believed food was love — and that you build a family one dinner at a time.
It wasn't Joe Biden who decided to propose to Jill — it was his sons. After two years of dating, Beau and Hunter walked into the bathroom while Joe was shaving and told him they should marry Jill. That moment launched the five-proposal journey that would eventually result in a 49-year marriage.
Jill Biden turned Joe Biden's marriage proposal down five times — not because she didn't love him, but because Beau and Hunter had already lost their birth mother and she refused to risk them losing another through divorce. She finally said yes only after Joe returned from Africa and gave her an ultimatum at her apartment door.
Jill Biden's first date with Joe Biden was a total accident — she only broke a prior date out of curiosity about the older senator with the perfect suit. When he walked her to her door and shook her hand without even attempting a kiss, she called her mother at 1am to say she had finally met a gentleman.
When Joe Biden's political supporters gathered at their home and pushed him to run for president, a young Jill — poolside in a bikini — grabbed a black magic marker, wrote 'NO' on her stomach, and walked silently through the library where they were meeting. She didn't say a word. She didn't need to.
Jill Biden's secret to carrying grief, global crises, and family life simultaneously was fierce compartmentalization. Whether she was in the classroom, the White House, or with her kids, she was 100% there. It wasn't always easy — but the discipline of presence kept her from being crushed by the weight of everything at once.
When Jill Biden arrived at Joe's hospital room in 1988 and found a priest delivering last rites, she burst in and ordered him out, declaring her husband was not dying. Her conviction came from a single certainty: God would not take Joe from children who had already lost their mother once.
Before 1993, all medical research was conducted on male subjects — even the laboratory mice. That means every diagnosis and prescription available to women was based on a male body. The Biden White House invested $1 billion in one year to begin closing that gap, sparking a wider movement of scientific and venture investment.
Joe Biden has stage 4 cancer that has metastasized to his bones. At 83, he will be on cancer medication for the rest of his life. Jill Biden said he is still writing his book and traveling, but she has watched him slow down — describing it as a cruel blow on top of everything else.
The morning Beau Biden died, the doctors at Walter Reed told the family 'this could still turn around' — then one physician stopped them in the hallway and demanded his colleagues tell the Bidens the truth. They went back in and said Beau would likely die that day. Jill Biden called it the worst thing she has ever experienced.
For years, the Biden family had no idea where Hunter was as he cycled through rehab after rehab. His daughters kept asking where Daddy was. Jill Biden flew someone in to stage an intervention — Hunter bolted when he realized what was happening, and Joe ran after him and just held him. They had to love him through it.
Jill Biden's greatest regret is having no recording of her late mother's voice. She can still hear it in her mind — the simple word 'hello, Jill' — but she can never play it back. Her advice: record your parents' voices now, because the day will come when you desperately need to hear them.
Jill Biden was convinced Kamala Harris would win the 2024 election. The morning after, she was in the White House kitchen making coffee and feeding the cat when her phone rang. The caller didn't even finish the sentence — she already knew. She ran to wake Joe at 5am to tell him the news.
Watching from the green room during the 2024 presidential debate, Jill Biden saw Joe freeze on screen and immediately feared he was having a stroke. She paced, panicked, and then went straight to the stage when it ended. Walking off, he told her he had really messed up. She confirmed he had.
Jill Biden's most powerful teaching tool wasn't grammar or structure — it was a poem called 'Where I'm From' that she used on the first day of class to instantly bond students of all ages and backgrounds. The lesson: a student who believes they can write will always outperform a student who just knows the rules.
Analysis
What they talk about
- Society & Culture 65%
- Government 14%
- Health & Fitness 14%
- Education 7%
Connections
Shows they appear on and people they share episodes with. Drag to explore.
