RACHEL MADDOW

Rachel Maddow grew up in what she describes as a very Catholic family in a very conservative neighborhood in Castro Valley, California. She was a competitive athlete and participated in high school volleyball, basketball, and swimming until a shoulder injury her senior year ended her athletic career.

After high school, she attended Stanford University, and as a freshman, she was outed as a lesbian by the college newspaper when an interview with her was published before she could tell her parents.

She went on to earn her degree in public policy in 1994, and at graduation, she was awarded the John Gardner Fellowship for public service. She also was the recipient of a Rhodes Scholarship and began her postgraduate study in 1995 at Lincoln College, Oxford, where she earned her doctorate in political science. She had also been awarded a Marshall Scholarship the same year but turned it down in favor of the Rhodes. She became the first openly gay American to receive a Rhodes Scholarship.

After completing her education, Maddow worked with the AIDS Legal Referral Panel in San Francisco and became a prison AIDS advocate. While finishing her dissertation in Massachusetts, she auditioned on a whim for a radio position at WRNX and won a disc jockey spot despite having no prior broadcasting experience. She later worked at WRSI in Northampton, Massachusetts, where she honed her skills as a local radio host.

Maddow began her national media career in radio, joining Air America Radio in 2004. She gained attention for her ability to blend serious political analysis with humor and engaging storytelling. After the cancellation of her co-hosted show "Unfiltered" in 2005, Air America gave her "The Rachel Maddow Show," which became one of the network's highest-rated programs until Air America folded in 2010.

This style would become her trademark as she transitioned to television, first as a regular guest commentator on MSNBC and CNN. In 2006, she became a regular panelist on "The Situation with Tucker Carlson" and appeared frequently on "Countdown with Keith Olbermann."

In January 2008, MSNBC signed Maddow as a political analyst. That September, the network gave her "The Rachel Maddow Show," making her the first openly gay anchor to host a major prime-time news program in the United States. The show's launch was the most successful in MSNBC history, immediately boosting ratings in its time slot.

The show became a ratings success and earned critical acclaim, winning three Emmy Awards for Outstanding News Discussion and Analysis and Outstanding Live Interview. Known for her in-depth monologues and detailed investigative segments, Maddow developed a reputation for thorough research and connecting complex political stories in ways that made them accessible to viewers.

She has authored several bestselling books, including "Drift: The Unmooring of American Military Power" (2012), which debuted at number one on the New York Times bestseller list, and "Blowout: Corrupted Democracy, Rogue State Russia, and the Richest, Most Destructive Industry on Earth" (2019), for which she won a Grammy Award for the audiobook version in 2021.

Her 2023 book "Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism" also debuted at number one on the New York Times bestseller list and examines historical parallels between pre-World War II America and contemporary politics. Her writing demonstrates her keen ability to tackle complex subjects with not only scholarly rigor but also narrative flair.

Maddow has also created and hosted several highly successful podcasts for MSNBC, including "Bag Man" (2018), which won a DuPont Columbia Award; "Ultra" (2022), which received the first-ever Hillman Prize for Broadcast Journalism for a podcast and was optioned by Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment for a feature film; and "Deja News" (2023). All of these podcasts debuted at number one on Apple Podcasts.

Among her numerous honors, Maddow received the Walter Cronkite Faith and Freedom Award in 2010, the John Steinbeck Award in 2012, and multiple GLAAD Media Awards. She has been recognized by various publications, including being named a "Breakout Star of 2008" by The Washington Post and one of the "Top Ten Political Newcomers of 2008" by Politico.

Throughout her career, she has maintained her commitment to in-depth journalism while expanding into new formats and mediums. Her work has significantly influenced political discourse in America, particularly in how complex political stories are told and analyzed on television.

She continues to be a powerful voice in political journalism, known for her intellectual approach to news analysis and her ability to contextualize current events within broader historical and political frameworks. Maddow lives in New York City and Massachusetts with her partner, artist Susan Mikula, whom she met in 1999.