Rachel Anne Maddow (, ; born April 1, 1973) is an American television news program host and
liberal political commentator.
Maddow hosts ''
The Rachel Maddow Show'', a weekly television show on
MSNBC
MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and political ...
, and serves as the cable network's special event co-anchor. Her syndicated
talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featu ...
program
of the same name aired on
Air America Radio from 2005 to 2010. Maddow has received multiple
Emmy Awards for her broadcasting work and in 2021 received a
Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for her book ''
Blowout
Blowout or Blow out may refer to:
Film and television
*''Blow Out'', a 1981 film by Brian De Palma
* ''The Blow Out'', a 1936 short film
* ''Blow Out'' (TV series), a TV series on Bravo
* "Blow Out" (''Prison Break''), an episode of ''Prison ...
'' (2019).
Maddow holds a bachelor's degree in public policy from
Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is conside ...
and a doctorate in political science from the
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
and is the first
openly lesbian anchor to host a major
prime-time news program in the United States.
Early life and education
Maddow was born in
Castro Valley, California. Her father, Robert B. Maddow, is a former
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Si ...
captain who resigned his commission the year before her birth and then worked as a lawyer for the
East Bay Municipal Utility District. Her mother, Elaine (née Gosse), was a school program administrator.
She has one older brother, David. Her paternal grandfather was from a family of
Jews
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
(the original family surname being "Medvedof"), who arrived in the United States from the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...
. Her paternal grandmother was of
Dutch descent. Maddow's
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
mother, originally from
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...
, has
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ...
and
Irish ancestry.
Maddow has said her family is "very, very
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
" and she grew up in a community that her mother has described as "very conservative".
Maddow was a competitive athlete and participated in high school volleyball, basketball, and swimming.
Referring to
John Hughes films, Maddow has described herself as being "a cross between the jock and the antisocial girl" in high school.
She is a graduate of
Castro Valley High School and attended
Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is conside ...
. While 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 earned a degree in
public policy
Public policy is an institutionalized proposal or a decided set of elements like laws, regulations, guidelines, and actions to solve or address relevant and real-world problems, guided by a conception and often implemented by programs. Public ...
at Stanford in 1994.
At graduation, she was awarded the
John Gardner Fellowship. She was the recipient of a
Rhodes Scholarship and began her postgraduate study in 1995 at
Lincoln College, Oxford. She had also been awarded a
Marshall Scholarship
The Marshall Scholarship is a postgraduate scholarship for "intellectually distinguished young Americans ndtheir country's future leaders" to study at any university in the United Kingdom. It is widely considered one of the most prestigious sc ...
the same year but turned it down in favor of the Rhodes. This made her the first openly lesbian winner of the Rhodes Scholarship.
In 2001, she earned a
Doctor of Philosophy
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...
(DPhil) in politics at the University of Oxford.
Her thesis is titled ''HIV/AIDS and Health Care Reform in British and American Prisons;'' her supervisor was
Lucia Zedner.
Radio
Maddow's first job as a radio host was in 1999 at
WRNX (100.9 FM) in
Holyoke, Massachusetts, then home to "The Dave in the Morning Show". She entered and won a contest the station held to find a new second lead for the show's principal host,
Dave Brinnel
David Carl Brinnel began working at age 19 as a night club entertainer, performing in venues throughout the northeast. He had the honor of playing piano at two 1984 campaign rallies for then President Ronald Reagan. He went on to establish his ow ...
. After the WRNX show, she hosted ''Big Breakfast'' on
WRSI in
Northampton, Massachusetts, for two years, leaving in 2004 to join the new Air America.
There she hosted ''Unfiltered'' along with
Chuck D
Carlton Douglas Ridenhour (born August 1, 1960), known professionally as Chuck D, is an American rapper, best known as the leader and frontman of the hip hop group Public Enemy, which he co-founded in 1985 with Flavor Flav. Chuck D helped creat ...
(of the
hip hop group
Public Enemy) and
Lizz Winstead (co-creator of ''
The Daily Show'') until its cancellation in March 2005.
Two weeks after the cancellation of ''Unfiltered'' in April 2005, Maddow's weekday two-hour radio program, ''
The Rachel Maddow Show'', began airing; in March 2008 it gained a third hour, broadcasting from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m.
EST, with
David Bender
David Bender is an American political activist, author and former host of the talk radio show '' Politically Direct'' on Air America Radio.
Political activism
David Bender's five-decade career as a political activist began at the age of twelve w ...
filling in the third hour for the call-in section, when Maddow was on TV assignment. In 2008, the show's length returned to two hours when Maddow began a nightly MSNBC television program. In 2009, after renewing her contract with Air America, Maddow returned to the 5:00 a.m. hour-long slot.
Television
In June 2005, Maddow became a regular panelist on the MSNBC show ''
Tucker,'' hosted by
Tucker Carlson.
During and after the
November 2006 election, she was a guest on
CNN's ''
Paula Zahn Now
Paula Ann Zahn (; born February 24, 1956) is an American journalist and newscaster who has been an anchor at ABC News, CBS News, Fox News, and CNN. She currently produces and hosts the true crime documentary series ''On the Case with Paula Zahn' ...
''; she was also a correspondent for ''The Advocate Newsmagazine'', an LGBT-oriented short-form newsmagazine for
Logo
A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name it represents as in a wo ...
deriving from news items published by ''
The Advocate''. In January 2008, Maddow became an MSNBC political analyst and was a regular panelist on MSNBC's ''
Race for the White House
''Race for the White House'' is an American political television show that discusses various presidential election campaigns throughout United States history. It premiered on March 6, 2016, on CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multination ...
'' with David Gregory and MSNBC's election coverage
as well as a frequent contributor on ''
Countdown with Keith Olbermann
''Countdown with Keith Olbermann'' is an hour-long weeknight news and political commentary program hosted by Keith Olbermann that aired on MSNBC from 2003 to 2011 and on Current TV from 2011 to 2012. The show presented five selected news stories ...
.''
In 2008, Maddow was the substitute host for ''Countdown with Keith Olbermann'', her first time hosting a program on MSNBC. Maddow described herself on-air as "nervous".
Keith Olbermann
Keith Theodore Olbermann (; born January 27, 1959) is an American sports and political commentator and writer.
Olbermann spent the first 20 years of his career in sports journalism. He was a sports correspondent for CNN and for local TV and ...
complimented her work, and she was brought back to host ''Countdown'' the next month. The show she hosted was the highest-rated news program among people aged 25 to 54.
For her success, Olbermann ranked Maddow third in his show's segment "World's Best Persons".
In July 2008, Maddow filled in again for several broadcasts.
Maddow also filled in for
David Gregory as host of ''Race for the White House''.
Olbermann began to push for Maddow to gain her own show at MSNBC, and he was eventually able to persuade Phil Griffin to give her
Dan Abrams' time slot.
''The Rachel Maddow Show''
In August 2008, MSNBC announced ''
The Rachel Maddow Show'' would replace ''Verdict with Dan Abrams'' in the network's 9:00 p.m. slot the following month.
Following its debut, the show topped ''Countdown'' as the highest-rated show on MSNBC on several occasions.
After being on air for more than a month, Maddow's program doubled the audience that hour.
This show made Maddow the first openly gay or lesbian host of a primetime news program in the United States.
The initial reviews for the show were positive. ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...
'' journalist
Matea Gold Matea is a feminine given name. It is the feminine form of the male name Mateo, Matej or Matija, which are Croatian forms of Matthew. Notable people with the name include:
* Matea Bošnjak, Croatian footballer
* Matea Čiča, Croatian badminto ...
wrote that Maddow "finds the right formula on MSNBC",
and ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...
'' wrote that Maddow had become the "star of America's cable news".
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. new ...
columnist David Bauder saw her as "
eithOlbermann's political soul mate", and he described the Olbermann-Maddow shows as a "liberal two-hour block".
Of her collegial relationship with
Roger Ailes of
Fox News
The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is o ...
, whom she sought out for technical advice, Maddow said she does not want to talk about it because "I don't want anybody else to use it. It was a nice thing that he did for me, and it's been valuable for me; it helped me get an advantage over my competitors."
In mid-May 2017, amid multiple controversies surrounding the Trump administration, MSNBC surpassed
CNN and Fox News in the news ratings. For the week of May 15, ''The Rachel Maddow Show'' was the No. 1 non-sports program on cable for the first time. She has been called by ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
'' as "America's wonkiest anchor" who "cut through the chaos of the Trump administrationand became the most trusted name in the news."
Maddow has argued that these issues "are the most serious scandals that any president has ever faced."
Maddow has stated that her show's mission is to "
crease the amount of useful information in the world".
She said her rule for covering the Trump administration is: "Don't pay attention to what they say, focus on what they do ... because it's easier to cover a fast-moving story when you're not distracted by whatever the White House denials are."
Maddow often begins a broadcast with a lengthy story, sometimes longer than 20 minutes, which she has referred to on-air as the "A-block." This often begins with film clips and other media from events in past years or decades which she eventually connects with the news of the day. About this process, she has said: "The thing that defines whether or not you're good at this work is whether you have something to say when it's time to say something. Because you're going to have to say something when that light goes on ... I want to have something to say that people don't already know every single night, every single segment, and that makes it hard to get the process right because that's the only thing I care about."
Maddow took a hiatus from her show from February to April 2022 to coincide with production on the film adaptation of ''Bag Man''.
As of May 2022, her show has moved to a weekly broadcast on Mondays.
''Herring Networks, Inc. v. Rachel Maddow, et al.''
On September 10, 2019, the
One America News Network (OAN) filed suit in the
United States District Court for the Southern District of California against Maddow for $10 million, after Maddow described the network as "paid Russian propaganda" on her program on July 22. Maddow had repeated a ''
Daily Beast'' story which identified an OAN employee as also working for
Sputnik News, which is owned by the Russian government-owned news agency
Rossiya Segodnya, and has been accused of deliberately disseminating disinformation, and is often described as an outlet for
propaganda. Also named in the suit were
Comcast
Comcast Corporation (formerly known as American Cable Systems and Comcast Holdings),Before the AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corpora ...
, MSNBC, and
NBCUniversal Media
NBCUniversal Media, LLC is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate corporation owned by Comcast and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States.
NBCUniversal is primari ...
.
On May 22, 2020, the case was dismissed by Judge
Cynthia Bashant
Cynthia Ann Bashant (born March 18, 1960) is a United States district judge for the United States District Court for the Southern District of California and former judge of the San Diego Superior Court.
Early life and education
Bashant was born ...
, who found that "the contested statement is an opinion that cannot serve as the basis for a defamation". OAN parent company Herring Networks said they planned to appeal.
After considering Herring's appeal, in August 2021 the decision in favor of Maddow was affirmed by the United States Court of Appeal for the Ninth Circuit. The Court of Appeals also affirmed a trial court ruling that requires Herring to pay Maddow's attorneys' fees.
Writing
Maddow wrote ''
Drift: The Unmooring of American Military Power'' (2012) about the role of the military in postwar American politics. Upon its release, ''Drift'' reached the first position of
''The New York Times'' Best Seller list for hardcover nonfiction.
In December 2013, ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...
'' announced that Maddow would write a monthly opinion column for the paper, contributing one article per month over a period of six months.
On March 2, 2018, ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' published Maddow's first crossword puzzle, in collaboration with Joe DiPietro. On the eve of its publication, she said: "This is kind of it, like there will never be a baby, but there's this freaking crossword puzzle, and I am very, very excited about it."
Maddow's second book ''
Blowout: Corrupted Democracy, Rogue State Russia, and the Richest, Most Destructive Industry on Earth'' was published in October 2019. In March 2021, the audiobook version of ''Blowout'', recorded by Maddow, won the
Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album at the
63rd Annual Grammy Awards.
Her third book, ''Bag Man: The Wild Crimes, Audacious Cover-up, and Spectacular Downfall of a Brazen Crook in the White House'', written with Michael Yarvitz, was published in December 2020.
Podcasting
In October 2018, Maddow launched the
podcast
A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosin ...
''Bag Man'', produced with MSNBC and focusing on the 1973 political scandal surrounding Vice President
Spiro Agnew. A film adaptation of the podcast was announced to be in production in 2022, with
Ben Stiller attached to direct and
Lorne Michaels to produce, with Maddow set to be an executive producer.
In October 2022, Maddow and MSNBC launched ''Ultra'', a podcast chronicling U.S. right-wing extremism during the 1940s and
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, including the
1944 sedition trial.
Public image and publicity
A 2011 ''
Hollywood Reporter'' profile of Maddow said she was able to deliver news "with agenda, but not hysteria".
A ''
Newsweek
''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...
'' profile said, "At her best, Maddow debates ideological opponents with civility and persistence ... but for all her eloquence, she can get so wound up ripping Republicans that she sounds like another smug cable partisan." ''
The Baltimore Sun
''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries.
Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by T ...
'' critic
David Zurawik accused Maddow of acting like "a lockstep party member".
The editors of ''
The New Republic
''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hu ...
'' similarly criticized hernaming her among the "most over-rated thinkers" of 2011, they called her program "a textbook example of the intellectual limitations of a perfectly settled perspective".
On awarding her the Interfaith Alliance's Faith and Freedom Award named for
Walter Cronkite, Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy remarked that "Rachel's passionate coverage of the intersection of religion and politics exhibits a strong personal intellect coupled with constitutional sensitivity to the proper boundaries between religion and government."
Similarly, a 2008 ''
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...
'' profile described Maddow a "whip-smart, button-cute leftie". It said she radiates an essential decency and suggested her career rise might signify that "nice is the new nasty".
Distinguishing herself from others on the left, Maddow has said she is a "national security liberal" and, in a different interview, that she is not "a partisan".
''The New York Times'' called her a "defense policy wonk".
Political views
When asked about her political views in 2010 by the ''
Valley Advocate
The ''Daily Hampshire Gazette'' is a six-day morning daily newspaper based in Northampton, Massachusetts, United States, and covering all of Hampshire County, southern towns of Franklin County, and Holyoke. The newspaper prints Monday through S ...
'', Maddow replied, "I'm undoubtedly a liberal, which means that I'm in almost total agreement with the
Eisenhower-era Republican Party platform."
Maddow opposed the
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including ...
. In February 2013, she said:
We say that Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making ...
changed our politics forever. But less than 40 years after this, again, a campaign directed at the highest levels of government to get us to agree to a war based on something that did not happen the way they said it happened. It was a months-long campaign in 2002 and 2003, and it worked ... In three weeks, the CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
pulls together what normally takes months. It is delivered just seven days before the congressional vote ... By the end of 2002, the U.S. military is headed to the Gulf. Congress is on board, as are British Prime Minister Tony Blair and most of the mainstream media
In journalism, mainstream media (MSM) is a term and abbreviation used to refer collectively to the various large mass news media that influence many people and both reflect and shape prevailing currents of thought. Chomsky, Noam, ''"What makes ma ...
. The stage is set for war.
During the
2008 presidential election, Maddow did not formally support any candidate. Concerning
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
's candidacy, Maddow said: "I have never and still don't think of myself as an Obama supporter, either professionally or actually."
In 2010,
Republican Senator
Scott Brown speculated that Maddow was going to run against him in the
2012 Senate election. His campaign used this premise for a fundraising email, although Maddow repeatedly said Brown's speculation was false. Brown continued to make his claims in the Boston media, so Maddow ran a full-page advertisement in ''
The Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'' confirming that she was not running and separately demanded Brown's apology. She added that, despite repeated invitations over the months, Brown had refused to appear on her TV program.
Ultimately, it was
Elizabeth Warren
Elizabeth Ann Warren ( née Herring; born June 22, 1949) is an American politician and former law professor who is the senior United States senator from Massachusetts, serving since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party and regarded as ...
who ran in 2012, defeating Brown.
Maddow has suggested that the alleged
Trump-Russia collusion has continued beyond the 2016 presidential election.
In March 2017, she blamed Russia for
WikiLeaks'
Vault 7 disclosure of the
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
's hacking tools, saying: "Consider what the other U.S. agency is besides the State Department that
Putin most hates? That Putin most feels competitive with? That Putin most wants to beat? It's the CIA, right? ... Smart observers say this is the largest dump of classified CIA material maybe ever, and it really could be a devastating blow to the CIA's cyber war and flat-out spying capabilities, and that dump was released by WikiLeaks."
Regarding the Trump-Russia investigation, Maddow said: "If the Trump presidency is knowingly the product of a foreign-intelligence operation, that is a full-stop national crisis."
Concerning "alternative facts" and fake news, Maddow said: "The president denigrating the press is important in terms of his behavior as an increasingly authoritarian-style leader, period."
Following the October 2018 murder of
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the Ara ...
n dissident journalist and ''Washington Post'' columnist
Jamal Khashoggi, Maddow argued that
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
's business ties to Saudi Arabia are raising some troubling questions.
In December 2018, Maddow criticized President Trump's decision to withdraw
U.S. troops from Syria.
In July 2020, Maddow predicted that unemployment figures covering the previous month would be "absolutely terrible"; after the figures were released, showing the largest growth in employment in a single month in U.S. history, ''
Politico
''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American, German-owned political journalism newspaper company based in Arlington County, Virginia, that covers politics and policy in the United States and intern ...
'' named Maddow's prediction one of "the most audacious, confident and spectacularly incorrect prognostications about the year".
In May 2021, former ''New York Times'' reporter
Barry Meier published ''Spooked: The Trump Dossier, Black Cube, and the Rise of Private Spies'', which cited the
Steele dossier as a case study in how reporters can be manipulated by private intelligence sources. Meier named Maddow as one example.
Personal life
Maddow splits her time between
Manhattan, New York and
West Cummington, Massachusetts with her partner, artist
Susan Mikula.
They met in 1999, when Maddow was working on her doctoral dissertation.
Maddow has dealt with
cyclical depression since puberty. In a 2012 interview, she stated, "It doesn't take away from my joy or my work or my energy, but coping with depression is something that is part of the everyday way that I live and have lived for as long as I can remember." She has explained why she decided to speak about it in interviews: "It was a hard call ... Because it was nobody's business. But it had been helpful to me to learn about the people who were surviving, were leading good lives, even though they were dealing with depression. So I felt it was a bit of a responsibility to pay that back."
Maddow said, "There are three things I do to stay sane: I exercise, I sleepI'm a good sleeperand I fish."
In 2021, Maddow had surgery to remove a cancerous skin growth from her neck.
Honors and awards
* 2017
Emmy Award in the Outstanding Live Interview category for ''
The Rachel Maddow Show'' segment "One-on-One with
Kellyanne Conway".
* 2017 Emmy Award in the Outstanding News Discussion & Analysis category for ''The Rachel Maddow Show'' story "An American Disaster: The Crisis in Flint".
* 2011 Emmy Award in the Outstanding News Discussion & Analysis category for ''The Rachel Maddow Show'' segments "Good Morning Landlocked Central Asia!".
* Maddow was named in ''
Out
Out may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Films
* ''Out'' (1957 film), a documentary short about the Hungarian Revolution of 1956
* ''Out'' (1982 film), an American film directed by Eli Hollander
* ''Out'' (2002 film), a Japanese film ba ...
'' magazine's "Out 100" list of the "gay men and women who moved culture" in 2008.
* Maddow was voted "Lesbian/Bi Woman of the Year (American)" in
AfterEllen's 2008 Visibility Awards.
* Maddow won a Gracie Award in 2009, presented by the
American Women in Radio and Television.
* In 2009, Maddow was nominated for
GLAAD's 20th Annual Media Awards for a segment of her MSNBC show, "Rick Warren, Change To Believe In?", in the Outstanding TV Journalism Segment category.
* On March 28, 2009, Maddow received a Proclamation of Honor from the
California State Senate
The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature, the lower house being the California State Assembly. The State Senate convenes, along with the State Assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento.
D ...
, presented in San Francisco by California State Senator
Mark Leno
Mark Leno (born September 24, 1951) is an American politician who served in the California State Senate until November 2016. A Democrat, he represented the 11th Senate district, which includes San Francisco and portions of San Mateo County. Bef ...
.
* In April 2009, she was listed at No. 4 in ''Out'' magazine's Annual Power 50 List.
* Maddow placed sixth in the "2009 AfterEllen.com Hot 100" list (May 11, 2009)
and third in its "2009 Hot 100: Out Women" version.
* Maddow was included on a list of openly gay media professionals in ''The Advocate''s "Forty under 40" issue of June/July 2009.
* In 1994, Maddow received an Honorable Mention in the
Elie Wiesel Foundation
Elie Wiesel (, born Eliezer Wiesel ''Eliezer Vizel''; September 30, 1928 – July 2, 2016) was a Romanian-born American writer, professor, political activist, Nobel laureate, and Holocaust survivor. He authored 57 books, written mostly in Fre ...
for Humanity Prize in Ethics.
* In June 2009, Maddow's MSNBC show was the only cable news show nominated for a
Television Critics Association award in the ''Outstanding Achievement in News and Information'' category.
* In March 2010, Maddow won at the 21st Annual GLAAD Media Awards in the category of Outstanding TV JournalismNewsmagazine for her segment, "Uganda Be Kidding Me".
* In May 2010, Maddow was the 2010 commencement speaker and was given an honorary Doctor of Laws (LLD) degree at
Smith College in
Northampton, Massachusetts.
* In July 2010, Maddow was presented with a Maggie Award for her ongoing reporting of
healthcare reform, the
murder of Dr. George Tiller, and the anti-abortion movement.
* In August 2010, Maddow won the Walter Cronkite Faith & Freedom Award, which was presented by the
Interfaith Alliance.
Past honorees included
Larry King,
Tom Brokaw, and the late
Peter Jennings.
* In February 2012, Maddow was presented the
John Steinbeck Award
The John Steinbeck Award: "In The Souls of the People", is an annual award given to an individual or group that has contributed to society in the spirit of John Steinbeck. The award is given to artists who capture "Steinbeck’s empathy, commitmen ...
by the Martha Heasley Cox Center for Steinbeck Studies at
San Jose State University
San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) ...
.
* Maddow was named Outstanding Host at the 2012
Gracie Allen Awards
* On October 5, 2017, her MSNBC show won two Emmy Awards, for coverage of the tainted water crisis in Flint, Michigan, and for Maddow's interview with White House counselor Kellyanne Conway.
* In December 2017 ''The Advocate'' named her as a finalist for its "Person of the Year".
*In 2021,
Fast Company included her on their second Queer 50 list.
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...
s
Scholastic
; University degrees
; Chancellor, visitor, governor, rector and fellowships
Honorary degrees
;Honorary degrees
Awards
In popular culture
Tracey Ullman played Maddow in her
Showtime comedy series ''
Tracey Ullman's State of the Union
''Tracey Ullman's State of the Union'' is an American sketch comedy series starring Tracey Ullman. The series was written by Ullman along with Hollywood satirist Bruce Wagner. Gail Parent and Craig DiGregorio acted as contributing writers to the ...
''. Maddow invited Ullman on her show and interviewed her in January 2010.
Abby Elliott and
Melissa Villasenor
Melissa is a female given name. The name comes from the Greek word μέλισσα (''mélissa''), "bee", which in turn comes from μέλι (''meli''), "honey". In Hittite, ''melit'' signifies "honey".
''Melissa'' also refers to the plant ''Me ...
have both played Maddow in sketches on ''
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves ...
''.
Maddow appeared as a character on the November 3, 2013 episode of ''
The Simpsons
''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, ...
'', "
Four Regrettings and a Funeral".
Maddow appeared at the start of "
Trump: The Rusical" on
''RuPaul's Drag Race'' season 11 as the star of a mini-challenge where the contestants had to dress up as Maddow and read from a teleprompter.
Maddow is the voice of
Vesper Fairchild
A collective of fictional characters appear in American comic books published by DC Comics featuring the superhero Batman as the main protagonist.
Since Batman's introduction in 1939, the character has accumulated a number of recognizable suppor ...
in the television series ''
Batwoman
Batwoman is a name used by several characters of DC Comics, both in mainstream continuity and Elseworlds. The best known Batwomen are Kathy Kane and Kate Kane.
History
* The first Batwoman, Kathy Kane, debuted during the Silver Age of Comics ...
''. She appeared as herself on the Netflix series
''House of Cards''.
Bibliography
*
*
*
See also
*
LGBT culture in New York City
*
List of LGBT people from New York City
*
New Yorkers in journalism
*
United States cable news
*
Women's liberation movement
Explanatory notes
Citations
External links
*
''The Rachel Maddow Show'' on MSNBC*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maddow, Rachel
1973 births
21st-century American non-fiction writers
21st-century American women writers
Activists from the San Francisco Bay Area
Air America (radio network)
Alumni of Lincoln College, Oxford
American anti–Iraq War activists
American lesbian actresses
American lesbian writers
American people of Canadian descent
American people of Dutch descent
American people of English descent
American people of Irish descent
American people of Jewish descent
American podcasters
American political commentators
American political writers
American Rhodes Scholars
American talk radio hosts
American voice actresses
American women podcasters
American women radio journalists
American women television journalists
Emmy Award winners
Grammy Award winners
Journalists from California
LGBT broadcasters from the United States
LGBT journalists from the United States
LGBT people from California
LGBT rights activists from the United States
Liberalism in the United States
Living people
MSNBC people
NBC News people
People from Castro Valley, California
People from Cummington, Massachusetts
People from the San Francisco Bay Area
Shorty Award winners
Stanford University alumni
American women radio presenters
Writers from Manhattan
Writers from Massachusetts
Writers from the San Francisco Bay Area