(1981-)

Who Is Ashley Biden?

Ashley Biden is Joe Biden’s youngest daughter and only biological child with his second wife, Jill Biden. She has one surviving brother, Hunter, and two late siblings, Amy and Beau. After graduating from Tulane University and the University of Pennsylvania, she began a career in social work through which she developed a passion for social justice issues, namely income inequality. In 2017, her dedication to activism translated to the creation of a fashion brand called Livelihood, which funds various charitable initiatives. Married to surgeon Howard Krein since 2010, she also supported her father’s 2020 presidential campaign, and, along with Hunter, introduced the then-candidate at the 2020 Democratic National Convention.

Early Life and Education

Ashley Blazer Biden was born on June 8, 1981, in Delaware. She is Joe’s second daughter and Jill's only biological child. Her half-sister Naomi “Amy” Biden was killed in a 1972 car accident that also claimed the life of Joe’s first wife, Neilia. Ashley also has two older brothers, Hunter Biden and Joseph “Beau” Biden III, the latter of whom died of brain cancer in 2015.

She attended Wilmington Friends School, a Quaker institution in Wilmington, Delaware, and later graduated from Archmere Academy, a Claymont, Delaware private Catholic School, also her father’s alma mater. Ashley holds an undergraduate degree in cultural anthropology from New Orleans’ Tulane University and a Master’s of Social Work from the University of Pennsylvania's School of Social Policy and Practice.

Social Work Career

Upon graduation from Tulane, Ashley worked for at Philadelphia’s Northwestern Human Services Children’s Reach Clinic as part of their clinical support staff, assisting youth and their families access community resources. About four years later, she worked as an education and employment specialist at West End Neighborhood House, where she assisted youth aging out of foster care for one year. Finally, she worked as an employment education liaison for the state of Pennsylvania

In 2014, Ashley was promoted from associate director to executive director of the Delaware Center for Justice, focusing on criminal justice reform, after two years with the company. She eventually stepped down from the role in March 2019, ahead of her father’s 2020 presidential run.

Fashion Line and Activism

In 2017, while working at the Delaware Center for Justice, Ashley founded a charitable fashion brand Livelihood, which, in partnership with flash-sale e-commerce site Gilt, designed and sold ethically produced American-made clothing with the goal of supporting criminal justice reform, improving childhood education and ameliorating economic disparities. The brand’s logo, which features a bow, is an homage to her late brother, Beau.

Elle reported in February 2017 that the “range of supersoft organic cotton hoodies” was on sale for just a few weeks. All 3,400 hoodies Gilt produced from her design sold out, and the company donated $25,000 to the Livelihood Fund at the Delaware Community Foundation.

In June 2019, Ashley partnered with the Hamilton Hotel in Washington, D.C. to redesign their staff’s uniforms, coinciding with the hotel’s remodel and rebranding. In return, Hamilton Hotel donated $15,000 to Livelihood.

As of November 2020, the brand was currently undergoing a re-launch, according to Marie Claire.

Husband and Personal Life

Ashley’s late brother Beau introduced her to plastic surgeon Howard Krein in 2010, and the pair married at St. Joseph on the Brandywine Roman Catholic Church in Greenville, Delaware on June 2, 2012.

After her father announced his 2020 run for president, Ashley hit the campaign trail to encourage voter support, speaking at a Wisconsin Women for Biden event held in August. She and her brother Hunter also introduced their father at the virtual August 2020 Democratic National Convention. “He will be tough, caring, and principled,” she said in her taped speech. “He’ll be the worst enemy any bully ever saw.”

QUICK FACTS

Birth Year: 1981
Birth date: June 8, 1981
Birth State: Delaware
Birth City: Wilmington
Birth Country: United States
Best Known For: Ashley Biden is the daughter of President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill.
Astrological Sign: Gemini