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Tipper Gore
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Mary Elizabeth Aitcheson Gore (born August 19, 1948) is an author, photographer, former "Second Lady of the United States," and the wife of Al Gore. She is referred to as "Tipper."
BackgroundBorn Mary Elizabeth Aitcheson in Washington, D.C., she is the daughter of John (Jack) Kenneth Aitcheson, a plumbing-supply entrepreneur, and his first wife Margaret Odom (who lost her first husband during World War II). Gore grew up in Arlington, Virginia. Her parents divorced and she was raised by her mother and grandmother. Her nickname, Tipper, comes from the lullaby "Tippy, Tippy, Tin".
She attended St. Agnes (now St. Stephen's & St. Agnes School), a private Episcopalian school in Alexandria, Virginia, where she excelled at athletics and played the drums for an all-girl band, The Wildcats.
She met Gore at his senior prom in 1965. Although she came to the prom with his classmate, Gore and Tipper began to date immediately afterwards. When Gore began Harvard University, she enrolled in Garland Junior College and later transferred to Boston University, receiving her B.A. in psychology in 1970. Gore pursued a master's degree in psychology from George Peabody College, graduating in 1975. She then worked part-time as a newspaper photographer until her husband was elected to the U.S. Congress in 1976.
On May 19, 1970, she and Gore were married at the Washington National Cathedral. She has four children: Karenna (born on August 6, 1973), Kristin (born on June 5, 1977), Sarah (born on January 7, 1979), and Albert III (born on October 19, 1982).
AuthorGore is the author of a number of books including:
- Raising PG Kids in an X-Rated Society, 1987, ISBN: 0687352827
- Picture This: A Visual Diary, 1996, ISBN 0553067206
- From the Bottom of Our Hearts, 2002, ISBN 1931718326 (introduction)
- , 2002, ISBN 0805074503, (with Al Gore)
- The Spirit of Family, 2002, ISBN 5550151677 (with Al Gore)
Politics and activismIn 1985, she co-founded the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) with Susan Baker, wife of then United States Secretary of the Treasury James Baker, because Tipper heard her then 11-year-old daughter playing "Darling Nikki" by Prince. According to an article by NPR, Gore went "before Congress to urge warning labels for records marketed to children." A number of individuals including Dee Snider of Twisted Sister, Jello Biafra of the Dead Kennedys, John Denver, Joey Ramone and Frank Zappa criticized the group, arguing that it was a form of censorship. In response, NPR further stated that according to Gore, she "wasn't out to censor the objectionable material" and quoted her as stating that she is "a strong believer in the First Amendment" who is calling for greater "consumer information in the marketplace."
Gore resigned from the group in 1992 when she became Second Lady. As Second Lady, Gore was one of 150 photographers for 24 Hours in Cyberspace which took place online on 8 February 1996. It was "the largest one-day online event" up to that date, headed by photographer Rick Smolan.
She was actively involved in her husband's presidential campaign in 2000, making numerous campaign stops nationwide such as at Chicago's Taste of Polonia over Labor Day Weekend where she appeared along with Hadassah Lieberman and Dick Cheney
In 2002, Tipper was urged by her supporters to run for the vacant U.S. Senate seat her husband once held in Tennessee, which was being vacated by Fred Thompson. However, she declined.
In 2003, Gore spoke at the "Erasing the Stigma Awards" about her experience with depression after her son, Al Gore III was hit by a car when he was a young child.
Awards- 1999: Mary Eleanor McGarvah Humanitarian Award
External links- (archived)
- (1996)
- - Frontline
- - NPR
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