Karenna Gore

Karenna Gore is the oldest of four children born to Al Gore, then a law student, and his wife Tipper Gore in 1973. Karenna's grandfather, Al Gore Sr., was a Tennessee senator who helped bring about civil rights legislation; her grandmother Pauline Gore was the first woman to earn a Vanderbilt law degree. When Karenna was three, her father was elected to Congress, thrusting her into a life of political involvement and advocacy. Throughout her adolescence, Karenna endured Tipper's public crusades against explicit song lyrics and boycotts of products which exploited Third World countries. By the time she entered Harvard, Karenna had become an active participant in her father's Congressional and Senate campaigns. In 1992, Bill Clinton tapped Al Gore to be his vice presidential running mate, and Karenna became a visible presence during her father's term, traveling across the country to meet voters and give speeches. She joined the online magazine Slate in 1996, offering commentary on issues affecting the administration. When Al Gore ran for president himself in 2000, Karenna seconded his nomination at the Democratic National Convention and was a star on the campaign trail. She became one of her father's trusted advisors, prompting the campaign's move from Washington to Nashville, and even bringing feminist Naomi Wolf to join the consulting team. When Gore lost the bitter election that year, Karenna receded from the political limelight, but hinted that she herself might run for public office one day. She became a New York attorney, later leaving law to become a contributing editor for Glamour magazine and Director of Community Affairs for a non-profit children's advocacy organization. The mother of two, she is a fixture in New York City's social, media and money circles.