--- title: Who Is Gwen Walz, Tim Walz’s Wife? description: From her time as a teacher to her family life to her advocacy areas, here's what to know about Gwen Walz. canonical: https://time.com/7012973/gwen-walz-tim-dnc-teacher/ author: Chantelle Lee article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2024-08-20T19:16:11.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:50:20.159Z article:section: Politics og:title: Who Is Gwen Walz, Tim Walz’s Wife? og:description: From her time as a teacher to her family life to her advocacy areas, here's what to know about Gwen Walz. og:url: https://time.com/7012973/gwen-walz-tim-dnc-teacher/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt333c30942fd88bfc/698a5a1a18689208ac6c867e/GettyImages-2166797985.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Day One Of The 2024 Democratic National Convention og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Who Is Gwen Walz, Tim Walz’s Wife? twitter:description: From her time as a teacher to her family life to her advocacy areas, here's what to know about Gwen Walz. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt333c30942fd88bfc/698a5a1a18689208ac6c867e/GettyImages-2166797985.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Who Is Gwen Walz, Tim Walz’s Wife? > Sponsored content. 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Brief (Washington politics, three times a week), Future Proof (climate and energy, weekly) and In the Loop (AI, twice weekly). All are free at time.com/newsletters and together reach more than 1.1 million engaged readers. #### Which TIME newsletter should I subscribe to? It depends on what you follow. For a daily briefing, The Brief. For health, Health Matters. For Washington politics, D.C. Brief. For AI and technology, In the Loop. For climate and energy as a business story, Future Proof. For culture recommendations, Worth Your Time. For how TIME's journalism gets made, Inside TIME. Readers can select any combination at time.com/newsletters. #### Are TIME's newsletters free? Yes. All seven TIME newsletters are free to join at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes TIME's newsletters? TIME journalists write them. Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ## Video: Kamala Harris Introduces Running Mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz at Rally in Philadelphia [Watch (HLS stream): Kamala Harris Introduces Running Mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz at Rally in Philadelphia](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/vZrdJ2Rt.m3u8) (5:09)  _Published 2024-08-07. Kamala Harris has chosen Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate for the 2024 presidential election, elevating the progressive midwestern Democrat whose clear and caustic messaging about former President Donald Trump—labeling him “weird”—has gone viral in recent weeks._ by [Chantelle Lee](https://time.com/author/chantelle-lee/) ## Chantelle Lee Reporter Aug 20, 2024 7:16 PM UTC  Tim Walz, governor of Minnesota and Democratic vice-presidential nominee, left, and Gwen Walz, wife of Tim Walz, during the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, US, on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. Tim Walz, governor of Minnesota and Democratic vice-presidential nominee, left, and Gwen Walz, wife of Tim Walz, during the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, US, on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. David Paul Morris/Bloomberg— Getty Images by [Chantelle Lee](https://time.com/author/chantelle-lee/) ## Chantelle Lee Reporter Aug 20, 2024 7:16 PM UTC The [Democratic National Convention](https://time.com/7011508/dnc-where-when-speakers/) kicked off in Chicago on Monday with the [Illinois delegation breakfast](https://www.axios.com/local/chicago/2024/08/19/gwen-walz-illinois-delegation-breakfast), which featured a surprise speaker: Gwen Walz, the wife of Minnesota governor and vice presidential candidate Tim Walz. Speaking to the delegates, lawmakers, and journalists in the room, Gwen Walz shared that she and her husband met while teaching at the same school—and that she and her family love to visit Chicago for their New Year’s Eve celebrations, according to [POLITICO](https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2024/08/19/dnc-live-updates-coverage/gwen-walz-speaks-chicago-00174593). She went on to express support for Vice President Kamala Harris, who announced earlier this month that [she chose Tim Walz as her running mate](https://time.com/7007841/kamala-harris-vice-president-tim-walz/) for the 2024 presidential election. “I can’t think of a better team than Kamala and Tim,” Gwen [said](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOQigjbR-yU&list=RDNSWOQigjbR-yU&start%5Fradio=1) at the breakfast. “They want to give everyone a chance at the American Dream. And isn’t that what we all want?” Tim Walz introduced his wife as he joined the presidential ticket: “I can’t wait for all of you and America to get to know my incredible wife, Gwen, a 29-year public school educator,” he [said](https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2024/08/06/remarks-by-vice-president-harris-and-governor-tim-walz-at-a-campaign-event/) at a rally in Philadelphia earlier this month. “Don’t ever underestimate teachers.” Here’s what to know about Gwen Walz. ## **She was a teacher** Gwen Walz, 58, was [born](https://mn.gov/governor/about-gov/gwenwalz/) in Glencoe, Minn. Her parents were both teachers and small business owners, and she has three younger sisters. She earned degrees from Gustavus Adolphus College and Minnesota State University before moving to Nebraska, where she followed in her parents’ footsteps and began teaching. While teaching high schoolEnglish there, she met Tim Walz, who was a teacher at the same school. They went to a movie for their first date, and Gwen later told [The Minnesota Star _Tribune_](https://www.startribune.com/minnesota-s-first-first-lady-since-2010-gwen-walz-is-taking-on-a-big-role/505594802) that she turned down a kiss from him, prompting her now-husband to respond: “That’s fine, but you should know I’m going to marry you.” They got married in 1994. > [](https://twitter.com/GovTimWalz/status/1533132631285669890) They later moved back to Minnesota and started working at Mankato West High School, whereshe taught English andhe taught social studies. The Walzes have two children: Hope, 23, and Gus, 17\. They have been [outspoken](https://www.glamour.com/story/gwen-walz-is-sharing-her-fertility-struggles-for-the-first-time) about how they struggled with infertility, and have [criticized](https://time.com/7008952/tim-walz-ivf-kamala-harris/) Republican-led efforts to roll back reproductive health care, including fertility treatments like [in vitro fertilization](https://time.com/7005892/ivf-under-attack-fetal-personhood/) (IVF). **Read More:** [_Where Tim Walz Stands on the Issues_](https://time.com/7008402/tim-walz-policy-positions-abortion-guns-immigration/) ## **She’s an advocate for education access in prisons** Gwen Walz has been a vocal supporter of increasing access to education for people who are incarcerated. She’s toured prisons and worked with the Bard Prison Initiative, which aims to provide college educational opportunities in prisons. “She was a devoted Midwestern public school teacher who approached education without prejudice or presumption about what kind of students might achieve what kinds of things and a real optimism for all kinds of students,” Bard Prison Initiative founder Max Kenner told [USA TODAY](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/08/07/tim-walz-wife-gwen-education-views/74690566007/). “She also had a real frustration, or even feeling of disappointment, of how much we’ve failed in this country to create real educational opportunities for so many people, particularly access to college.” ## **She’s taken on a role alongside her husband’s political career** Gwen Walz has previously [said](https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-what-if-it-works-120670923/episode/ep-51-the-power-of-purpose-driven-196481809/) that she and her husband “have always worked as a partnership,” describing themselves as each other’s “closest advisers.” She has taken on an involved role as a political spouse—she was the first gubernatorial spouse in Minnesota to establish her own office in the state Capitol, according to the [Star _Tribune_](https://www.startribune.com/minnesota-s-first-first-lady-since-2010-gwen-walz-is-taking-on-a-big-role/505594802). She’s even filled in for her husband before—[The New York _Times_](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/14/style/gwen-walz-tim-walz-minnesota.html) reported that she took the stage in Tim Walz’s place at a 2006 fundraising dinner for her husband’s congressional campaign after he had gotten sick with laryngitis. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7012973/gwen-walz-tim-dnc-teacher/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7012973/gwen-walz-tim-dnc-teacher/"},"headline":"Who Is Gwen Walz, Tim Walz’s Wife?","datePublished":"2024-08-20T19:16:11.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:50:20.159Z","description":"From her time as a teacher to her family life to her advocacy areas, here's what to know about Gwen Walz.","url":"https://time.com/7012973/gwen-walz-tim-dnc-teacher/","keywords":["2024 Elections","Explainer","News Desk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt333c30942fd88bfc/698a5a1a18689208ac6c867e/GettyImages-2166797985.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Chantelle Lee","jobTitle":"Reporter","url":"https://time.com/author/chantelle-lee/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt333c30942fd88bfc/698a5a1a18689208ac6c867e/GettyImages-2166797985.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Day One Of The 2024 Democratic National Convention","caption":"Day One Of The 2024 Democratic National Convention","creditText":"David Paul Morris/Bloomberg— Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/2024-election/","name":"2024 Elections"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/7012973/gwen-walz-tim-dnc-teacher/","name":"Who Is Gwen Walz, Tim Walz’s Wife?"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Kamala Harris Introduces Running Mate Minnesota Gov. 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