John and Teresa Kerry Marriage Profile

By Sheri & Bob Stritof, About.com Guides

Senator John Kerry and Teresa Heinz Kerry on November 3, 2004 in Boston, Massachusetts.

Photo: Chris Hondros / Getty Images

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Fast Marriage Facts - Teresa and John
Met: 1990.
Married: May 26, 1995..
First Marriage: No.
Did You Know?
John and Teresa were both in their 50s when they married.

Born:

John Forbes Kerry: December 11, 1943 in Aurora, Colorado.

Maria Teresa Thierstein Simões-Ferreira Heinz Kerry: October 5, 1938 in Mozambique.

How Teresa and John Met:

They had briefly met in 1990 at an Earth Day Rally. In 1992, in Rio de Janeiro, John and Teresa met again at a United Nations sponsored Earth Summit. A few months later they renewed their acquaintance at a Washington dinner party, and took a walk together to the Mall and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Their courtship began in late 1993. They announced their engagement in November, 1994.

Wedding Date:

Witnesses at John and Teresa's wedding on May 26, 1995 in Nantucket, Massachusetts, included her three sons and his two daughters. They were married and exchanged gold rings underneath a canopy at an evening ceremony. Teresa wore a peach gown designed by Oscar de la Renta. Peter Yarrow (Peter, Paul & Mary fame) performed at their wedding.

Ages at Marriage:

Teresa, 56.
John, 51.

Previous Marriages:

John: John was married to Julia Stimson Thorne (b. 1945) on May 23, 1970; separated in 1982; divorced July 25, 1988; annulled by the Roman Catholic Church in 1997. When they met, Julia was John's best friend's sister. She later married architect Richard Charlesworth and lived in Bozeman, Montana. Julia died of cancer in 2006.

Teresa: Teresa was married to her college sweetheart, Senator Henry John Heinz III in 1966. Their marriage lasted until his death in an airplane accident on April 4, 1991.

Occupations:

John: Navy, 1966-1970; Naval Reserves, 1972-1978; Assistant District Attorney, Middlesex County, 1977-1979; Attorney, 1979-1982; Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor, 1982-84; U.S. senator, 1984-2013; U.S. Secretary of State, February 2013-present.

Teresa: United Nations translator as Teresa is fluent in five languages: English, Spanish, French, Italian, and her native Portuguese; philanthropist.

Children:

John Kerry and Julia Thorne:

Alexandra Kerry: Born in 1973.
Vanessa Kerry: Born in 1976.

Teresa and H. John Heinz:

John Heinz Jr: Born in 1967.
André Heinz: Born in 1970.
Christopher Heinz: Born in 1973.
Miscarriage.

Residence:

Boston (Beacon Hill), Massachusetts.

Other homes: Ketchum, Idaho; Nantucket, Massachusetts; Fox Chapel, Pennsylvania; Georgetown, Washington, D.C.

Miscellaneous:

John and Teresa try to be together several nights a week and they attempt to have one weekend every month just for the two of them.

They have a prenuptial agreement.

Teresa became an American citizen at the age of 32. If John had been elected President of the United States, Teresa would have been the second foreign born first lady.

After two operations and with a prognosis for a full recovery, Teresa Heinz Kerry (71) revealed in December 2009 she was treated for breast cancer. She began five days of target radiation in January 2010.

Quotes About the Marriage of Teresa Heinz and John Kerry:

Teresa about their many homes: "The homes belong to the Heinz family, and they don't belong to me alone, either, now that my late husband is dead. [They do] not belong to John Kerry. They belong to my sons."

John about Teresa's first husband, Jack Heinz: “I’ve never felt threatened by it. It would be cruel and insensitive if she didn’t celebrate his memory. I’ve told her sons, ‘I’m not there to replace anybody. I’m there to be whoever I am.’”

Teresa on 25 years of marriage to John Heinz: "It's a beautiful time of a marriage. The things that used to rattle you and make you upset all of a sudden become endearing. And you never knew it could happen."