Clarence Thomas and Ginni Lamp Thomas Marriage Profile

Here's information on how and when they met, their wedding, and more.

News Updates:

Virginia (Ginni) Lamp: February 23, 1957. Raised in Omaha, Nebraska.

Ginni about falling in love: "Once I got to know him, I was like a pool of butter. I was in love with this man."
Source: Andrew Peyton Thomas. Clarence Thomas: A Biography. pg. 293.

About their wedding: "The couple had so much in common, and fell in love so fast, that the relatively rapid wedding was not much of a surprise to those who knew them. They referred to each other as his or her 'best friend.'"
Source: Andrew Peyton Thomas. Clarence Thomas: A Biography. pg. 297.

They celebrated their tenth anniversary by renewing their marriage vows at a steak house in Tysons Comer, Virginia.

• Jamal Adeen Thomas: Born in February 1974. His mother is Kathy Thomas.

Clarence and Ginni received custody for Clarence's great-nephew, Mark (Marky) Elliot Martin Jr. when the six-year old's father was sentenced to prison in 1997. Marky was born on September 22, 1991.

On raising Marky: "The justice promised to give Mark what Thomas’s grandfather had given him at the same age —- opportunities to succeed beyond what the boy had in Pin Point."
Source: Kevin Menda and Michael A. Fletcher. "Justice Thomas's Life A Tangle of Poverty, Privilege and Race.".WashingtonPost.com. 4/22/2007.

Ken Foskett on the Thomas's decision to not have children: "Early in their marriage, Clarence and Virginia decided not to have children of their own. It was more Thomas's decision than his wife's ... Thomas believed he simply didn't have the time to devote to being a good father. It was a painful decision, particularly for Virginia, who had no children of her own."
Source: Ken Foskett. Judging Thomas: The Life and Times of Clarence Thomas. 2004. pgs. 302-303.

Ginni: Ginni is an attorney and founder of Liberty Central, a nonprofit tea-party affiliated lobbying group. Virginia's past employment includes being a Republican Congressional aide, lobbyist for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a senior fellow in government studies at the Heritage Foundation.

Books:

Judging Thomas: The Life and Times of Clarence Thomas
by Ken Foskett

My Grandfather's Son: A Memoir
by Clarence Thomas

• Kathy Ambush: Kathy was born on June 6th. A week after meeting Kathy at a party in Worcester, Clarence told friends he was in love. One day after his graduation from Holy Cross, Clarence and Kathy were married on June 5, 1971, in Worcester, Massachusetts at All Saints Episcopal Church. Gil Hardy was best man and Kathy's twin sister, Karen Ambush was maid of honor. They didn't have a honeymoon. Kathy filed for divorce on May 22, 1984. Their divorce was granted on July 16, 1984.

Laura Blumenfeld about their marriage: "She calms him down. She lights him up. He makes her feel like the most important person on the planet. He jokes. She laughs. The Thomases' friends agree: They are thrilled to have found each other ... They prefer to garden together, neighbors say. They like to drive to work together. She calls him Batman because of his new black Corvette. He sends her flowers when her job at the Labor Department gets stressful. She hauled a four-foot card across the street to the federal courthouse for their anniversary. He pops over to Labor during the day just to say hi. They go on morning runs. They take after-dinner walks. Neighbors say you can see them in the evening talking, walking up the hill. Hand in hand."
Source: Laura Blumenfeld. "The Nominee's Soul Mate." WashingtonPost.com. 9/10/1991.

Ken Foskett about the impact of the confirmation hearings on their marriage: "There was perhaps one silver lining for both husband and wife: The pain of the confirmation proceedings had deepened their relationship in ways that neither could have imagined. Married barely five years, they already were working together like a couple who had lived together a lifetime. The heat of the ordeal bonded them together like alloy, they often said to each other."
Source: Ken Foskett. Judging Thomas: The Life and Times of Clarence Thomas. 2004. pg. 262.

Ginni about Anita Hill: "Yeah. I’ve forgiven Anita Hill. I’m still optimistic that one day she will apologize to my husband.”
Source: Peggy Noonan. "Looking Forward." Good Housekeeping. 9/01/1997.

About the divorce of Clarence and Kathy: "The breakup of the marriage appears to have been by mutual desire. Their 'mismatch of ambition,' as one friend had put it, became accentuated as their political views diverged and Kathy pursued a career."
Source: Andrew Peyton Thomas. Clarence Thomas: A Biography. pg. 251.