Lynne Ann Cheney ( ; ; born August 14, 1941) is an American author, scholar, and former

talk show A talk show is a television programming, radio programming or podcast genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show', pp.3-4Erler, Robert (201 ...

host. She served as the second lady of the United States from 2001 to 2009 when her husband was vice president.

Childhood and education

Lynne Ann Vincent was born on August 14, 1941, in

Casper, Wyoming Casper is a city in and the county seat of Natrona County, Wyoming, United States. Casper is the List of municipalities in Wyoming, second-most populous city in the state after Cheyenne, Wyoming, Cheyenne, with the population at 59,038 as of th ...

. Her mother, Edna Lolita (''née'' Lybyer, 1919–1973), became a deputy

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

, and her father, Wayne Edwin Vincent, was an engineer. A descendant of

Mormon pioneers The Mormon pioneers were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), also known as Latter-day Saints, who Human migration, migrated beginning in the mid-1840s until the late-1860s across the United States from the ...

, and with ancestral roots in Denmark, Sweden, England, Ireland, and Wales, she was raised

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

and became

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

upon her marriage to Dick Cheney. Cheney received her

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in English literature with highest honors from

Colorado College Colorado College is a private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Founded in 1874 by Thomas Nelson Haskell in his daughter's memory, the college offers over 40 majors a ...

. She continued her education with a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degree from the

University of Colorado Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University o ...

, and a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in 19th-century British literature from the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

. Her dissertation was entitled "

Matthew Arnold Matthew Arnold (24 December 1822 – 15 April 1888) was an English poet and cultural critic. He was the son of Thomas Arnold, the headmaster of Rugby School, and brother to both Tom Arnold (academic), Tom Arnold, literary professor, and Willi ...

's Possible Perfection: A Study of the

Kantian Kantianism () is the philosophy of Immanuel Kant, a German philosopher born in Königsberg, Prussia (now Kaliningrad, Russia). The term ''Kantianism'' or ''Kantian'' is sometimes also used to describe contemporary positions in philosophy of mi ...

Strain in Arnold's Poetry".Stuck In The Sixties: Conservatives and the Legacies of the 1960s – George Rising
/ref>

Early career

Cheney served as the sixth

chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities The Chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is the executive leader of the National Endowment for the Humanities, an independent federal agency created in 1965. The Chair directs the NEH and is the sole position in the agency w ...

(NEH) from 1986 to 1993. In 1995, she founded the

American Council of Trustees and Alumni The American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) is an American non-profit organization whose stated mission is to "support liberal arts education, uphold high academic standards, safeguard the free exchange of ideas on campus, and ensure that t ...

, a think tank devoted to reforming higher education. She is a senior fellow in education and culture at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research. She also serves as a director of Reader's Digest Association, Inc. From 1995 to 1998, Cheney served as the co-host of the Sunday edition of

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

's ''

Crossfire A crossfire (also known as interlocking fire) is a military term for the siting of weapons (often automatic weapons such as assault rifles or sub-machine guns) so that their arcs of fire overlap. This tactic came to prominence in World War I. ...

'', replacing

Tony Snow Robert Anthony Snow (June 1, 1955 – July 12, 2008) was an American journalist, political commentator, anchor, columnist, musician, and the 25th White House Press Secretary under President George W. Bush, from May 2006 until his resignation ...

. Cheney served on

Lockheed Corporation The Lockheed Corporation was an American aerospace manufacturer. Lockheed was founded in 1926 and merged in 1995 with Martin Marietta to form Lockheed Martin. Its founder, Allan Lockheed, had earlier founded the similarly named but otherwise-u ...

's board of directors from 1994 to 2001. She gave up the $120,000-a-year position shortly before her husband's inauguration. She had served on the Lockheed board's finance, and nominating and corporate governance committees. In 2000, she was mentioned as a possible conservative female pick as Republican vice presidential nominee with

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

. The appointed head of the nominating committee was her husband, Dick Cheney, then the CEO of

Halliburton Halliburton Company is an American multinational corporation and the world's second-largest oil service company which is responsible for most of the world's fracking operations. It employs approximately 55,000 people through its hundreds of su ...

, who Bush eventually chose as his running mate.

National history standards

In the early 1990s when heading the NEH, Cheney advocated voluntary national history standards for the nation's high school students and announced plans to create them. In 1994 shortly before the standards were to be released, Cheney, who was aghast at the results, wrote an opinion for ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'' she titled ''The End of History,'' where she "set off a firestorm," according to Gary B. Nash who headed the standards effort. Cheney followed with another opinion, ''The End of History, Part II'' in 2015. As of the early 2020s, her reversal is still cited in the discussion and controversy surrounding The 1619 Project.

Later career

As second lady, she repeatedly spoke out against violent and sexually explicit lyrics in popular music, including those of rapper

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time, he is credited with popula ...

, picking up on an issue that was originally made famous by former vice president

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American former politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He previously served as ...

and his wife Tipper. She also criticized video game developers for similar content. On an October 10, 2007, episode of ''

The Daily Show ''The Daily Show'' is an American late-night talk show, late-night talk and news satire television program. It airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central in the United States, with extended episodes released shortly after on Paramount+ ...

'', Cheney stated her opposition to a

constitutional amendment A constitutional amendment (or constitutional alteration) is a modification of the constitution of a polity, organization or other type of entity. Amendments are often interwoven into the relevant sections of an existing constitution, directly alt ...

banning

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...

. Her daughter Mary identifies as

lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...

and both Lynne Cheney and her husband Dick have publicly supported same-sex marriage during and after his vice presidency.

Family

Lynne Cheney married Richard Cheney in 1964. They have two daughters and seven grandchildren. Their daughters are Elizabeth Cheney (born July 28, 1966), and

Mary Cheney Mary Claire Cheney (; born March 14, 1969) is the younger of the two daughters of Dick Cheney, the 46th vice president of the United States and 17th United States secretary of defense, and Lynne Cheney. She is involved with a number of political ...

(born on March 14, 1969). Lynne Cheney has one brother, Mark Vincent, who lives in Wyoming with his wife, Linda.

Wyoming U.S. Senate seat vacancy

Up to a June 2007 application deadline for interim appointment, and leading up to the 2008 special election, Cheney was considered a possible contender to complete the term of Craig L. Thomas as U.S. senator from Wyoming following his death in 2007. A spokesman stated that she was considering the post but she never signed an application to become a candidate. Cheney herself acknowledged in a 2015 interview that she had considered running for the senate seat. If she had won the seat, she would have become the first former second lady to be a member of the Senate since Muriel Humphrey was appointed Senator from Minnesota after her husband's death in 1978.

In popular culture

Cheney criticized

in September 2000 for his promotion of "violence of the most degrading kind against women", in response to which he mockingly referenced Lynne and Dick Cheney (and his recurring heart problems) in the 2002 song " Without Me". Cheney was portrayed by

Amy Adams Amy Lou Adams (born August 20, 1974) is an American actress. Known for both her comedic and dramatic roles, she has been featured three times in annual rankings of the world's highest-paid actresses. She has received List of awards and nom ...

in the 2018 film ''

Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, Habit (psychology), habit or item generally considered morally wrong in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character trait, a defect, an infirmity, or a bad or unhe ...

'', a biopic about

Dick Cheney Richard Bruce Cheney ( ; born January 30, 1941) is an American former politician and businessman who served as the 46th vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009 under President George W. Bush. He has been called vice presidency o ...

. In this political satire, she is portrayed as a sly driving force and a source of inspiration and support behind her husband's political career .

Books

Lynne Cheney is the author or co-author of several books.

Fiction

* ''Executive Privilege: A Washington Novel'' (1979) () * ''

Sisters A sister is a woman or a girl who shares parents or a parent with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to r ...

'' (1981).

New American Library The New American Library (also known as NAL) is an American publisher based in New York, founded in 1948. Its initial focus was affordable paperback reprints of classics and scholarly works as well as popular and pulp fiction, but it now publi ...

(now part of

Penguin Random House Penguin Random House Limited is a British-American multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate publishing company formed on July 1, 2013, with the merger of Penguin Books and Random House. Penguin Books was or ...

). () * ''The Body Politic: A Novel'' (2000), co-authored with Victor Gold ()

Non-fiction

* ''Kings of the Hill: Power and Personality in the House of Representatives'' (1983), co-authored with husband

. New York City: Continuum. () * ''American Memory: A Report on the Humanities in the Nation's Public Schools'' (1987) () * ''Academic Freedom'' (1992) () * ''Telling the Truth: Why Our Country and Our Culture Have Stopped Making Sense—and What We Can Do About It'' (1995) () * ''Kings of the Hill: How Nine Powerful Men Changed the Course of American History'' (1996), co-authored with Dick Cheney. Revised edition of ''Kings of the Hill'' published in 1983 by Continuum. The major difference is an added chapter on Speaker of the House

Newt Gingrich Newton Leroy Gingrich (; né McPherson; born June 17, 1943) is an American politician and author who served as the List of speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 50th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1 ...

. New York City: Touchstone/Simon & Schuster () * ''America: A Patriotic Primer'' (2002) () * ''A is for Abigail: An Almanac of Amazing American Women'' (2003) () * ''When Washington Crossed the Delaware: A Wintertime Story for Young Patriots'' (2004) () * ''A Time for Freedom: What Happened When in America'' (2005) () * ''Our 50 States: A Family Adventure Across America'' (2006) () * ''Blue Skies, No Fences: A Memoir of Childhood and Family'' (2007) () * ''We the People: The Story of Our Constitution'' (2008) () * ''James Madison: A Life Reconsidered'' (2014) () * ''The Virginia Dynasty: Four Presidents and the Creation of the American Nation'' (2020) ()

References

Additional sources

* Joe Mandak. "Lynn Cheney Upset With Kerry Over Remark" ''Associated Press''. October 14, 2004. * Ian Bishop and Deborah Orin. "Veep to Kerry: How Dare You! – 'Angry Dad' Hits Foe for Naming Gay Daughter" ''New York Post''. October 15, 2004.

External links

White House's Lynne Cheney Page
''archived'' * * Se

TIME Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

(September 20, 2007) * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Cheney, Lynne 1941 births Living people 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American writers 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers American Enterprise Institute American people of Danish descent American people of English descent American people of Irish descent American people of Welsh descent American people of Swedish descent American television talk show hosts American United Methodists American women novelists American Presbyterians Chairpersons of the National Endowment for the Humanities Lynne Colorado College alumni Converts to Methodism Former Presbyterians Lockheed Martin people People associated with the 2000 United States presidential election People associated with the 2004 United States presidential election People from Casper, Wyoming People from Jackson, Wyoming Second ladies and gentlemen of the United States University of Colorado Boulder alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Writers from Wyoming Wyoming Republicans