Christine Leigh Gephardt is an American LGBT rights activist and former social worker who campaigned for her father

Dick Gephardt Richard Andrew Gephardt (; born January 31, 1941) is an American attorney, lobbyist, and politician who represented in the United States House of Representatives from 1977 to 2005. A member of the Democratic Party, he was House majority lead ...

during the

2004 U.S. presidential election Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 2, 2004. Incumbent Republican President George W. Bush and his running mate, incumbent Vice President Dick Cheney, were re-elected to a second term. They narrowly defeated ...

Biography

Gephardt worked on her father's political campaigns as a child in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

. She later became a social worker after graduating from

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

. In her practice as a social worker, she helped abused and mentally ill women in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

She married Marc Alan Leibole in 1997, a man she later called "my best friend", according to the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

.'' In the early 2000s, she attended

Washington University Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) is a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1853 by a group of civic leaders and named for George Washington, the university spans 355 acres across its Danforth ...

, where she met Amy Loder. Gephardt

came out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBTQ people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. This is often framed and debated as a privacy issue, ...

to her family as a lesbian in April 2001. She had fallen in love with another woman, Loder, while in graduate school at the

George Warren Brown School of Social Work The Brown School is the graduate school for social work and public health of Washington University in St. Louis. Located on Washington University's Danforth Campus, adjacent to Forest Park, the school is recognized by the Council on Social Wo ...

. She first came to public attention when

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

announced that she was gay. She had been married to Marc Alan Leibole for three years before she fell in love with a woman, and

to her husband and to her father. She was subsequently featured on the cover of ''

The Advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. The Advocate, The Advocates or Advocate may also refer to: Magazines * The Advocate (magazine), ''The Advocate'' (magazine), an LGBT magazine based in the United States * ''The Harvard Advocate' ...

''. In 2003, Gephardt quit her job as a social worker to campaign for her father full-time. According to the '' Knight Ridder Tribune'', Gephardt is the first prominent

LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

relative to promote a major political campaign in the United States. ''

Out Out or OUT may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films *Out (1957 film), ''Out'' (1957 film), a documentary short about the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 *Out (1982 film), ''Out'' (1982 film), an American film directed by Eli Hollander *O ...

'' magazine called her inclusion "a sea change in presidential campaigns: Not only are gay family members no longer considered a potential liability (see

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 ...

), we are in fact a coveted constituency worth fighting for." In 2004, she helped start up chapters of the

Stonewall Democrats Stonewall Democrats, also known in some states as LGBT Democrats, is a caucus within the Democratic Party that advocates for issues that are relevant to LGBT Americans. The caucus primarily operates through individual chapters or political clu ...

in Washington, D.C. She is an activist. Gephardt was raised in a Catholic household. She identifies as a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

Appearances

She appeared on the

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

reality show '' American Candidate'' in 2004. Gephardt said that the "show is giving me opportunities to express myself. I wanted to inspire gays and lesbians, women and other minority groups, and basically everybody who gets left out of the process." She also appeared on the February 1, 2007 (episode #1030), 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+ ...

''. She is interviewed in the 2007 documentary '' For the Bible Tells Me So'', along with her parents, where she describes her life and the encouragement she received from her parents after coming out. The film's director, Daniel Karslake, wanted to feature the Gephardts because her "family really espouses the values of loving your children no matter what," according to ''

Curve In mathematics, a curve (also called a curved line in older texts) is an object similar to a line, but that does not have to be straight. Intuitively, a curve may be thought of as the trace left by a moving point. This is the definition that ...

''. Gephardt was also featured on a cover of ''Curve'' in 2007.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gephardt, Chrissy 20th-century births Living people American lesbians LGBTQ people from Missouri LGBTQ rights activists from Illinois Northwestern University alumni Year of birth missing (living people) George Warren Brown School of Social Work alumni American social workers Activists from Missouri LGBTQ social workers