Marty Kemp (née Argo; born May 4, 1967) is the first lady of Georgia as the wife of the 83rd

governor of Georgia The governor of Georgia is the head of government of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the commander-in-chief of the state's Georgia National Guard, National Guard, when not in federal service, and Georgia State Defense Force, State Defense Fo ...

Brian Kemp Brian Porter Kemp (born November 2, 1963) is an American politician serving as the 83rd governor of Georgia since 2019. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Kemp served as the state's 27th Georgia Secretary of Sta ...

. She leads initiatives and advocates for the passing of legislation to combat

human trafficking Human trafficking is the act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring, or receiving individuals through force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of exploitation. This exploitation may include forced labor, sexual slavery, or oth ...

and support youth victims of

sex trafficking Sex trafficking is human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Perpetrators of the crime are called sex traffickers or pimps—people who manipulate victims to engage in various forms of commercial sex with paying customers. Se ...

Early life

Kemp's father was state representative Bob Argo. Her hometown is

Athens, Georgia Athens is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Downtown Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta. The University of Georgia, the state's flagship public university and an Research I university, ...

. Her childhood best friend was Julie Kemp, the sister of her future husband,

. She graduated from

Clarke Central High School Clarke Central High School (CCHS) is located in Athens, Georgia, United States. In 1970, Clarke County schools were desegregated, and the high school for black children, Burney-Harris High School (formerly Athens High and Industrial School), and ...

. Kemp earned a bachelor's degree in

consumer economics Microeconomics is a branch of economics that studies the behavior of individuals and firms in making decisions regarding the allocation of scarce resources and the interactions among these individuals and firms. Microeconomics focuses on the ...

at the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

in 1989. She was a cheerleader in college.

Career

After college, Kemp managed her parents travel agency and worked as the bookkeeper for her husband's construction company. She was also a

pre-kindergarten Pre-kindergarten (also called pre-K or PK) is a voluntary classroom-based preschool program for children below the age of five in the United States, Canada, Turkey and Greece (when kindergarten starts). It may be delivered through a preschool ...

teacher and substitute. Kemp became a full-time parent when her children were young. During the

2018 Georgia gubernatorial election The 2018 Georgia gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2018, concurrently with other Georgia elections, 2018, statewide and local elections to elect the next governor of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Republican ...

, she campaigned on her husband's behalf. She used a softer tone than her husband. Kemp had legislative experience as the daughter of state representative. She began a public initiative to raise awareness and combat

after her husband took office in 2019. In 2019, she co-chairs the Georgians for Refuge, Action, Compassion, and Education (GRACE) commission that her husband established. In January 2020, Kemp collaborated with filmmaker

Tyler Perry Tyler Perry (born Emmitt Perry Jr., September 13, 1969) is an American actor, filmmaker, and playwright. He is the creator and performer of Madea, Mabel "Madea" Simmons, a tough elderly woman, and also portrays her brother Joe Simmons and her ...

to create a

public service announcement A public service announcement (PSA) is a message in the public interest disseminated by the media without charge to raise public awareness and change behavior. Oftentimes these messages feature unsettling imagery, ideas or behaviors that are des ...

about human trafficking awareness in partnership with the Georgia Department of Administrative Services. In 2020, she expedited the plans for the establishment of the Receiving Hope Center, a youth

victims recovery center, in

northwest Georgia Northwest Georgia is a region of the state of Georgia in the United States. It includes 12 counties (listed in the section below), which at the 2010 census had a combined population of 753,032. Northwest Georgia includes some of the southernmos ...

. Kemp worked with lawmakers to write and promote human trafficking legislation. By February 2022, the state had unanimously passed six pieces of related legislation. In 2021, Kemp advocated for

pet adoption Pet adoption is the process of transferring responsibility for a pet. Common sources for adoptable pets are animal shelters, rescue groups, or other pet owners. Some organizations give adopters ownership of the pet, while others use a guardi ...

. In April 2022, former football player

Malcolm Mitchell Malcolm Jarod Mitchell (born July 20, 1993) is an American author, poet, and former professional football player. He played as a wide receiver for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). Mitchell played college footbal ...

published a children's book, ''Hey Georgia'', in collaboration with Kemp.

Personal life

Kemp is

Episcopalian Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protes ...

. She began dating Brian Kemp after college. They have three daughters. The family resides on a 41-acre lot in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

and

Clarke Clarke is a surname which means "clerk". The surname is of English and Irish origin and comes from the Latin . Variants include Clerk and Clark. Clarke is also uncommonly chosen as a given name. Irish surname origin Clarke is a common surname ...

counties purchased by her father the day she was born.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kemp, Marty 1967 births Living people First ladies and gentlemen of Georgia (U.S. state) Place of birth missing (living people) People from Athens, Georgia University of Georgia alumni