Title: Marianne Williamson Content: Marianne Deborah Williamson (born July 8, 1952) is an American spiritual teacher, author, and lecturer. She has published twelve books, including four New York Times number one bestsellers. She is the founder of Project Angel Food, a meals-on-wheels program that serves homebound people with AIDS in the Los Angeles area, and the co-founder of The Peace Alliance. Williamson is on the Board of Directors of the RESULTS organization, which works to end poverty in the United States and around the world. In January 2019, Williamson launched her presidential bid for the Democratic primaries in the 2020 election. She ended her campaign on January 10, 2020. ==Early life== Williamson was born in Houston, Texas, in 1952.Munson, Zack. "God Help Us" , The Weekly Standard, Vol. 19, No. 22. 2014 February 17Merl, Jean. "Marianne Williamson's spiritual path into political realm", Los Angeles Times, 2014 January 13Schindehette, Susan. "The Divine Miss W" , People, 1992 March. 09Appelo, Tim. "Love Prophet" , Entertainment Weekly, 1992 March 6 Williamson studied theater and philosophy at Pomona College in Claremont, California for two years before dropping out in her Junior year and moving to New York City to be a cabaret singer. In 1979, Williamson returned to Houston, where she ran a metaphysical bookstore. ==Career== In 1997 Williamson published her book Healing the Soul of America (hardcover originally titled The Healing of America) and began a more energetic political engagement. In this book, Williamson laid out plans to “transform the American political consciousness and encourage powerful citizen involvement to heal our society.” She has been a guest on television programs such as The Oprah Winfrey Show, Good Morning America, and Real Time with Bill Maher. In December 2006, a Newsweek magazine poll named her one of the fifty most influential baby boomers. She is known for her book A Course in Miracles, a non-religious self-study program of spiritual psychotherapy. ==2014 U.S. House race== Williamson ran and lost in the election for the seat of California's 33rd congressional district in 2014. Famous elected and public officials endorsed her campaign, including former Governors Jennifer Granholm and Jesse Ventura; former Congressmembers Dennis Kucinich and Alan Grayson; and Van Jones, among others. Alanis Morissette wrote and performed her campaign theme song, entitled Today. ==2020 presidential campaign== thumb|200x200px|Williamson's 2020 logo On August 2, 2018, The Guardian reported that she was exploring the possibility of a presidential run in 2020. On January 28, 2019, Williamson formally announced her campaign in Los Angeles. After only appearing in one of the debates and low poll numbers, Williamson ended her campaign on January 10, 2020. She later endorsed Senator Bernie Sanders in February 2020. ==2024 presidential campaign== Williamson began "working on putting a machine together" to run for president in 2024 visiting early primary states in early 2023. She said in a January 2023 interview that she could run against Joe Biden in a presidential primary. In late February 2023, she confirmed her plans to run for president and would make an announcement in early March. ==Personal life== Williamson is Jewish, and was briefly married. In 1990, Williamson had her only child, India Emma.