Melinda Timothy

**Melinda Heather Timothy** (née **Eriksen**; formerly **Hart**; born October 4, 1962) is an American politician and former model serving as the junior U.S. Senator from Wyoming since 2017. A member of the Republican Party, she served as the First Lady of Wyoming from 2005 to 2013, during the tenure of her husband William James Timothy as Governor of Wyoming.

Born in Roseville, California, Timothy graduated from Roseville High School in 1980. After her graduation, she briefly attended Sierra College, before marrying her high school sweetheart Jonathan Hart and moving with him to Los Angeles, California, where she began working as a model under the name Melinda Hart. After their divorce in 1982, Timothy continued to work as a print and promotional model in Los Angeles, but reverted to her birth name Melinda Eriksen. In 1990, she left modeling and began working as a secretary to William James Timothy, CEO and founder of multimedia corporation The Timothy Group. They soon began an illicit affair, and William divorced his wife to marry Melinda in 1992. After purchasing a house in Jackson, Wyoming in 1998, the couple began to spend an increasing amount of time there. In 2004, William ran for Governor of Wyoming and won the election, with Melinda becoming First Lady of Wyoming. While First Lady, Melinda attended Laramie County Community College and the University of Wyoming, receiving her business degree in 2012.

In 2016, Timothy launched a political career of her own, announcing her campaign for United States Senate. Despite initially being considered a long-shot candidate, her husband's political connections and massive donations to her campaign led to her to defeat incumbent John Thorne in the Republican primary, later easily winning the general election. She was sworn in as U.S. Senator on January 3, 2017. In Congress, Timothy has faced backlash for seemingly being a puppet of her husband's, and for expressing little understanding of the workings of politics.

## Early life and family

Timothy was born on October 4, 1962 in Roseville, California to parents Reggie (born 1940) and Caterina Eriksen (née *Douglas*; born 1941). Reggie worked in construction, while Caterina was a secretary. Growing up, Timothy spent a large portion of her youth with her maternal grandparents John and Edith Douglas, who were both retired schoolteachers. Timothy is of Danish, German, Norwegian, and Scottish ancestry; she grew up in the Lutheran faith. Timothy is the eldest of three daughters; her younger sisters include Darcy, born  (1964-04-06) April 6, 1964 (age 59), and Jeannine, born  (1965-07-29) July 29, 1965 (age 58).

## Education and early career

Timothy attended public schooling in Roseville. She began her education at a local elementary school in 1967, before beginning high school at Roseville High School in 1976. While in high school, Timothy was a popular student who was a varsity cheerleader and elected homecoming queen. She graduated from high school in 1980. After completing her high school education, Timothy briefly attended Sierra College, a two-year community college, but did not complete her first semester.

After dropping out from college, Timothy moved to Los Angeles, California in order to pursue a career as a model. She was signed to a medium-sized modeling agency shortly after arriving, and began working as a print and promotional model for various brands. Timothy appeared in advertisements that aired both nationally and internationally. Timothy retired from her modeling career in 1990, and began working as a secretary for William James Timothy, CEO and founder of multimedia corporation The Timothy Group. After becoming First Lady of Wyoming in 2005, Timothy enrolled in Laramie County Community College to study business on a light schedule. She transferred to the University of Wyoming in 2009, and received her bachelor's degree in business in 2012. While a student in Wyoming, Timothy did not attend classes in-person, solely studying via correspondence and online classes.

## Political positions

*Main article: Political positions of Melinda Timothy.*

## Personal life

Timothy was an apolitical person for most of her life; she registered as an independent after turning 18, but never voted in any election. After beginning her relationship with William James Timothy in 1990, he had her register as a Republican, and she began voting Republican in elections.

Timothy began dating Jonathan Hart while they were students at Roseville High School in 1978. After graduating, they both briefly attended Sierra College, but later eloped during a vacation to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1980; after their marriage, they dropped out of college and moved to Los Angeles, California to pursue careers in the modeling industry. Hart filed for divorce from Timothy after one year of marriage, and their divorce was finalized in 1982. In 1990, Timothy became the mistress to businessman William James Timothy. William later filed for divorce from his wife in 1991 in order to marry Melinda. They married in 1992, and Melinda left her job as his secretary. They have one child together: Alannah, born  (1995-07-04) July 4, 1995 (age 28); Melinda is also a stepmother to William's three older children from his first marriage.

The family owns several residences; their primary residences are their eight-bedroom Jackson, Wyoming home and their twelve-bedroom Malibu, California home, valued at $12.8 million and $20.7 million, respectively. The family also has residences in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C., the Upper East Side of New York City, the Kāhala neighborhood of Honolulu, Hawaii, the Belgravia district of London, England, Geneva, Switzerland, and Miami Beach, Florida, amongst others. During her husband's tenure as Governor of Wyoming from 2005 to 2013, the family resided in the Wyoming Governor's Mansion in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Combined, their total real estate is worth over $250 million.