Dates: August 26, 1935 - March 26, 2011
Known for: first woman nominated as vice-presidential candidate by any major American party
Occupation: lawyer, political figure
Also known as: Geraldine A. Ferraro, Geraldine Anne Ferraro, Geraldine Zaccaro, Mrs. John Zaccaro
Political Career:
- Member of House of Representatives: Jan. 3, 1979, to Jan. 3, 1985
- Nominated as Vice President, 1984, as running mate of Walter Mondale on Democratic ticket
- Senate candidate, 1992
Background, Family:
- Father: Dominick Ferraro (restaurant operator; died 1944)
- Mother: Antonetta Ferraro (garment worker)
- Siblings: fourth child of four; two brothers died in infancy or childhood
Education:
- Marymount School, Tarrytown, New York
- Marymount Manhattan College (B.A., 1956)
- Hunter College
- Fordham University Law School (J.D., 1960)
Marriage, Children:
- husband: John Zaccaro (married 1960)
- three children: two daughters, one son
About Geraldine Ferraro:
Geraldine Ferraro was born in Newburgh, New York. Her father ran a restaurant until his death when Geraldine was eight years old. To support her two surviving children, Antonetta Ferraro moved the family to New York City, where she worked in the garment industry.
Geraldine Ferraro went to a Catholic girls' high school and then to Marymount Manhattan College, gaining credentials for teaching by taking courses at Hunter College. She taught in the New York City public schools while studying at law school at night.
Ferraro married John Zaccaro that same year, and she practiced law while raising their three children. In 1974, she took a position as an assistant district attorney in Queens. She focused on cases where the victims were women and children.
In 1978, Ferraro ran for Congress, advertising herself as a "tough Democrat." She was re-elected in 1980 and again in 1982. The district was known for being somewhat conservative, ethnic, and blue-collar.
In 1984, Geraldine Ferraro served as chair of the Democratic Party Platform Committee, and the presidential nominee, Walter Mondale, selected her as his running mate after an extensive "vetting" process, and after a good deal of public pressure to pick a woman.
The Republican campaign focused on her husband's finances and his business ethics and she faced charges of her family's ties to organized crime. The Catholic church openly criticized her for her pro-choice position on reproductive rights. Gloria Steinem later commented, "What has the women's movement learned from her candidacy for vice president? Never get married."
The Mondale-Ferraro ticket lost to the very popular Republican ticket, headed by Ronald Reagan, winning only one state and the District of Columbia for 13 electoral votes.
Ferraro had chosen not to run for re-election so, in January, 1985, she returned to private life and wrote a book on the campaign. In 1992, she ran for the Senate from New York, but lost the primary. One of her primary opponents, Elizabeth Holtzman, accused Ferraro's husband of having Mafia ties.
Ferraro wrote two more books, one on women and politics, and the other on the story of her mother and the historical contribution of other immigrant women. She was Vice chair of U.S. Delegation at the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, 1995, and has worked as an analyst for Fox News. She also worked on projects to raise funds for women candidates.
Geraldine Ferraro was active in the Hillary Clinton primary campaign in 2008 when she commented, in March, "If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman (of any color) he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept." She responded harshly to criticism of her remarks, saying "Racism works in two different directions. I really think they're attacking me because I'm white. How's that?" Clinton expressed disapproval of Ferraro's comments.
Books by Geraldine Ferraro:
- Changing History: Women, Power and Politics (1993; reprint 1998)
- My Story (1996; Reprint 2004)
- Framing a Life: A Family Memoir (1998)
Religion: Roman Catholic
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