Melissa Cohen Biden

Melissa Batya Cohen Biden (b. circa 1986)[1] is a South African-American activist and documentary filmmaker. In 2019, she became the second wife of Hunter Biden, a son of U.S. President Joe Biden, and gave birth to their son in March 2020.

Melissa Cohen Biden
Biden at the Inauguration of Joe Biden in 2021.
Borncirca 1986 (age 36-37)
Johannesburg, South Africa
EducationGreenside Design Center College of Design
University of California, Los Angeles
Occupation(s)activist, filmmaker
Spouse
Jason Lavender
​
​
(m. 2011; div. 2014)​
​
(m. 2019)​
Children1
Parent(s)Lee Cohen
Zoe Cohen
FamilyBiden (by marriage)

Early life and education

Melissa Cohen was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. She lived in an orphanage and was three years old when adopted by Lee and Zoe Cohen, a South African Jewish couple with three sons.[2][3] She was raised in the Jewish faith and attended a Jewish day school before studying interior design at Greenside Design Center College of Design in South Africa.[4] She moved to Los Angeles when she was 21 years old to attend a horticulture course at the University of California, Los Angeles.

While in Los Angeles, she met the wealthy American businessman Jason Lavender, and married him in 2011. The marriage did not last long, and they parted ways after two years of being together in 2014.[5] Cohen was an advocate for environmental and nature conservation groups.[4]

A couple of years after her divorce Cohen tried to raise money through Kickstarter for a documentary about tribal communities. The pitch raised $0 of a $30,000 goal and was cancelled in October 2016.[6] She co-owned Tribal Worlds LLC, a Los Angeles-based company from January 2018 to June 2021.[7]

In 2019, she met Hunter Biden, a son of then-former U.S. Vice President and presidential candidate Joe Biden and his first wife, Neilia Hunter Biden. She helped Hunter Biden get sober from his alcoholism and crack cocaine addiction - despite his drug problems, he served on the board of Burisma.[8] On May 16, 2019, six days after meeting, they married in a ceremony held at her apartment in Hollywood Hills.[9][10][11] Neither's family were present at the ceremony, but the couple called Joe Biden afterwards, and he congratulated them.[1][12] In 2019 she became a naturalized citizen of the United States.[1]

Their son, Joseph Robinette "Beau" Biden IV -named after Biden's deceased brother Beau- was born in March 2020 in Los Angeles.[13][14]

She is also the stepmother to her husband's three daughters, Naomi, Finnegan, and Maisy, from his first marriage to Kathleen Buhle,[1] as well as an unnamed daughter from Biden's affair with Lunden Alexis Roberts, who gave birth to the child in August 2018 in Arkansas.[15]

She attended the Inauguration of Joe Biden in 2021.[14]

She and her family live in Little Rock, Malibu, California.[16]

References
  1. "Exclusive: Hunter Biden talks getting married after 6 days and why his life is in 'the best place I've ever been'". ABC News. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  2. "What Hunter Biden's memoir tells us about Melissa Cohen, his Jewish wife". The Forward. 7 April 2021. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  3. Miltz, Nicola (3 June 2021). "Biden's daughter-in-law in SA for mom's funeral". Jewish Report. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  4. Keren David (9 November 2020). "Joe Biden's very Jewish family". The Jewish Chronicle.
  5. "Who Is Melissa Cohen? Filmmaker And Hunter Biden's Wife". Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  6. Kaloi, Stephanie (13 February 2021). "Who Is Hunter Biden's Wife, Melissa Cohen?". The List. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  7. TRIBAL WORLDS LLC
  8. "Didn't recall encounter with Arkansan, Hunter Biden says in book".
  9. "Hunter Biden Just Married His Girlfriend of One Month". W Magazine. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  10. Newman, Meredith (July 1, 2019). "Hunter Biden talks about his addiction, 'I was in that darkness'". The News-Journal. Wilmington, Delaware. Archived from the original on July 3, 2019. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
  11. Heil, Emily (June 12, 2019). "Hunter Biden's messy personal life is back in the news. Will it cause political headaches for his dad?". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on June 13, 2019. Retrieved June 13, 2019.
  12. Pagones, Stephanie (13 February 2020). "Who is Hunter Biden's wife, Melissa Cohen Biden?". FOXBusiness. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  13. Carlson, Adam (April 1, 2020). "Joe Biden's Son Hunter & His Wife Welcome a Son Less Than a Year After Whirlwind Wedding: Report". People. Archived from the original on April 11, 2020. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
  14. Stump, Scott (January 21, 2021). "Joe Biden and baby grandson share precious moment at inauguration — and his name is Beau". Today. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
  15. "Judge signs order declaring paternity in Hunter Biden case". Texarkana Gazette. January 7, 2020. Archived from the original on April 29, 2020. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  16. Nerozzi, Timothy (23 July 2022). "Hunter Biden makes rare public outing amid investigation". Fox News. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
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