Jeanette Christina Dousdebes Rubio (born December 5, 1973) is an American former pro cheerleader, who is married to United States SenatorMarco Rubio of Florida.[1]
Early life and education
Jeanette was born in Florida, to parents who had emigrated from Colombia.[2] When she was six, her parents divorced.[3] Jeanette was raised Roman Catholic and attended South Miami High School. She met her future husband, Marco Rubio, at a neighborhood party when she was 17 and he was 19.[4][5][6][7] After graduating from high school, she attended Miami Dade College.[3]
Before her marriage, she worked as a bank teller.[4] In 1997, she became a member of the Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders.[4][3] Her sister, Adriana Dousdebes, was also a cheerleader for the Dolphins.[3] Jeanette was featured in the Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders' first swimsuit calendar.[8] It was during her time as a cheerleader that Jeanette Dousdebes and Marco Rubio, who were only slightly acquainted in high school, reacquainted and began to date.[9]
When the Rubios were first married, she enrolled in a course of study in fashion design at International Fine Arts College, but did not complete her studies, devoting herself, instead, to being a full-time mother of four children.[2][3]
During her husband's service in the Florida legislature, Rubio lived with the children near Miami, traveling to Tallahassee to be with her husband as often as she could.[10][7]
Political involvement
During the race for speaker, she was enlisted by her husband to manage the political action committees he used to support his travel and consultants, a decision he later described as a "disaster" as it resulted in confusion on financial transactions related to travel and expenses, due to "inexperience, sloppiness and a blur of paperwork" according to a report by the Tampa Bay Times.[2]
Unlike many spouses of presidential candidates, Rubio did not make campaign speeches.[11][12]
The Washington Post reported that Rubio is a part-time employee of the Norman Braman Family 2011 Charitable Foundation, which is also a financial backer of her husband Marco Rubio, and likely to commit as much as US$10 million to pro-Rubio PACs.[14]
Charitable work
Rubio volunteers for an organization called Kristi's House, which serves youth in the Miami area who have been abused or involved in human trafficking.[15]