Melissa Cohen Biden
Melissa Cohen Biden | |
|---|---|
 Biden in 2021 | |
| Born | Melissa Batya Cohen c. 1986 (age 36–37) Johannesburg, South Africa |
| Education | Greenside Design Center College of Design University of California, Los Angeles |
| Occupation(s) | Activist, filmmaker |
| Spouse |
Jason Lavender
(m. 2011; div. 2014) |
| Children | 1 |
| Family | Biden (by marriage) |
Melissa Batya Cohen Biden (born c. 1986) is a South African‐American activist and documentary filmmaker. She is a member of the First Family of the United States as the wife of Hunter Biden, a son of U.S. President Joe Biden.
Early life
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. She was raised in the Jewish faith and attended King David High School Victory Park, a Jewish day school, before studying interior design at Greenside Design Center College of Design in South Africa. She moved to Los Angeles when she was 21 years old to attend the University of California, Los Angeles.
Later life
While in Los Angeles, she met American businessman Jason Lavender. They married in 2011 and separated in 2014. Cohen was an advocate for environmental and nature conservation groups.
After her divorce, Cohen launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund a documentary about tribal communities. She co-owned Tribal Worlds LLC, a Los Angeles–based company from January 2018 to June 2021.
In 2019, she met Hunter Biden, son of then-former U.S. Vice President and presidential candidate Joe Biden. She helped Hunter Biden in seeking treatment for substance abuse. On May 16, 2019, six days after meeting, they married in a ceremony held at her apartment in Hollywood Hills. In 2019, she became a naturalized citizen of the United States.
Their son Beau was born in March 2020 in Los Angeles.
She attended the Inauguration of Joe Biden in 2021.
She and her family live in Malibu, California.