Melinda French Gates is a tech-savvy business woman, devoted mother and billionaire with a pledge to and passion for giving.
And though she first made a name for herself alongside her former husband, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, she continues to make an impact in the spotlight without him.
In fact, in 2024, Forbes ranked the multi-hyphenate No. 8 on its list of the 100 Most Powerful Women in the World, outranking all other philanthropists in the mix.
Come April, French Gates, now 60, is getting candid about her life in “The Next Day: Transitions, Change, and Moving Forward,” a project she described as “deeply personal” on Instagram.
While you wait for the book’s launch, read up on everything we know about its author below.
Her passion for computers started at 14
The second of four children, Melinda Ann French was born in Dallas, Texas, on Aug. 15, 1964. Her father, Raymond French Jr., was an aerospace engineer, and her mother, Elaine Amerland, a stay-at-home mom.
In her 2019 book, French Gates reflected on her early education, noting that a formative math teacher sparked her interest in computers and computer programming at the age of 14.
The experience marked the first steps toward her future career, which would eventually lead her to cross paths with Bill Gates.
She turned down IBM for Microsoft
French Gates interned at IBM and briefly considered taking on a more formal role with Big Blue after receiving her bachelor’s in computer science and economics from Duke University and master’s from Duke’s Fuqua School of Business. But in 1986, an IBM hiring manager advised her to consider another direction.
“I told the recruiter that I had one more interview — at this young company, Microsoft,” French Gates recalled in a 2008 interview with Fortune magazine. “She said to me, ‘If you get a job offer from them, take it, because the chance for advancement there is terrific.’”
That proved to be true, as French Gates climbed the ranks of marketing and multimedia product development at Microsoft, taking the lead in some of the company’s most popular offerings.
Bill Gates asked her out in a parking lot
At Microsoft, French Gates met the company’s co-founder Bill Gates at a business dinner. The two were seated side by side, sharing banter with their meal. Shortly after that, they ran into each other in the company parking lot.
“He struck up a conversation and asked me out for two weeks from Friday,” French Gates wrote in “The Moment of Lift.” “I laughed and said, ‘That’s not spontaneous enough for me. Ask me out closer to the date,’ and gave him my number. Two hours later, he called me at home and invited me out for that evening. ‘Is this spontaneous enough for you?’ he asked.”
In 1994, she and Gates wed in Lanai, Hawaii.
She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom
French Gates’ successes go far beyond her work at Microsoft.
In 2000, she and her former husband founded the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Since its inception, the charitable endeavor has given more than $77 billion to organizations working to reduce poverty, enhance health care and education, and expand access to technology.
In 2016, President Barack Obama presented the founders with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award of the United States, to recognize the impact of their philanthropy.
Her marriage ended after 27 years
In May of 2021, the tech power couple announced plans to divorce.
“After a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage,” the statement, shared on Instagram, read. “Over the last 27 years, we have raised three incredible children and built a foundation that works all over the world to enable all people to lead healthy, productive lives. We continue to share a belief in that mission and will continue our work together at the foundation, but we no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in this next phase of our lives. We ask for space and privacy for our family as we begin to navigate this new life.”
Their divorce, which Gates now calls “the mistake I most regret,” was finalized in August of the same year.
Three years after their split, French Gates announced she was stepping down as co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
“This is not a decision I came to lightly,” she wrote in an X post. “I am immensely proud of the foundation that Bill and I built together and of the extraordinary work it is doing to address inequities around the world.”
She traded her career for motherhood
The former couple share three children together: daughters Jennifer Gates Nassar (born April 26, 1996) and Phoebe Gates (born Sept. 14, 2002), and son Rory Gates (born May 23, 1999).
In an essay published by Marie Claire in 2018, French Gates shared her thoughts on pausing her career for motherhood.
“The work was intense, creative, meaningful — and pretty soon, it became the center of my life,” she wrote. “So, it came as a bit of a shock to those close to me when I chose to quit my job after Bill and I had our first child, Jenn, in 1996. While I’d always assumed I’d be a working mom, Bill’s schedule as CEO was all-consuming, and I knew I wanted my kids to have the kind of family life I’d had growing up — full of books and science experiments and after-school glasses of iced tea with my mom. Not every woman has the option to say home with her kids, and I felt very lucky that I did. At the time, and under the circumstances, it seemed like a no-brainer.”
Over time, she changed her mind.
“Eventually, though, things shifted,” she continued. “While I’d once thought the best thing I could do for my family was leave the workforce, as my kids and I both got a little older, I decided the most important thing I could do for them was go back. That decision is personal for each woman, but for me, it came down to this: If I wanted my daughters and son to truly believe that women can do anything, I needed to model that for them.”
She’s a grandmother of 2
French Gates is also a grandmother, or “nonna,” to two little ones.
Her daughter Gates Nassar has two daughters of her own: Leila (born in 2023) and Mia (born in 2024).