Jill Biden - Early Life

Early Life

Jill Tracy Jacobs was born in Hammonton, New Jersey. Moving several times while very young, she and her four younger sisters spent the majority of their childhood in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania. Her father, Donald C. Jacobs (1927–1999), was a bank teller who became head of a savings and loan in Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania. His family name had originally been Giacoppa before her Italian grandfather anglicized it. Her mother, Bonny Jean Jacobs (1930–2008), was a homemaker. The family was not particularly religious, but in ninth grade, Jacobs independently took classes in order to join the Presbyterian church.

Jacobs always intended to have her own career. She began working at age 15, which included waitressing at the Jersey Shore. She attended Upper Moreland High School, where she was somewhat rebellious and enjoyed her social life, but always liked English class. She graduated in 1969.