Early Life and Education
Foster was born in Hope, Arkansas, to Alice Mae and Vincent W. Foster. His father was in real estate sales, and he had two sisters, Sheila and Sharon. He was a childhood neighbor and friend of Bill Clinton for the first eight years of his life, until Clinton moved away. He graduated from Hope High School in 1963 as president of his class.
Foster attended Davidson College, graduating in 1967. His father wanted him to go into the family real estate business, but he chose law instead.
After starting at Vanderbilt University Law School, he joined the Arkansas National Guard during the height of the Vietnam War. In order to be closer to his guard responsibilities, he transferred to the University of Arkansas School of Law, where he was managing editor of the law review and received his Juris Doctor (J.D.) in 1971, graduating first in his class. Additionally he scored the highest in his class on the Arkansas bar exam.
Foster met Elizabeth (Lisa) Braden during his sophomore year at Davidson; she was the daughter of an insurance broker from Nashville and was attending Sweet Briar College. They married on April 20, 1968. They had three children, Vince III, Laura, and John (called "Brugh").
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