Who Is Dr. Anthony Fauci's Wife And Children?

For those of us glued to the news as updates come in on the spread of the coronavirus, Dr. Anthony Fauci is quickly becoming a familiar face in the American living room — one that seems to bring comfort and reassurance not only to the American people, but to the president himself. 

According to The Washington Post, Fauci is "an immunologist (a scientist who studies the body's defenses) and head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases." In light of the coronavirus pandemic, Fauci has been called by the White House to work on the coronavirus task force. Fauci is such a familiar presence these days that the hashtag "Where is Fauci" spikes on the rare occasions the doctor is not present at the White House press briefings, according to Heavy.

While Fauci is on the front line, fighting the coronavirus, he's doing it with the love and support of his wife and children. So who are these amazing people behind the doctor who is quickly becoming one of the people Americans trust the most during these unsettling times?

Anthony Fauci has been married to his wife, Christine Grady, for 35 years. Per The Journal of Clinical Investigation, the couple met in 1983 and tied the knot in 1985. Grady is the Chief of the Department of Bioethics at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center. In an interview with the Financial Times in 2015, Fauci talked about Grady with evident pride, calling her a "triple threat." He said, "She went to school to get her PhD in philosophy, worked, and had three children . . . We met over the bed of a patient."

Grady worked with AIDS patients, even while pregnant. In a 1997 interview with the National Institute of Health, she described hear fears of being susceptible: "In 1986, when I was pregnant and was working in the area, there was still confusion about whether or not it was safe, whether pregnancy was an issue in terms of immunosusceptibility or something like that." Thankfully, everything went well and she was able to care for her patients and had three healthy daughters.

Now, Grady, 67, worries about her 79-year old husband and his busy schedule, especially now. Grady said about Fauci to CNBC Make It: "I try to get him to rest, to drink water, to eat well, to sleep, and to be selective about what he agrees to and say no to some things."

Anthony Fauci and wife, Christine Grady, have three daughters, according to The Journal of Clinical Investigation, and they grew up in Washington, D.C. Their eldest daughter, Jennifer, went to Harvard and graduated in 2008, according to her LinkedIn profile. She then earned a master's degree in 2013 in Developmental and Child Psychology from Columbia University followed by a doctorate in Counseling Psychology from Boston College. At the time of this writing, she appears to be a postdoctoral fellow at Cambridge Health Alliance.

Their second daughter, Megan, went to Johns Hopkins University where she was pre-med, according to Heavy, but has since moved to New Orleans where she works as a teacher.

Their third daughter, Alison, went to Stanford University and majored in computer science. She competed on the rowing team, where she had great success for the four years she attended, according to her Stanford bio. After she graduated in 2014, she took a job at Twitter where she works as a software engineer, according to her LinkedIn profile.

In The Journal of Clinical Investigation, a biographical portion in the article summed up Fauci's relationship with his family: "[Fauci] is phenomenally devoted and especially proud of his family, whom, in my opinion, gives him more satisfaction than anything else in life."

Anthony Fauci isn't the only one who goes by "doctor" in his family. His wife, Christine Grady, also goes by that title thanks to a PhD in philosophy that she earned from Georgetown University, according to her biography on the National Institute of Health's website. Prior to earning her PhD, Grady earned a BS in nursing and biology from Georgetown University and an MSN in community health nursing from Boston College.

Grady's main areas of research include: informed consent, vulnerability, and ethics, including the ethics of international research as well as "ethical issues faced by nurses and other health care providers," per the website.

In March 2019, the National Institute of Health's Clinical Center celebrated Grady during Women's History Month, taking to Facebook to remind followers that she "has authored over 175 papers, authored and edited several books and lectured widely on ethical issues in clinical research and care, HIV disease and nursing." Wow!

In April 2010, President Obama appointed Grady to "the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues (Bioethics Commission)" where she became "the Chief of the Department of Bioethics at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center," according to the archived blog for the 2009 -2017 Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues.

With Anthony Fauci working at President Donald Trump's side during the coronavirus pandemic, he needs his loving family behind him. Fauci has gained national recognition as one of the few people who publicly corrects the president. On April 2, 2020, The New York Times pointed out that Trump has "deferred to Dr. Fauci's opinion several times at the coronavirus task force's televised briefings." 

As Fauci becomes more of a public figure with each White House briefing, there are also safety risks for the doctor. The Washington Post pointed out that security concerns for Fauci "include threats as well as unwelcome communications from fervent admirers." The news outlet also noted that Fauci has become the target of some right-wing spokespeople, who claim that he is "an agent of the 'deep state'" and blame him for the president's restrictions. 

When Fauci was personally asked about his security by reporters, Trump jumped in and said: "He doesn't need security. Everybody loves him (via The Washington Post). However, that may not be totally true. 

According to The Washington Post, the Department of Health and Human Services "asked the U.S. Marshals Service to deputize a group of agents" to provide protection for Fauci. Per The Washington Post, an HHS spokesperson stressed that Fauci is an "integral part of the U.S. Government's response against covid-19," which is undoubtedly why it is so important that he stay safe and healthy.

Dr. Anthony Fauci is an undoubtedly serious presence at the White House press briefings, which makes perfect sense given the topic at hand. But when Fauci isn't providing his expertise to the American public, he's just another silly dad. Jennifer Fauci revealed this sweet detail in a 2007 profile for The Washington Post, sharing, "He's a goofball. He works hard and he does his thing, but he comes home and he's singing opera in the kitchen and dancing around." What an image! 

All jokes aside, Jennifer had nothing but praise to heap on her father. "Work is not really work for him," she said. "It's what he believes in." 

Of course, Jennifer and her other two siblings love Fauci dearly, and they've been worried about him during the coronavirus pandemic. The doctor revealed this detail in a March 2020 interview with the Richard Nixon Foundation, stating, "They really are [worried]. I was hoping that wouldn't be the case, but they really are."