Teresa Heinz Kerry

Teresa Heinz Kerry grew up in Mozambique's capital, Lourenço Marques (now called Maputo). Her father, José Simões-Ferreira, was an oncologist and tropical disease specialist, and "Teresinha" (her nickname in Portuguese) led a privileged existence. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Romance Languages and literature from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. She graduated from the Interpreters School of the University of Geneva before moving to the United States to work at the United Nations as a translator. She is fluent in five languages: English, Spanish, French, Italian and her native Portuguese. She married ketchup magnate and U.S. Senator John Heinz in 1966, and they had three sons. She became a United States citizen after marrying Sen. Heinz and retiring from her U.N. translator job. She met Sen. John Kerry in 1990, after Heinz introduced them. (This was the only known time that Teresa and John Kerry met while she was married to Heinz). After Joh