Teresa Heinz Kerry is one of the strongest, bravest and most influential politician wives in the world. She had to face great tragedy during her lifetime- the likes of which most can’t imagine. At the age of fifty-two, she lost her husband Senator John Heinz due to a helicopter crash in Pennsylvania. She is currently undergoing treatment for breast cancer.
Teresa played many roles, that of a widow of a former American Senator, the current wife of a former presidential nominee, a UN translator and a very generous and hardworking philanthropist.
Teresa Heinz Family Profile
Heinz’s Parents – Jose Ferreira and Irene Thierstein
Teresa’s father Dr. José Simões Ferreira, Jr. was an expert on tropical diseases and an oncologist. Her mother, Irene Thierstein was the daughter of a British citizen from Malta, Alberto Thierstein and a woman born in Alexandria, Maria Burló. Her mother was of French, Swiss, Italian and German descents.
Heinz’s Siblings – Jose Pedro Simoes Ferreira and Margarida Helena Simoes Ferreira
Teresa Heinz has two siblings- a brother and a sister. Her brother, José Pedro Simões-Ferreira is a former Portuguese naval officer. Her sister’s name is Margarida Helena Simões-Ferreira.
Heinz’s Spouses – John Heinz (Late), John Forbes Kerry
Teresa Heinz Kerry was formerly married to US Senator John Heinz, whom she met while studying at the University of Geneva. According to reports from people who knew both of them at that time, John Heinz- the heir to the Heinz ketchup fortune, fell head over heels for the exotic girl from Mozambique who was fluent in five different languages. They got married in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on 5 February 1966.
She saw herself primarily as a mother and not as a woman of ambition. When she received a phone call informing her that her husband had died due to a helicopter crash, it transformed her. She decided to honor her late husband by actively managing his estate. She created trust funds for the children and personally screened the organizations and businesses where the money of Heinz was being invested.
She met her second husband, John Forbes Kerry, at an Earth Rally dinner and recalled falling for him soon after she heard him singing in Portuguese. He was fascinated with her intelligence and wit. They got married in 1995 at her holiday home in Nantucket.
Teresa Heinz’s Children
She had three children with her first husband, Senator John Heinz.
1) Henry John Heinz IV
2) André Thierstein Heinz
3) Christopher Drake Heinz
Teresa Heinz’s Net Worth
She is estimated to have a current net worth of $1 billion.