FAMILY TIES
Who are Amanda Gorman’s parents and does she have a twin sister?
YOUNG poet laureate Amanda Gorman first made history with her poem, The Hill We Climb, at Joe Biden's presidential inauguration in 2021.
The 26-year-old is back in the spotlight after she recited "This Sacred Scene" at the 2024 Democratic National Conference in Chicago on Wednesday night.
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Who are Amanda Gorman's parents?
Amanda Gorman, 26, and her twin sister Gabrielle were raised by their single mother, Joan Wicks in Los Angeles.
Gorman also has an older brother called Spencer.
Their mother is a sixth grade English teacher at an inner-city school who ensured that her children focused on education to succeed in life.
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Gorman confessed to about how her mother’s education inspired her, saying: “She inspires me every day to seek higher education not only for myself, but for the other students around me.”
Adding: “Having a mother as a sixth-grade English teacher in an inner-city public school gave me an up-close and personal view of how literacy influences young students. I realized that education can really be a life-or-death resource… School and college is a pathway to get off the streets, to break a cycle.”
Does she have a twin sister?
Gorman’s twin sister, Gabrielle is an activist and film writer.
She is a graduate of UCLA's School of Film and Television and has directed documentaries in the past.
In 2017, her short film, Dear America was featured in a PBS special on race in America.
Most read in The US Sun
In January of 2018, she attended Sundance Film Festival as a YoungArts x Sundance Ignite fellow and interned for the Interim Executive Director at Ava Duvernay's Array, Regina Miller.
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Additionally, she was named one of seven top filmmakers in the country by the National YoungArts Foundation.
She also became one of 60 artists in the nation nominated to be a US Presidential Scholar in the Arts, the highest honor awarded to American artistic youth.
Why did Amanda Gorman make history?
Amanda Gorman made history on January 20, 2021 as the youngest inaugural poet laureate in American history.
Gorman says the inaugural officials told her she had been recommended by First Lady Dr. Jill Biden.
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Gorman said she was not given specific instructions on what to write, but was encouraged to emphasize unity and hope over “denigrating anyone” or declaring “ding, dong, the witch is dead” over the departure of President Donald Trump.
Her poem was a 6-minute read.
The then 23-year-old recited her words in front of distinguished members of Congress and their guests and received a standing ovation once she was finished.
In other writings, Gorman has honored her Black ancestors, acknowledged and reveled in her own vulnerability.
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Since then, she has co-hosted the Met Gala, alongside actor Timothée Chalamet, singer Billie Eilish, and tennis player Naomi Osaka.
She also made the cover of the Time magazine's February 2021 issue.
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