The Clinton Family Tree Explained

The Clintons are an American political family. They entered the famous stage to most people in the early '90s, when Bill Clinton ran and became the 42nd president of the U.S. in January 1993. Formerly the governor of Arkansas, he arrived in Washington, D.C., with his wife Hillary and their daughter Chelsea. He completed two presidential terms and left office in 2001. Yet, his leadership was famously marred by an explosive scandal. 

In 1998, at the start of his second term, the revelation of an affair between Clinton and a White House intern named Monica Lewinsky rocked the nation. It led to President Clinton being impeached by the House for "high crimes and misdemeanors" (via The New York Times archives). He was saved by an acquittal from the Senate and was able to finish his term with no conviction. Nevertheless, the ordeal tainted his legacy as he was the first president in more than a century to be impeached, says CBS. Still, thanks to him, members of his family would go on to have prominent visibility and take on their own spotlights, as his faded. His family tree as we know it begins with him.

William (Bill) Jefferson Blythe III was born on August 19, 1946, in the small city of Hope, Arkansas. His parents were William Jefferson Blythe Jr. and Virginia Cassidy Blythe. But when he was still an infant, his father tragically died in a car accident. His widowed mother left Bill in the care of her parents and she sought employment in Louisiana, per Clinton White House archives. The Cassidys were a vital part of his early upbringing, which is something Clinton credits them for, per Biography. When his mother returned to Arkansas, Clinton was a toddler. She later remarried a man named Roger Clinton, and as a result of her marriage to him, a young Bill had a new name — William Jefferson Clinton (via Britannica). This would be the name that would stick with him for most of his life.

The Clintons moved to Hot Springs, Arkansas, and Bill attended the local high school there. While in school, he took part in a political leadership program that helped him meet President Kennedy (posted on YouTube). Afterward, he attended Georgetown University and later England's Oxford University. He returned to the states in 1970 to study law at Yale. It was there he met a woman named Hillary.

In 1969, a student named Hillary Rodham began studying at Yale Law School (via White House). Born on October 26, 1947, in Chicago, Illinois, she was one of the few women in a class overwhelmingly made up of men, per ABC. Some two years into her studies, a classmate of hers named Bill approached her and the two began dating. Apparently, the two often shared looks at the school library, and Hillary would state there was an immediate attraction, per ABC. They wed in October 1975 (via History), and she became Hillary Clinton. The couple moved to Arkansas shortly after.

In Arkansas, Hillary practiced law and Bill kicked off his political career, eventually becoming the governor of the state. Of course, that meant Hillary was the state's first lady from 1983 to 1992, per This US 50. In 1992, he ran for president and won, and Mrs. Clinton became first lady of the U.S. After her husband's presidency came to an end, she would have her own political career. She became a senator for the state of New York, then Secretary of State, and the Democratic presidential nominee for the 2016 election — the first woman to do so (via Biography).

Before the Clintons moved into the Arkansas governor's mansion, and later the People's House, they had expanded their family. On February 27, 1980, the Clintons welcomed their daughter and only child into the world. Chelsea Victoria Clinton was born in Little Rock, and apparently was named after the song "Chelsea Morning," per Biography. With two parents at the height of their careers, Chelsea was destined to also follow their paths of success. With the support of the Clintons, Chelsea proved to be a very intelligent child and even skipped a grade in elementary school.

At 12 years old, she became first kid when her father was sworn in as president in 1993. She also became the first child to live in the White House since President Carter's daughter, Amy (via Clinton White House archives). In the previous administrations, Reagan and Bush's children were all adults and didn't live at the White House.

She attended Stanford University, and like her dad, also attended Oxford University. (via Deseret News). Her jobs have included everything from working in investment, an NBC correspondent, and a writer. In 2010, she wed her husband, Marc Mezvinsky.

After proposing to Chelsea in 2009, Marc Mezvinksy was prepared to become part of the Clinton family, but he probably knew that years earlier. Born in Philadelphia in 1977 (per Town and Country Magazine), Mezvinsky was also the child of politicians in Washington, D.C. His parents both served in the House — his father, former Rep. Ed Mezvinsky in the '70s, and his mother former Rep. Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky in the '90s. It was during his time in the capital that he befriended a young Chelsea. They both even went to Stanford University and stayed friends (via ABC). But the two wouldn't date until over a decade later in 2005.

After a few years of dating, on November 30, 2009, Chelsea, 29, and Mezvinsky, 31, announced their engagement (via The New York Times). They wed the following year at a private ceremony in Rhinebeck, New York, and Mezvinsky officially became part of the Clinton family. In just a few years, the Clinton family tree would expand.

As their only child, the Clintons' sole chance to expand their family and have grandchildren was dependent on Chelsea. Just a few years into her marriage, she delivered. The Clintons became first-time grandparents in 2014, with the birth of Chelsea and Marc's first child, a daughter they named Charlotte Clinton Mezvinsky (via ABC). In 2016, a month before her mother's historic presidential nomination, the couple welcomed their first son, a boy named Aidan (via Time Magazine). The family was pictured (above) leaving the hospital a few days after Aidan's birth (via InStyle). Then in 2019, another addition came into the family with the birth of another boy, named Jasper (via The Washington Post). In total, the Clintons now have three grandchildren, and they very well may see more.

It will also be an interesting journey to see the paths that the Clinton-Mezvinsky children take when they get older, as children from well-known political families also follow careers in politics.