Condoleezza Rice, 67, has had a long career in politics, full of twists and turns. The former Secretary of State became a rather famous public figure during the George W. Bush administration of the 2000s. However, since leaving Washington in 2009, Rice has lived a very low-key life.
Rice became the first Black woman to serve as the United States’ National Security Adviser. Today, however, she’s not involved in the ongoings of the White House or The Hill. With that said, she still has her hands full.
Rice has enjoyed a sterling career, but has never been married and has no children. A while ago, she revealed just why that is. So, here’s all you need to know about Condoleezza Rice – and what she’s up to today.
Condoleezza Rice was born in Birmingham, Alabama, on November 14, 1954, the only child of Presbyterian minister and high-school counselor John Wesley Rice Jr and teacher Angelena Rice. As per the woman herself, Condoleeezza’s childhood was highly troublesome, but not because of any problems with money or turbulent family arguments.
Condoleezza Rice – childhood
Instead, Rice grew up in the segregated South, which was a huge problem in society. Her parents were determined not to let that affect their daughter’s future.
“I was fortunate in that I had extraordinary parents. [I] wrote a book about them. My mother was a teacher and my father was a high-school guidance counselor. They absolutely believed that I could do anything,” she explained.
“They provided every opportunity to me that they could afford — and some that they couldn’t afford. In [our] little town of segregated Alabama, they made it clear that your fate is in your own hands — that you had to work twice as hard. And as a matter of fact, I did not feel any boundaries. I believed that my horizons had no limits.”
Even so, the segregated society she lived in wasn’t something Rice could easily ignore. One of the most defining moments of the former Secretary of State’s childhood apparently occurred when she was five years old and visited Santa Claus.
As it turned out, Rice almost didn’t get a seat on Santa’s lap – all because of her skin color.
In her autobiography Extraordinary, Ordinary People – which is also a homage to her parents – Rice recalled that day.
“The Santa in question had been putting the white kids on his knee and holding the black children away from him, keeping them standing,” she wrote.
Fortunately, Rice’s father wouldn’t have any of it. Instead, he wanted to teach his daughter a lesson in values – something that would eventually help guide her for the rest of her life.
Elected “president” of the family
“If he does that to Condoleezza,” her father reportedly told Rice’s mother, “I’m going to pull all of that stuff off him and expose him as just another cracker.”
Eventually, Condoleezza got to sit on Santa’s lap. Still, to this day, though, she would never forget how racially charged the moment was.
At home, Rice showed signs of being a leader at a very early age. In fact, she was even voted president of her family, a role which saw her learn much about leadership and responsibilities.
“I think I was about four when I was first elected. You see, we didn’t have term limits. I knew that my mother was going to vote for me every time. I wasn’t so sure about my father, but it was a secret ballot so it didn’t matter, I won every time,” Rice told CBN.
“There were actually responsibilities as a part of being president. I organized family meetings. When we were about to take a family trip, for instance, I would call a meeting. What time we were going to leave? What kind of food are we going to prepare? So I had real responsibility.”
Condoleezza also showed herself to be a bright student. As a teenager, she usually got up at 4.30 a.m. to practice ice skating before heading to school. She attended classes at the University of Denver and high school simultaneously at age 15. After school, meanwhile, she took piano lessons, studied for school, and then played more piano.
Condoleeza Rice – political career & work
That was her everyday routine, and it was one that ultimately paid off. Simply put, her parents knew she had a very bright future, so they bought a home that they hoped would give her every chance of being successful. The new house meant she would be raised in a middle-class neighborhood, and thus sheltered her from the segregation.
In 1974, Rice earned her bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Denver. A year later, she received her master’s from the University of Notre Dame, and in 1981, Rice got her Ph.D. from the University of Denver’s Graduate School of International Studies.
The same year, Condoleezza became a political science professor at Stanford University in California. She started her political life as a Democrat. In 1982, however, she switched sides, calling herself “an all-over-the-map Republican.”
Rice spent several years in Washington in the 1980s, working with international affairs attached to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In 1989, she became director of Soviet and East European affairs with the National Security Council. She also worked as a special assistant to President George H.W. Bush when the Soviet Union dissolved.
However, only two years later, Rice left the Bush administration, moving back to California to “have a life.”
“I like balance in my life,” Rice said. “I wanted a life. These jobs are all-consuming. And I have strong reservations about going back to that all-consuming life and leaving what is a blessedly normal life here. I like going to the cleaners and the coffee shop on Saturday morning.”
Secretary of State
Back in California, Rice became the first woman and African American to serve as provost of Stanford University. She stayed in the post for six years.
Then, in 2001, Rice moved to Washington. This time, she was appointed U.S. National Security Advisor by President George W. Bush — becoming the first woman to hold the post. Moreover, she became the first black woman — and only the second woman — to serve as U.S. Secretary of State, a position she held from 2004 until 2009.
Even though Rice had worked in Washington for many years, her heart was in California. As a result, she ultimately decided to once again return to Stanford, where she worked as a political science professor at the Hoover Institution. Since, she has made appearances in the political sphere, supporting the Republican Party’s 2012 election candidates, Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan.
“I think my father thought I might be President of the United States. I think he would’ve been satisfied with Secretary of State. I’m a foreign policy person, and to have a chance to serve my country as the nation’s chief diplomat at a time of peril and consequence, that was enough,” she said at the 2012 Republican National Convention, adding that she was done with politics.
“I’ll go back and be a happy Stanford faculty member. And, obviously, I’ll do what I can to help this ticket. But my life is in Palo Alto. My future is with my students at Stanford and in public service on issues that I care about like education reform.”
This is Condoleezza Rice today – net worth
As of today, Rice does many things. She still works at Stanford and is the founding partner at RiceHadleyGates, LLC, an international strategic consulting firm based in Silicon Valley and Washington. She’s also just joined the incoming ownership group for the Denver Broncos NFL team.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Condoleezza has a net worth of around $12 million.
Besides work, she is apparently an avid sports fan. In 2012, Rice became the first of only two female members of the legendary Augusta National Golf Club.
“It was absolutely an honor,” she told Golf.com. “It just speaks to the way that American institutions are still capable of change in ways that are good. I’ve often said that when the Founding Fathers said ‘We the People, ‘ they didn’t mean me. But now it does.”
Speaking to Golf Digest in 2011, Rice said: “In the off-season, I try to get out about once a week. If I don’t play, I try to practice. In the summer, I’ll get out three times a week. I live five minutes from the Stanford Golf Course.”
These days, Condoleezza lives in Palo Alto, California, on her own. When she was younger, she dated former NFL player Richard Upchurch, but details of Rice’s private life have been hard to find in recent years.
Condoleezza Rice – private life, dating history
Yet one thing she has confirmed is that she has never married or had children. In her memoir Extraordinary, Ordinary People, Condoleezza also denied the rumor that she is gay. Moreover, she said that people often look at unmarried women in their fifties and jump to conclusions.
Rice simply claimed she never married because she hasn’t found a person she wants to commit to. She’s not interested in entering a bad marriage, as has happened to many of her acquaintances.
“The simplest explanation, which is I actually never met anybody I wanted to live with and marry, doesn’t seem to be sufficient for people,” Condolezza explained.
“I don’t feel unfulfilled it didn’t happen. And I have always believed it is better to not have ended up in a bad marriage, which has happened to a lot of my friends who have just wanted to get married.”
She explained the reason in her book The Faith of Condoleezza Rice.
“You mean, did I ever want kids? No. I think maybe it’s because I’m an only child. I like children, but especially when they’re 18.
She added; I didn’t start out not to get married and have children. I don’t regret that I couldn’t pass on some of my genes, which sounds so incredibly narcissistic, but that I couldn’t pass on some of the opportunities,” she explains.