Portrait of Jennifer Granholm

Birthday profile

Jennifer Granholm

Jennifer Granholm, Canadian-American lawyer and politician, 47th Governor of Michigan

Born
February 5, 1959
Age in 2026
67
Zodiac sign
Aquarius
Birth year
1959

About Jennifer Granholm

Jennifer Mulhern Granholm (born February 5, 1959) is a Canadian-born American politician who was the 16th United States secretary of energy from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served as the 47th governor of Michigan from 2003 to 2011 and as the 51st attorney general of Michigan from 1999 to 2003, the first woman to hold either office. Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Granholm moved to California at age four. She obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1984 and a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School in 1987. She then clerked for Judge Damon Keith of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, became an assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan in 1991, and was appointed to the Wayne County Corporation Counsel in 1995. In 1998, Granholm ran for attorney general of Michigan, defeating Republican nominee John Smietanka. She ran for governor of Michigan in 2002 and was elected the state's first female governor. She was re-elected in 2006. Granholm was a member of the presidential transition team for Barack Obama before he assumed office in 2009. After leaving public office, Granholm took a position at the UC Berkeley and, with her husband Daniel Mulhern, wrote A Governor's Story: The Fight for Jobs and America's Future, released in 2011. She became host of The War Room with Jennifer Granholm. In 2017, she was hired as a CNN political contributor. After President-elect Joe Biden announced his intention to nominate Granholm to head the United States Department of Energy in 2020, she was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in 2021. After serving a full term as secretary, she joined DGA Group. Granholm attended Ida Price Junior High and Del Mar High School before graduating from San Carlos High School in 1977 and won the Miss San Carlos beauty pageant.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

The world when Jennifer Granholm was born

Jennifer Granholm was born in 1959. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1959

  • #1 song"Mack the Knife" – Bobby Darin
  • Top movieBen-Hur
  • Top TV showGunsmoke
  • Best-selling bookGoldfinger – Ian Fleming

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentIngemar Johansson knocks out Floyd Patterson for heavyweight title
  • Top headlineAlaska and Hawaii become the 49th and 50th US states
  • Technology milestoneMicrochip (integrated circuit) invented
  • Defining fadBarbie dolls
  • Notable inventionBarbie doll
  • World population2.98 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderDwight D. Eisenhower
  • Sports championLos Angeles Dodgers (World Series)
  • Also wonBoston Celtics (NBA)
  • U.S. population177.1M

1959 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Jennifer Granholm's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19592026
Gas$0.31$3.45/gal
Average home$12,400$435,000
Average income$7,000$67,500
Minimum wage$1.00$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.69$11.95
Postage stamp$0.04$0.73
Population177.1M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, Library of Congress. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.