Portrait of Rachel Maddow

Birthday profile

Rachel Maddow

Rachel Maddow, American journalist and author

Born
April 1, 1973
Age in 2026
53
Zodiac sign
Aries
Birth year
1973

About Rachel Maddow

Rachel Anne Maddow ( MAD-oh; born April 1, 1973) is an American television news program host and liberal political commentator. She hosts The Rachel Maddow Show, a weekly television show on MS NOW (formerly MSNBC), and serves as the cable network's special event co-anchor. Her syndicated talk radio program of the same name aired on Air America Radio from 2005 to 2010. Maddow has received multiple Emmy Awards for her broadcasting work; in 2021, she also received a Grammy Award for the audiobook version of Blowout (2019). Maddow holds a bachelor's degree in public policy from Stanford University and a doctorate in political science from the University of Oxford and is the first openly lesbian anchor to host a major prime-time news program in the United States. == Early life and education == Maddow was born in Castro Valley, California. Her father, Robert B. Maddow, is a former United States Air Force captain who resigned his commission the year before her birth and then worked as a lawyer for East Bay Municipal Utility District. Her mother, Elaine (née Gosse), was a school program administrator. She has one older brother, David. Her paternal grandfather was from a Jewish family (the original family surname being Medvedof), who arrived in the United States from the Russian Empire.

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

Career and life highlights

The world when Rachel Maddow was born

Rachel Maddow was born in 1973. 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 1973

  • #1 song"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" – Tony Orlando & Dawn
  • Top movieThe Sting
  • Top TV showAll in the Family
  • Best-selling bookGravity's Rainbow – Thomas Pynchon

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentSecretariat wins the Triple Crown with a record Belmont Stakes
  • Top headlineOPEC oil embargo triggers global energy crisis
  • Technology milestoneFirst mobile phone call (Martin Cooper, Motorola)
  • Defining fadPlatform shoes
  • Notable inventionMobile phone (Motorola prototype)
  • World population3.93 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderRichard Nixon
  • Sports championOakland Athletics (World Series)
  • Also wonNew York Knicks (NBA)
  • U.S. population211.9M

1973 versus 2026

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

Measure19732026
Gas$0.39$3.45/gal
Average home$22,100$435,000
Average income$13,500$67,500
Minimum wage$1.60$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$1.77$11.95
Postage stamp$0.08$0.73
Population211.9M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, Encyclopaedia Britannica, 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.