biography example of a mother

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Mother Biographies Samples For Students

32 samples of this type

WowEssays.com paper writer service proudly presents to you a free database of Mother Biographies aimed to help struggling students deal with their writing challenges. In a practical sense, each Mother Biography sample presented here may be a guidebook that walks you through the critical phases of the writing procedure and showcases how to pen an academic work that hits the mark. Besides, if you require more visionary help, these examples could give you a nudge toward a fresh Mother Biography topic or inspire a novice approach to a threadbare theme.

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Dona Marina, also called Malintzin, or La Malinche (1496-1529) was an American Indian originating from the Nahua (Aztec) ancestry. Malinche played a very important role during the conquest of Mexico by the Spanish. She was believed to be a princess of the Aztec language (Nahuatl) speaking tribe and was sold as a slave in her youth to the coastal traders because of the family politics.

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Free Steve Jobs Biography Example

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice, and most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.” Steve Jobs

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The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, which was written by Frederick Douglass himself, sheds valuable insight into the man who is today known so well for his participation in the Anti-Slavery movement during the 19th century. Years after escaping slavery in Maryland, he got it published in 1845 by the Anti-Slavery office in Boston, Massachusetts. Douglass was born into slavery, suffered its hopeless cruelties, and eventually escaped to the north to live out his days with his wife, Anna. This is a brief description of his life up to the time he became influential in the Anti-Slavery cause.

Frederick Douglass' Story

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In the history of computing, there are many names. These are the names of a number of near Ada Lovelace and Charles Burbidge. Charles Babbage is the person who created the drawings of the analytical engine, and the woman who wrote the world's first software for this machine. She was a great mathematician and a very persistent woman; it did not disappoint even the fact that she did not see her program works.

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Franklin Delano Roosevelt served as America’s 32 nd President. He came into power during The Great Depression and is one of the leaders who made a great impact in American economy and politics. His famous for championing for the New Deal; that was geared towards lifting America out of it then economic crisis. Both his critics and supporters would agree that he was one of America’s most influential presidents. Below is a short biographical account of Roosevelt’s life, political career and contributions to the American economy.

Early Life and Education

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The journey to being enterprising is not easy. It involves a lot of effort from the entrepreneur (Justin). This report focuses on two entrepreneurs in the same industry. It investigates their background of each of the entrepreneurs so as to be able to determine the success factors in their life. Besides, it gives a comparison and a contrast of these entrepreneurs and above all the obstacles that they had to overcome before achieving their success.

Willard Marriott

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7 Heartfelt Obituary Examples for Mothers

Honor who your mom was to you by writing an obituary that tells the world the kind of person she was.

Michele is a writer who has been published both locally and internationally.

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It's difficult and painful when your mother dies, and it can be so hard to write an obituary for your mom. You want the world to know what she meant to you, but you don't have a lot of space to do it, so it's hard to know what to include to honor your mom. Our obituary examples for a mother are a good place to start to help you write a touching tribute to the life of the woman who gave you life. 

Sample Obituaries for Mothers

Most sample obituary formats follow a standard chronological sequence. An obituary for your mom can deviate from this format and focus on her role as a mom rather than a timeline of her life.

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Sample Obituary Tribute to a Mom and Grandmother

An obituary for your mom doesn't have to be super formal. This example gives a good sense of her while showing what was important in her life. 

Our beloved mother and grandmother, Alice Smith, died on April 2, 2024, after a short illness. She was 73. 

Alice was the heart of our home and family. She raised three children, Ben (35), Kristen (41), and Kelly (44), in a happy and loving home to be independent and thoughtful adults. Alice was married for 48 years to her soulmate, John, who preceded her in death. As a grandmother to Briley (6) and Austin (9), she was the "fun granny," taking the kids on exciting outings, hosting "grandma camp" every summer, and generally spoiling them rotten. 

Alice was known for her hearty laugh and kind heart. She was the heart and soul of our family, and she will be dearly missed. At Alice's request, there will be no services, but before she passed she made it known she wanted us all to share a laugh and raise a glass in celebration of her journey home. 

Sample Obituary for a Single Mom

Here's an example of an obituary for a single mom that takes a more formal approach. 

Elsa Ann Wattsburg, age 45, died in an accident on April 3, 2024. She is survived by her three children, who made up the entirety of her world, Gregory (age 22), Matilda (age 17), and Max (age 13). Elsa was a 1993 graduate of Correl Central School. She went on to earn a Bachelor of Psychology. She was an avid bike rider who enjoyed doing anything outdoors, especially if it was with her kids.

Besides her children, Elsa is survived by her parents, Rob and Cindy Wattsburg, her sister Anna, and several nieces, nephews, cousins, and many friends. Viewings will be held at Trinity Church in Houston on Friday, April 7th from 3 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 7 p.m. The funeral will be held the following day at 11 a.m. Burial services will be private for immediate family, but a potluck lunch will be served for all in the church basement at 1 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family is asking for donations toward Elsa's children's future.

Sample Obituary for a Stay-at-Home Mom

A stay-at-home mom might not have an extensive professional background to list and might prefer a shorter obituary if she didn't like a lot of attention.

Our precious mother, Mary Sue Britten, passed away on Saturday, November 3rd, 2023. She devoted her life to her children, leaving her position as secretary at the village office when her first child was born. Mary Sue never wanted to be the center of attention, so her services will be private for immediate family members only. Friends wishing to honor Mary Sue are invited to make a donation in her name to their local children's hospitals, childcare centers, and motherhood organizations.

Sample Mother Obituary With Poem

Choose a funeral poem for a mom to use as the obituary introduction or obituary poem , then add the standard information.

Your Hug Meant the World Nobody else held me so tight Or made me feel so right No one's eyes shined so bright with love As my mom, who is now high above. - Tamsen Butler

The world lost a beloved mother, Jan Kim, on July 25, 2022. Jan battled breast cancer, but it never stopped her from giving out the best hugs. Jan died in her home surrounded by her children, Jeff, Jessie, and Jean. Jan was born in Maytown, MO on December 2, 1968. She claims to have learned everything she knew from her own loving parents, Jack and Jennifer Kim.

Jan worked as a kindergarten teacher so she could be around kids forever. Her colleagues knew her as a kind soul, always willing to cheer kids up with hugs. Jan is survived by her brother Jet and her sister Jessa. She was preceded in death by her husband, Bill, and both her parents.

Friends are invited to say a final goodbye to Jan at Hope Funeral Home in Mayfield, NY on July 29th from 6 to 8 p.m. The family will have a private funeral per Jan's wishes.

Related: Memorial Tributes to Mothers: A Guide to Cherishing Her Memory

Obituary Template for a Mom

Honor your mom with an obituary that focuses on her love for her children and her role as a mother before all the other necessary information is included. You can personalize this free obituary template by filling in the blanks with information specific to your mother. Click on the obituary template PDF image to download, edit, and print your obituary. Use the troubleshooting guide if you need help.

What to Include in an Obituary for Your Mom

These are the elements you might wish to include in an obituary for your mom.

• Name (including maiden name and married name(s) if she used them)
• Spouse (if any) and children's names
• Names of grandchildren and great-grandchildren
• Names of other surviving relatives of note
• Biographical information – DOB, DOD, where she was born and died, interests or hobbies, professional info, organizations she supported, or just a snapshot of who she was
• Funeral or memorial service info
• Where to send flowers/donations

Obituary Examples for Famous Moms

If you'd like even more inspiration, these famous obituaries offer examples of different types. 

Obituary Example for a Mom Who Died of Cancer

Author Amy Krouse Rosenthal's obituary weaves together her love of writing and her love for her children. It gives examples of how it was with her children that she discovered her desire to write for a living and even authored books with her kids. These examples are seamlessly mixed in with professional accomplishments so the entire piece reads like a great story.

Funny Mom Obituary That Is Still Heartfelt

Mary Stocks' kids wrote her a hilarious obituary in 2015 that went viral for its funny honesty. Her kids thought of their mom's personality and used that as the basis for an obituary that they believed she would have loved. They shared fun memories like the fact that she bequeathed back to each of her kids all the things they had ever given her.

Say Goodbye to Mom Your Way

It's never easy to say goodbye, but writing an obituary can help. And while we've offered guidelines, remember that there are no rules. Honor your mom in a way that's meaningful to you by writing an obituary that speaks to the kind of mom she was. 

25 of History’s Greatest Moms

By suzanne raga | apr 27, 2023, 10:37 am edt.

With their words, actions, and unconditional love, mothers have a profound influence on their children. Our mothers give us life, nurture us, and support us as we grow from babies to adults. They teach us, take care of us, and give us advice (wanted or unwanted!), and often provide this sort of motherly presence for many others in their lives as well. To celebrate Mother’s Day , here are 25 of history ’s greatest moms.

1. Marie Curie

Although scientist Marie Curie (1867–1934) is best known for being the first woman to win a Nobel Prize , she also raised her two young daughters alone after her husband died in an accident in 1906. One of their daughters, Irène Joliot-Curie, went on to co-win the Nobel Prize in Chemistry with her husband for their own work with radioactivity. Joliot-Curie said her mother  instilled hard work and flexibility in her children: “That one must do some work seriously and must be independent and not merely amuse oneself in life—this our mother has told us always, but never that science was the only career worth following.”

2. Sojourner Truth

In 1826, Sojourner Truth (circa 1797–1883) and her baby daughter escaped slavery in Ulster County, New York. Soon after, she heard that her 5-year-old son, Peter, was illegally sold to a man in Alabama. Truth raised money for a lawyer, filed a complaint in court, and successfully got Peter out of his enslavement—a landmark case in which a Black woman successfully sued a white man in court. Truth went on to become a Christian preacher in New York City and toured the Northeast, speaking about the Bible, abolition, and women’s suffrage.

3. Abigail Adams

As the wife of President John Adams , Abigail Adams (1744–1818) was the second first lady of the United States. Because her husband was frequently away from home for work, she often single-handedly ran their farm, wrote letters supporting equal rights for women and the abolition of slavery, and educated their five kids who survived into childhood—including future president John Quincy Adams . Quincy Adams wrote : “My mother was an angel upon Earth. She was a minister of blessing to all human beings within her sphere of action. Her heart was the abode of heavenly purity … She was the real personification of female virtue, of piety, of charity, of ever active and never intermitting benevolence.”

4. Irena Sendler

Irena Sendler (1910–2008) was a Polish employee at the Warsaw Social Welfare Department who smuggled almost 2500 Jewish children out of the Warsaw Ghetto during the Holocaust, saving their lives. Using the code name Jolanta , she gave these children false identification documents, established temporary (non-Jewish) identities for them, and placed them in convents, orphanages, and Christian homes. Although the Nazis arrested her, tortured her, and sentenced her to execution (she survived because the Gestapo was bribed), she didn’t give them any information about the whereabouts of the children or the inner workings of her smuggling operation. A mother of three kids herself, Sendler received Poland’s Order of the White Eagle award in 2003.

5. Kathy Headlee

Kathy Headlee, a mother of seven (the youngest of whom she adopted from Romania), started Mothers Without Borders to help orphaned children around the world. Beginning in 1992, she led a group of volunteers to distribute relief supplies to orphanages and train caregivers in Romania. Since then, Mothers Without Borders has sent volunteers to help children in Bolivia, Bosnia, Guatemala, India, Mexico, Zimbabwe, Uganda, and Nepal.

6. Frances Ellen Watkins Harper

Frances Ellen Watkins Harper (1825–1911) was the first Black woman in America to publish a short story. Harper had a way with words: She was a prolific poet and lecturer who traveled the country giving speeches arguing for abolition and women’s rights. Her words appeared so frequently in anti-slavery newspapers that she became known as “the mother of African American journalism.” Harper gave birth to a daughter in 1860; after her husband died, she supported her family by giving speeches throughout the U.S. 

Famous as the mother of Genghis Khan, Hoelun (1142–1221) survived getting kidnapped, widowhood, and being an outcast on her journey to becoming the mother and advisor to one of the largest empires in world history (as well as being one of the few people who could yell at Genghis and get away with it). Around the time of her first marriage, she was kidnapped by Yesukhei, the chief of a minor clan;  legend has it she took off her shirt, threw it to her husband, and shouted “Fly for your life, and while you live remember my fragrance.” Hoelun was then forced to marry her captor.

Several years—and children—later, Yesukhei was killed and Hoelun and her family were kicked out of the clan, forced to barely survive on whatever they could forage on the Mongolian steppes. Eventually, one of her children with Yesukhei, Genghis Khan, would become a great conqueror—but his mother could still put him in his place. According to Frank McLynn in Genghis Khan: His Conquests, His Empire, His Legacy , Genghis was planning to execute his brother for treason when Hoelun found out, traveled to Genghis’s headquarters, and begged Genghis to be merciful. When that didn’t work, “Hoelun grew angry, got to her feet and roundly rebuked the khan for thinking to execute his brother … Genghis raised her up and said he would grant the boon because of his love and deference for his mother.”

8. Candy Lightner

In 1980, a hit-and-run drunk driver killed one of Candy Lightner’s 13-year-old twin daughters, Cari. The driver had three prior convictions for drunk driving, and had been arrested two days earlier for a different hit-and-run. Within a few months, Lightner founded Mothers Against Drunk Driving ( MADD ) to end drunk driving, pass tougher legislation, and help the victims of drunk drivers. Through its work to raise awareness and get legislation passed, MADD has helped save hundreds of thousands of lives.

9. Waris Dirie

In 1970, when she was 5 years old, Waris Dirie became a victim of female genital mutilation in her home of Somalia. Then, when she was 13, her parents arranged for her to marry a man in his sixties; she ran away from home and eventually arrived in London. Although she worked as a successful model (and even appeared in a 1987 James Bond film), she retired from modeling in 1997 to devote her time to combating female genital mutilation, partially through her work as a UN special ambassador. She founded an organization called Desert Flower that combats female genital mutilation around the world. As the mother of four children, she told Harper’s Bazaar in 2010 that female genital mutilation isn’t just a women’s issue: “Every education begins with Mama. We have to rethink what we teach our sons. That's the most important thing."

10. Indira Gandhi

As India’s first female prime minister, Indira Gandhi (1917–1984) worked to institute democracy and create jobs to combat food shortages. She was responsible for India's green revolution, which made the country self-sufficient and no longer reliant on imported grains. “Education is a liberating force, and in our age it is also a democratizing force, cutting across the barriers of caste and class, smoothing out inequalities imposed by birth and other circumstances,” she famously stated . She also entrusted a sense of duty in her two sons, Rajiv and Sanjay Gandhi, who both grew up to become politicians; Rajiv became prime minister of India after his mother was assassinated in 1984.

11. Anne-Marie Slaughter

After working as a law professor and academic dean, Anne-Marie Slaughter was the first woman to serve as director of policy planning for the U.S. State Department. In 2012, she wrote a massively popular article for The Atlantic called “Why Women Still Can’t Have It All.” She discussed her decision to leave her high-stress government job so she could be closer to home and take better care of her two teenage sons. Her article sparked a national discussion about how mothers balance work and home life, and how society and the workplace need to change to support mothers who work.

12. Madam C.J. Walker

Madam C.J. Walker (1867–1919) was the United States’s first self-made female millionaire. Her daughter, A’Lelia, inspired her to create a better life. “As I bent over the washboard and looked at my arms buried in soapsuds, I said to myself: ‘What are you going to do when you grow old and your back gets stiff? Who is going to take care of your little girl?’” she once said. Walker went on to create a line of haircare products for Black women. Her business found success in the Midwest, and her empire continued to grow after she followed her daughter to New York, where she dipped her toes into political activism and rubbed shoulders with some of the era’s artistic greats.  A’Lelia Walker ran the company’s East Coast operations, and later became its president after her mother died. The famously lavish parties she hosted were also a safe space for LGBTQ+ artists of the Harlem Renaissance.

13. Dana Suskind

Dr. Dana Suskind , a mother of three, is a pediatric otolaryngologist and surgeon at the University of Chicago who founded the Thirty Million Words Initiative to encourage parents to talk frequently to their babies. Based on her research, she focuses on educating parents on the importance that speaking and interacting in the first three years of a child’s life has on that child’s brain growth and development.

14. Nancy Edison

The youngest of Nancy Edison’s seven kids was Thomas Alva Edison . Although some stories about his mother’s virtues were most likely exaggerated , we do know that rather than give up on his education, Nancy Edison decided to homeschool her son after his teacher deemed him “addled” (meaning mentally ill or incompetent). Edison, who may just have been dyslexic in a time before that learning disorder was studied or understood,  said of her : “My mother was the making of me. She was so true, so sure of me; and I felt I had something to live for, someone I must not disappoint.”

15. Julie Andrews

Although you may know Dame Julie Andrews for her film roles as Mary Poppins and Maria Von Trapp (two mothers of sorts for generations of children), she’s also an author. Andrews writes The Very Fairy Princess children’s book series with her daughter, Emma Walton Hamilton. Hamilton told Today that her mom was firm, protective, and—despite her busy schedule—“very hands-on, always there making eggs at 5 o’ clock in the morning before we went to school.” Practically perfect in every way.

16. Lou Xiaoying

Lou Xiaoying was a poor, uneducated woman who supported herself by scavenging through the trash in Jinhua, China. Starting in 1972, she adopted or rescued 30 babies she found in the trash. The chaos of the Cultural Revolution (and later China’s one-child policy) and extreme poverty, especially in rural areas, meant that some parents dumped their unwanted babies in the garbage. “These children need love and care. They are all precious human lives,” Xiaoying, who had one biological daughter at the time she began rescuing infants, told the press in 2012. “I do not understand how people can leave such a vulnerable baby on the streets.”

17. Princess Diana

Diana, Princess of Wales (1961–1997) used her status as a royal figure to work with charities that supported children’s hospitals and to combat landmines , which were a significant problem in the ’90s. Years after her death in 1997, her legacy remains one of humanitarianism. Her older son Prince William, who was 15 when his mother died, became a royal patron of a child bereavement charity. Speaking about Mother’s Day, he said , “I too have felt and still feel the emptiness on such a day as Mother’s Day.”

18. Erma Bombeck

Humor writer Erma Bombeck (1927–1996) wrote books and syndicated newspaper columns about life as a suburban housewife in the Midwest. Taking inspiration from her experiences with her adopted daughter and two biological sons, she told stories and made quips about housework that helped a generation of stay-at-home and newly working mothers find humor in the messiness of their lives. And as one might assume from her sharp-witted jokes, she brought her children up to be independent and passionate. “She liked people who were strong and held their own—she was a very big presence,” her daughter Betsy told People . “If you couldn't hold your own, she could roll over you.”

19. Theresa Kachindamoto

As a Malawian chieftain, Theresa Kachindamoto presides over nearly 900,000 people in the African country. Because poor parents struggle to feed their children, Malawi has a high child marriage rate—one in two girls is married before age 18. Kachindamoto, who has put laws in place to break up approximately 850 child marriages, organizes meetings to speak to Malawians about the dangers of child marriages (including HIV) and the benefits of education for girls and boys. And although she's received backlash for telling families how to raise girls when she herself has five boys, she also works to end cultural sexual initiation rituals, in which a young girl’s parents pay an older man to “teach” her how to have sex, and she's trying to raise the legal age of marriage in the Dedza district of Malawi to 21.

20. Angelina Jolie

Because of her humanitarian work supporting refugees and education, Oscar-winning actress Angelina Jolie has become as well known for her charity work as she has for her film roles. Jolie first got involved with humanitarian work for refugees and people displaced because of conflict when she was filming Lara Croft: Tomb Raider in Cambodia in 2000. She adopted a son from the country, and eventually adopted children from Ethiopia and Vietnam as well (in addition to her three biological children with ex-husband Brad Pitt). And though she traveled to more than 30 countries in her role as a UN Goodwill Ambassador, Pitt told The Wall Street Journal that when she had a day off, “the first thing she [did was] get up and take the kids out. This is the most important ‘to do’ of the day. No matter how tired she might be, she [planned] outings for each and all.”

21. Mary Kay Ash

Mary Kay Ash (1918–2001) was 45 years old when she founded Mary Kay Cosmetics in 1963, and it has since become a billion-dollar cosmetics company. As a single mom, she was working in sales at a home products company to support her three children, but she was repeatedly passed over for promotions, despite her being one of the top sales directors. Ash took those skills with her when she launched her namesake company, and she worked to give hundreds of thousands of women the opportunity to work as sales consultants on their own time, effectively becoming their own bosses.

22. Mary Maxwell Gates

The mother of Bill Gates, Mary Maxwell Gates (1929–1994) served on the board of directors for corporations and nonprofit organizations in Seattle. She helped convince leaders at I.B.M. to hire Microsoft to create an operating system, and following that contract, Microsoft went on to achieve massive success. But more importantly, Gates encouraged her son to focus on philanthropy, and the effects of his success are now contributing to worldwide causes because of it. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has given billions of dollars to fight malaria, HIV, polio, and poor sanitation, and to improve opportunities for education.

23. Alberta King

The mother of Martin Luther King, Jr., Alberta Williams King (1904–1974) played the organ, founded the choir at Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, and was involved with women’s groups, the NAACP, and the YWCA. She set about to raise her three children with a healthy sense of self-respect and taught them that the segregation they saw every day was simply “a social condition rather than a natural order,” as MLK Jr. wrote in his autobiography . “She made it clear that she opposed this system and that I must never allow it to make me feel inferior. … At this time Mother had no idea that the little boy in her arms would years later be involved in a struggle against the system she was speaking of.” In 1974, six years after her son was assassinated in Memphis, Alberta King was shot and killed at her organ in church.

24. Wilma Mankiller

Wilma Mankiller (1945–2010) was the first woman elected as the Cherokee Nation’s principal chief. Both of Mankiller’s daughters were born in the 1960s—and even though her then-husband expected her to stay home and raise them, Mankiller instead opted to return to school. She became a civil rights activist in the 1960s, and began working as a social worker in the ‘70s. Though she spent the next decades advocating for Native American rights and serving her community, she remained dedicated to her daughters as well. “Even though we grew up with little or no money we knew we were the richest people on Earth because we had each other,” Mankiller’s daughter Gina Olaya said at her memorial . “Mom taught us how to laugh, how to dance, to appreciate Motown music, to be a humble servant to our people, to love one another unequivocally, and to cherish each and every moment we spent together as a family.”

25. Ann Jarvis

Ann Jarvis (1832–1905) inspired the movement that eventually made Mother’s Day into a national holiday. After most of her babies died of diseases—only four of her possibly 13 children survived to adulthood—she wanted to help other mothers. She organized Mother’s Day Work Clubs in what is now West Virginia to help provide medical care, raise money for medicines, and improve sanitary conditions for poor mothers.

After her death, Jarvis’s daughter Anna Jarvis built off the work of her mother by writing letters and giving speeches in support of Mother’s Day, and President Woodrow Wilson designated Mother’s Day as a national holiday in 1914. Ironically, Anna Jarvis never became a mother herself, and she became horrified by how flower, chocolate, and greeting card companies exploited Mother’s Day for their own financial gain. Jarvis advocated boycotts of Mother’s Day and tried to sue companies that were commercializing the holiday. But the sentiment of appreciating mothers and all the work they do remained, even if the commercial aspect never disappeared.

A version of this story originally ran in 2016; it has been updated for 2023.

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Eulogy writing guide, funeral speeches for a work colleague, tribute speech to dad from daughter, funeral speech writing advice, short eulogy examples for mother: celebrating a life well-lived.

• March 2, 2024

Table of Contents

Short Eulogy For Mother Example 1

Creating personal memorials for guiding lights, shaping a story of enduring bond and sanctified honor, lives touched, hearts moved: client reflections, what is the purpose of a eulogy, how do i begin writing a eulogy for my mother, what should be the tone of a eulogy, how do i structure a eulogy, what length should a short eulogy be, can i include humor in the eulogy, how can i make the eulogy more personal, can i include quotes or poems in the eulogy, what if i become too emotional while delivering the eulogy, can i mention the cause of death in the eulogy, how do i conclude the eulogy, can i encourage others to share their memories during the eulogy, what are some common themes to explore in a eulogy for a mother, can i talk about her shortcomings in the eulogy, how do i handle conflicting emotions while writing a eulogy, can i share personal anecdotes in the eulogy, how can i honor her memory beyond the eulogy, how do i deal with writer's block while crafting the eulogy, can i write a eulogy if we had a complicated relationship, what are some resources for finding more eulogy examples, short eulogy for mother example 2, short eulogy for mother example 3, short eulogy for mother example 4, short eulogy for mother example 5, short eulogy for mother example 6, short eulogy example for a beloved mother 7, eulogy assistant: illuminating the path of remembrance, short eulogy for mother frequently asked questions.

Losing a mother is one of life's greatest challenges. A mother is often the heart of a family, a source of love and support that shapes our lives in countless ways. When it comes time to say goodbye, it can be difficult to find the words to express all that she meant to us. However, with the help of Eulogy Assistant , crafting a short eulogy that captures her spirit can be made easier.

To help you get started, we've put together some short eulogy examples that celebrate a mother's life and legacy.

Life is a beautiful journey, a vibrant tapestry of moments woven with threads of love, joy, and profound connections. As we gather here today to remember a remarkable woman, my mother, we recognize the profound impact she has had on our lives.

She was a beacon of light, guiding us through the darkest storms with her unwavering strength and boundless love. Her laughter was the melody that played in our home, a tune that echoed with warmth, kindness, and the promise of unconditional love.

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My mother was a nurturer, always there with a comforting word, a healing touch, or a plate of your favorite meal just when you needed it. Her hands were never idle; they were either crafting, cooking, or holding ours, reassuring us that we were loved beyond measure.

She embraced life with a zest that was contagious. Her spirit danced with the winds, and she taught us to find beauty in the simplest of things. A walk in the park, a blooming flower, or a radiant sunset - she found joy in the everyday wonders of life.

As we say our goodbyes today, let us remember her not with tears but with smiles, knowing that she lives on in each one of us. Through the lessons she imparted, the love she shared, and the memories we created together, her spirit will forever be a guiding star in our lives.

In the vast garden of life, my mother was the rarest of flowers, blossoming with grace, beauty, and an essence that could light up the darkest corners of the earth. As we gather here to honor her memory, let us remember the incredible woman she was, and the beautiful legacy she leaves behind.

She was a woman of resilience, facing life's challenges with a steadfast determination and a heart full of love. Her wisdom was a guiding force, leading us through life's intricate paths with a gentle yet firm hand.

My mother had the ability to turn a house into a home filled with love, laughter, and countless cherished memories. Her kindness knew no bounds, and her generosity flowed like a river, touching the lives of everyone she met.

Her love for us was as deep as the ocean, as constant as the northern star, and as nurturing as the earth itself. She was our confidant, our greatest supporter, and our most cherished friend.

As we bid farewell to this incredible woman, let us carry her spirit with us, nurturing the seeds of love, compassion, and kindness she planted in our hearts. Let us honor her memory by living our lives with the same grace, love, and warmth that she embodied every day of her beautiful journey on this earth.

Today, as we gather to remember a woman of exceptional grace and kindness, my mother, we are reminded of the countless precious moments we were privileged to share with her. A woman of substance, her life was a testament to the power of love, empathy, and resilience.

She was a pillar of strength, a sanctuary of warmth and love, where we could always find comfort and understanding. Her nurturing nature was a beacon of light, guiding us through life's challenges with a grace that was nothing short of inspirational.

My mother had the rare ability to see the best in everyone, nurturing our dreams and encouraging us to reach for the stars. She believed in the goodness of people, and her faith in humanity was a lesson in optimism and hope.

Her smile was our sunshine, brightening our days with its radiant glow. Her love was our anchor, grounding us with its unwavering strength and depth. She was our rock, our safe haven, and the beautiful melody that will forever play in our hearts.

As we bid her a loving farewell, let us remember the love she showered upon us, the wisdom she imparted, and the beautiful moments we shared. She leaves behind a legacy of love, a legacy that will continue to bloom in the garden of our hearts, nurturing us with its beauty and grace for generations to come.

"Mom, you were my rock. You were always there to lift me up when I fell, and to guide me when I felt lost. You taught me the value of hard work, the importance of family, and the beauty of a life well-lived. You will always hold a special place in my heart, and I know that your love will continue to guide me as I move forward without you."

"Mom, you were the light of my life. Your smile could brighten even the darkest of days, and your love knew no bounds. You were my biggest cheerleader, my confidante, and my best friend. You lived life with grace and dignity, and you left the world a better place for having been in it."

"Mom, you were an angel on earth. Your kindness and compassion touched the lives of everyone who knew you. You taught me to see the good in people, to cherish every moment, and to never take a single day for granted. Your memory will live on in the hearts of all those who loved you, and you will always be missed."

These short eulogy examples are just a starting point. Use them as inspiration to craft a eulogy that truly reflects your mother's unique spirit and legacy. With Eulogy Assistant by your side, you can be confident that your words will honor her memory and bring comfort to those who loved her.

As we gather here today to celebrate the life of a remarkable woman, my mother, it's hard to find the words that could encapsulate her spirit, her warmth, and the profound impact she had on those who were fortunate enough to know her. In her modest, unassuming way, she touched many lives with her kindness, resilience, and a quiet strength that was as reliable as the sunrise.

My mother lived a life that could easily fill a book with stories of love, hardship, and triumph. Born in a small town she often fondly recalled, she was the epitome of grace and perseverance. Growing up during times of change and challenge, she learned the value of hard work, education, and the importance of family above all else. From her early days, it was evident that she would be not just the heart, but the spine of our family.

She wasn't just a homemaker; she was a home builder—from the aroma of her baking that enveloped you as you entered the house, to the soft, kind words she always had ready when you were feeling down. She created a home that was a sanctuary of love and a foundation of support for everyone in her life. She had a gift for listening, a patience for understanding, and an immense capacity for forgiving.

There are countless memories that come flooding back, each one a testament to her gentle, loving nature. I remember her hands, always busy—repairing a seam, planting a seed, or soothing a fevered brow. They were the hands that clapped the loudest at our successes and wiped away the tears in our defeats. Those hands were a symbol of love in action, always putting others before herself.

Even during times of her own struggles and ailments, she was stoic, often comforting those who came to comfort her. Her compassion knew no bounds. It spread beyond the confines of our family, touching our friends, neighbors, and the community. She taught Sunday school for many years, instilling lessons of faith and morality not through strict words, but through her actions and the way she led her life. She was a mentor and a confidant to many—someone who could be relied upon when guidance was most needed.

My mother also had an incredible love for nature and found joy in the simple things—a hummingbird by the window, the bloom of a rose, or the changing leaves in fall. She often spoke of the interconnectedness of life and taught us to respect and nurture the environment long before it became a global concern. She took pride in her garden and could often be found tending to it with the same love and attention she dedicated to her family.

No eulogy for my mother would be complete without mentioning her wit and humor. She had an uncanny ability to lighten any room with her presence. Her laugh was infectious, and her sense of humor had the power to diffuse even the tensest situations. She was the quintessential matriarch, her kitchen table a place for not just food, but rounds of laughter, heated debates, and, most importantly, the sharing of lives.

It feels impossible to sum up such a vibrant, complex life in these few words. The truth is, my mother lives on in each one of us—her children, her grandchildren, her friends. Her values and wisdom continue to guide us. The love she shared forms the cornerstone of our family. She has left us a legacy not of material wealth, but of richness in character and spirit that is worth more than anything money could buy.

I stand before you today with a heart full of sorrow but also with profound gratitude for having been blessed with a mother like her. Her journey through this life has ended, but her essence, her teachings, and her unconditional love endure. My mother often said, ‘Goodbyes are only for those who love with their eyes. Because for those who love with heart and soul, there is no such thing as separation.’

So today, rather than saying goodbye, let us say thank you. Thank you for the sacrifices, the smiles, the warmth, and the unwavering love. We celebrate you, not just for what you’ve done or what you’ve given us, but for who you were—a truly exceptional mother and human being. May her soul find the peace she so richly deserves, and may we all strive to keep her spirit alive within us. We love you, now and forever.

In the silent spaces of remembrance for a guiding light in your life, the act of distilling deep respect and treasured memories into words can be as delicate as capturing the dance of fireflies on a summer night. Eulogy Assistant stands by your side during this heartfelt process, weaving together a tribute that is rich with adoration and authentic emotion, turning cherished moments into an enduring homage.

Our adept team, proficient in the delicate craft of sympathetic eulogy creation, pledges to support you in composing a eulogy that echoes the soft strength and lasting impression of your spiritual beacon. Eulogy Assistant extends beyond mere service; we offer a companionship steeped in compassion and insight, devoted to commemorating a life of profound spiritual significance.

At Eulogy Assistant , we deeply value the co-creative process of developing a eulogy that touches the soul. In concert with your recollections and emotions, we draw upon our proficiency to construct a homage that venerates with authenticity and fosters profound emotional bonds.

Our approach is rooted in genuine conversation and a shared creative pursuit. Your firsthand reflections and perceptions are essential in piecing together a story that accurately embodies the footprint left by your spiritual mentor. This path goes beyond narrating life events; it’s about encapsulating the core of their spiritual teachings and the magnitude of their influence.

Jointly, our goal is to create a narrative that truthfully reflects your spiritual guide – a eulogy that surmounts the usual accolades, brimming with esteem, personal ties, and genuine feeling. Our combined efforts result in a eulogy that is a beautifully woven mosaic of language, mirroring the profound admiration and love your spiritual guide has instilled.

The heart of our offerings shines through in the heartfelt testimonials from those we have been privileged to support. These earnest accounts of thankfulness and acknowledgment from people who have called on us are the purest endorsements of our devotion.

Commemorating my spiritual guide was daunting, yet Eulogy Assistant became my pillar of reliable encouragement, aiding me in realizing a eulogy that fittingly celebrated their guidance and enlightenment," Rachel shares with heartfelt thanks.

Michael reminisces, "During my period of grief, the empathetic and skillful backing from Eulogy Assistant was a consoling ally. With their help, I composed a eulogy that was not just composed of words, but embodied a poignant and cherished homage to my spiritual mentor."

These narratives emphasize our commitment to constructing eulogies that transcend mere formality—they are honest manifestations of esteem, tribute, and perpetual remembrance. We are honored to accompany you on this path, acknowledging the distinctive paths of those who have deeply touched our souls, and creating eulogies that serve as lasting salutes to their spiritual wisdom.

Embark with us in forging narratives that are intimately personal, reverential, and truly indicative of the spiritual luminaries who have enlightened our paths.

A eulogy serves to honor the deceased person's life, celebrating their achievements, virtues, and the significant impact they had on the lives of others. It is a heartfelt tribute that provides comfort and solace to the grieving family and friends.

To start writing a eulogy for your mother, begin by jotting down fond memories, anecdotes, and the virtues that defined her. You can also talk to family members and friends to gather more insights and stories about her. This will form a rich tapestry of her life, helping you craft a fitting tribute.

While the tone of a eulogy can vary depending on the personality of the deceased and the preferences of the family, it is generally recommended to maintain a balance between reverence and celebration. It should reflect the love, respect, and admiration you have for your mother.

A eulogy typically starts with an introduction, followed by a chronological or thematic exploration of the person's life, including their childhood, adulthood, career, and personal anecdotes. It concludes with a closing statement that encapsulates the person's legacy and the void they leave behind.

A short eulogy is generally around 5-7 minutes long, which translates to about 500-700 words. However, it is essential to focus more on the content and the message rather than strictly adhering to a word limit.

Absolutely. If your mother had a great sense of humor, incorporating light-hearted anecdotes or funny memories can make the eulogy more personal and reflective of her personality. However, ensure that the humor is appropriate and respectful.

To make the eulogy more personal, include specific memories, stories, or qualities that were unique to your mother. You can also mention the little things that made her special, her favorite sayings, hobbies, or the traditions she held dear.

Yes, including quotes or poems that resonate with your mother's personality or philosophy can be a touching addition to the eulogy. It can also help convey your feelings more eloquently.

It's completely natural to become emotional while delivering a eulogy. If you feel that you might get too overwhelmed, you can ask someone to be on standby to take over if necessary. Remember, showing emotion is a sign of love and not a weakness.

Mentioning the cause of death is a personal choice and depends on the circumstances. If it's something that defines or significantly impacts the narrative, you might choose to include it. However, it's perfectly fine to focus solely on the life and memories shared.

Conclude the eulogy with a heartfelt farewell, a final tribute, or a personal reflection on her legacy. You can end with a touching quote, a poem, or a simple thank you to encapsulate the love and respect you have for her.

Yes, encouraging others to share their memories can make the service more interactive and comforting. It allows others to pay their tributes and share different perspectives on her life.

Common themes to explore in a eulogy for a mother can include her nurturing nature, the lessons she imparted, her love for her family, her professional accomplishments, and the qualities that made her a remarkable person.

While it's important to paint a realistic picture, a eulogy is not the place to focus on the deceased's shortcomings or negative aspects. It's more about celebrating the positive impact and the loving memories shared.

Handling conflicting emotions can be challenging. It's essential to approach the process with sensitivity and understanding. Focus on the love and the positive moments shared, and seek counseling or support groups if necessary to navigate complex emotions.

Absolutely, sharing personal anecdotes can add a warm, personal touch to the eulogy, helping to paint a vivid picture of your mother's personality and the special moments you shared.

Honoring her memory can extend beyond the eulogy through various means such as setting up a scholarship in her name, planting a tree, or engaging in acts of kindness that resonate with her values and principles.

Dealing with writer's block can be tough, especially during a time of grief. Taking a break, talking to family members for stories, or seeking inspiration from eulogy examples can help overcome writer's block.

Yes, writing a eulogy in such circumstances can be a cathartic process. Focus on the positive aspects and the shared memories, acknowledging the complexity without dwelling on the negative aspects.

There are several online platforms and books that offer eulogy examples to help guide you in crafting a heartfelt tribute. You can refer to websites, forums, and communities dedicated to grief support and memorial planning for resources.

If you're struggling to write a eulogy for your mother, Eulogy Assistant can help.

Looking For Examples? Here Are Some of The Best Eulogies

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(From an essay first published in the January 1967 issue of Shufu to seikatsu (Homemaker's Life), a Japanese women's magazine 1 )

My mother, whose name is Ichi, was born in the twenty-eighth year of the Meiji era (1895) and hence is now close to eighty. She lives a quiet life in the suburbs of Tokyo.

She raised eight children of her own and adopted and raised two other children from outside. Now that her sons have families of their own and her only daughter has also married, she can boast a total of thirteen grandchildren.

She is a very simple woman without any education, but she succeeded in raising all of her children in good health. It always pleases me to think that, in its own way, her Iife represents a victorious one.

Her life has by no means been entirely happy, at least in her early years. My father Nenokichi, who died in 1956, was so hardheaded and obstinate that he was known among his relatives and neighbors as "Mr. Stubborn." I am certain it must have required enormous patience on my mother's part to have stuck with him until the end of his life.

When I was a child our home was at Omori on the edge of the bay in the southern part of Tokyo. My mother did her share of the work growing and gathering nori --laboring in a way that it would be difficult for an ordinary city housewife of today to imagine. Even now I can picture her, a little woman, in the dead of winter getting up before the dawn and working away until late in the evening, not even stopping to rest when she had caught a cold.

As far as the education of her children was concerned, she didn't seem to have any special ambitions. I never remember her saying a single word that would incite us to dream of success in the future or make us feel that the acquiring of degrees and formal education was an important or desirable thing.

For all her lack of pretension, I do recall her cautioning us again and again never to tell lies or do anything to cause trouble to other people. I am grateful to her that she did, for once I got out into the world I realized that these after all were the most important things for us to have learned.

A woman who never put on airs of any kind, her whole happiness lay in seeing her children grow up in good health, and she was willing to do any amount of work to achieve that goal. That's the kind of mother she was; I can't imagine any other kind that I would rather have.

During those years of nightmare and tragedy during the Pacific War, our family suffered the same as everyone else. My four elder brothers, who had just grown to maturity and reached the age where they could relieve my mother of some of the work, were one after another called up for military service, summoned, it was said, for the sake of the Emperor and the sake of the nation. My mother, true to the spirit demanded of the mothers of a nation at war, never shed a single tear. She sent each of her sons off to foreign lands with a smile on her face. I wonder, though, what was in her heart at that time.

One thing in particular I admired about my mother was the fact that in spite of the large number of children she had to cope with, she was always completely fair in her treatment of them. In everything, from the dividing up of food to the settling of quarrels, she showed fairness and impartiality. Intervening in the numerous fights that arose among us children, she would always take care to determine just who was in the right and who wasn't, and would settle the matter in a way that left everyone satisfied. She was in fact a highly skilled judge and arbitrator. Since I was the weakest and most sickly among all the boys, I naturally caused her the most care and worry. After the war, when I was going to school at night, she would always wait up for me no matter how late I came home. Then she would heat up a bowl of noodles for me saying, "I'll bet you had a hard day!" In that one sentence which she would repeat over and over, I could sense the boundless tenderness of a mother's love.

No matter how old I get, she still treats me like a child.

1 Ikeda, Daisaku. 1979. "A Mother's Love," Glass Children , pp. 75-79. Tokyo-New York-San Francisco: Kodansha International Ltd.

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Lewis' Memoir Describes Being A Teen Mom In College While Raising A Daughter

Elissa Nadworny

In the new book Pregnant Girl, Nicole Lewis shares her experience as a Black teenage mother and college student fighting for opportunities for herself and her child.

NOEL KING, HOST:

More than 1 in 5 college students is raising kids or a kid while getting a degree. Writer Nicole Lewis knows what that's like. She was a teenage mom who raised her daughter while getting a bachelors. In a new memoir, she talks about that experience and her work helping other young parents try to finish school. Here's NPR's Elissa Nadworny.

ELISSA NADWORNY, BYLINE: In her senior year of high school, amid the celebrations of graduation and college acceptance letters, Nicole Lewis found out she was pregnant.

NICOLE LEWIS: When those two pink lines showed up on that pregnancy test, it was just like, it didn't matter how smart I was. It didn't matter that I had been accepted into all these colleges. People were just like, it's over for you, you know, and you're not going to go to college.

NADWORNY: It was certainly a more complicated path for Lewis. She deferred a year, left home, lived with an abusive boyfriend. But she was determined to go to college. A year later, in 1999, with baby Nerissa in tow, she arrived at William & Mary, a public liberal arts school in Williamsburg, Va.

LEWIS: This campus, like, represented hope. You know? and there was no plan B. Like, if it didn't work out and I didn't get my degree, we weren't going to make it.

NADWORNY: Under umbrellas with an on-and-off rain, Lewis leads me through the storied brick campus, which dates back to 1693.

LEWIS: So we're heading into Old Campus.

NADWORNY: We pass a statue of Thomas Jefferson, who went to college here in 1760.

LEWIS: I definitely remember being, like, how crazy is it that I'm going to the school that Thomas Jefferson went to? And all of the irony and, like, with my baby as a Black student, that wasn't lost on me (laughter).

NADWORNY: Lewis' new memoir, "Pregnant Girl," describes her years here, caught between the academic prestige and the chaos of motherhood.

LEWIS: I would always be walking down these brick paths with Nerissa. I was kind of known on campus as the girl with the baby.

NADWORNY: Did you feel like that, girl with the baby?

LEWIS: I did.

NADWORNY: Did you feel like defined you?

LEWIS: Definitely. I felt probably more like the girl with the baby than I did the college student.

NADWORNY: Most colleges, then and now, weren't designed for students with children, which meant Lewis often felt like the first and only, constantly advocating for herself for housing that would support her and her baby, for a parking spot as a sophomore, for professors who would understand that she had to miss a test because her daughter had pneumonia. And time, well, there just wasn't enough of it.

LEWIS: When I got out of class, I was getting her from daycare, I was getting food on the table, getting her bathed, reading her a book and then getting her in bed. And then I would study all night long.

NADWORNY: With a handful of supporters - a woman in financial aid, a caring professor - and a lot of what she calls luck, Nicole Lewis graduated. It wasn't until after she'd left college that she realized just how rare her story was. Just 2% of teen mothers graduate from college by age 30. And Lewis understood why. One memory especially haunts her. She was grocery shopping with Nerissa.

LEWIS: Getting to the cash register and my debit card is declined - and I remember pushing her into the parking lot in the grocery cart, and I had no way for us to have dinner that night. We're talking $20.

NADWORNY: She says there were many times that $20 could have made a big difference. Today, Lewis runs a nonprofit called Generation Hope, which helps teen parents complete college. One vital element of that support - students can apply for up to $1,000 in emergency grants.

LEWIS: That emergency fund would have meant everything to me when I was in college. Like, I was so close to the edge. If one thing didn't fall into place, I could have easily dropped out of school.

NADWORNY: And students, Lewis says, they need that money fast.

LEWIS: Sometimes I'll talk to colleges, and they'll say, oh, we have a six-week turnaround time. And I'm thinking, by the six weeks, you've lost that student. That student is out of that, you know, apartment. They're evicted; they're on the streets.

NADWORNY: Staying in college, graduating, it's not just about the parents. It's also about their children.

NERISSA ANDERSON: You know, I was there when my mom graduated college. Like, that's huge.

NADWORNY: Lewis' daughter, Nerissa Anderson, is now a senior in college.

ANDERSON: Those years living on campus, although I don't remember everything, shaped me for 20 years.

NADWORNY: As she nears graduation, she's spending a lot of time looking at a photo she has from 2003, her mom standing next to her in a cap and gown. Nerissa plans to recreate that photo, except this time she'll be wearing the cap and gown. Her mom will be the proud supporter.

Elissa Nadworny, NPR News, Williamsburg, Va.

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How to write a professional bio (with examples and templates)

• Rebecca Strehlow
• 11 min read

Get started by: Creating a website →  | Getting a domain →

Which three words would you use to describe yourself? Most of us have been asked this question, and many of us have fumbled through it awkwardly.

Coming up with a personal description can be daunting. But there are times when it’s essential - whether we’re updating our LinkedIn profiles, blogging for Medium or creating a business website of our own.

In this post, we’ll go over how to write a bio, step by step. To help guide you, we’ve also included a handy template, along with some professional bio examples for your inspiration. With these resources, you’ll find that writing a bio, as part of making a website , is much easier than you might think.

What is a bio?

Before you learn how to write a bio, you should have a clear understanding of what it is and why you need it.

In the world of literature, a personal biography can span the length of an entire novel, like Nelson Mandela’s Long Walk to Freedom or Malala Yousafzai’s I Am Malala . In the online world, however, a bio is a short paragraph in which you introduce yourself. Typically, people place bios on the About Us page of their professional website, as well as on their social media pages and other networking platforms.

What to include in a bio

Depending on your audience and goals, your bio can highlight your personal interests, your professional achievements or a mix of both. Here are some of the elements a bio might include:

Job title or workplace

University degree and other qualifications

Hometown or city of residence

Personal or professional goals

Mission statement and values

Skills and expertise

Interests and hobbies

The goal of writing a bio is to provide people with a snapshot of who you are. This is important for a variety of reasons, whether it’s drawing people toward your personal website or promoting your blog, attracting clients and business partners to your brand, or highlighting your achievements for job interviews.

How to write a short bio

The most effective online bios are both professional and concise. Here’s how to write a short professional bio that suits your website or brand:

Introduce yourself

State your company or brand name

Explain your professional role

Include professional achievements

Discuss your passions and values

Mention your personal interests

01. Introduce yourself

Begin your bio by stating your first and last name. If you’re writing in the third person, these should be the first two words of the paragraph. This makes your name easy for your audience to identify and remember. Your bio is a huge part of your personal branding efforts, and should start with a strong intro to make a positive impact.

02. State your company or brand name

Think about whether you want your bio to represent yourself on a personal level, or whether you’d like it to come across as more professional. If you have a personal brand or business - for example, a blog, freelance business or eCommerce site - be sure to mention your brand name at the beginning of your bio. Don’t be afraid if the name sounds simple or redundant. It’s perfectly fine, for instance, to say Mary Smith is the founder and CEO of Smith Digital.

Likewise, feel free to mention the name of another company or brand that you work for if you’d like to associate it with your professional accomplishments - e.g., Mary Smith is a consultant at Google and the founder and CEO of Smith Digital.

03. Explain your professional role

Next, briefly explain your current position. This is relevant whether you’re the founder of a company, a high-level specialist or a beginner in your field, and it can be similar to the description you have on your resume. Your website visitors won’t necessarily know what your job involves, so elaborating on your primary responsibilities helps paint a picture of who you are and what you have to offer. This can also be used, if needed for employment and recruitment opportunities. If you're a freelancer a strong bio can make all the difference in how successful sourcing work can be.

04. Include professional achievements

In addition to explaining what your job entails, highlight milestones that make you stand out. Even if you haven’t won an award or gained external recognition, you can discuss ways in which you’ve contributed to your professional role and touch on new ideas or approaches that you bring to the table.

05. Discuss your passions and values

Once you describe what you do and how you contribute to your role, you’ll need to explain the why . This is one of the most important elements to focus on as you consider how to write a bio.

Think about the values and passions underlying your work, as well as your professional philosophy. What gets you up in the morning? What’s the driving force behind what you do?

You can also think of this part of your professional bio as a kind of mission statement. Perhaps your mission is to serve others, contribute to society, grow your expertise or learn new skills. Whatever your reasons, expanding upon these ideas can help your audience get a better understanding of what truly matters to you. Don't be afraid to deploy storytelling in this part of creating your bio. Explore your narrative and then convey it.

06. Mention your personal interests

The most effective short bios will not only focus on your professional experience, but will also touch on what you like to do in your spare time. Consider mentioning:

Your family

Your hometown

Your hobbies

Side projects you’re working on

Transitioning to a more casual discussion of who you are outside of work is a great way to conclude your bio. This will present you as a more well-rounded person while making you relatable for your audience.

Professional bio template

As you go through the steps on how to write a bio, this handy template will help you get started:

Sentence 1: [Name] is a [job title] who [job description].

E.g., Lisa Green is an English teacher who teaches beginning to advanced literature courses for 10th and 11th grade students at Bloomfield High School.

Sentence 2: [Name] believes that [why you do the work you do].

E.g., Lisa believes that written and analytical skills are not only a fundamental part of academic excellence, but are also the building blocks of critical thinking in high school and beyond.

Sentence 3: [Name/pronoun] has [mention your achievements].

E.g., In addition to managing the English curriculum for the school, she runs an after school program where she works one-on-one with students.

Sentence 4: [Name/pronoun] is a [mention any relevant awards, training or honors].

E.g., She has also been nominated Teacher of the Year for two consecutive years.

Sentence 5: [Name/pronoun] holds a [insert degree] in [field of study] from [university].

E.g., Lisa holds a BA in Creative Writing and a Master’s Degree in Teaching from the University of Michigan.

Once you’ve filled in this template, put it all together into a single paragraph to create an initial framework for your professional biography. Note that you can shorten or expand upon this bio according to your unique needs.

Professional bio examples

Now that you know the basics of writing a professional bio, here are some short bio examples to inspire you. You can use these examples as additional templates for guidance as you craft your own personal biography.

Like the creators of these examples, you can place your bio on your personal or professional website and, later, revise the structure for other online platforms.

01. Bristol Guitar Making School

Of all the professional bio examples, Alex Bishop’s content exudes passion. Strategically placing the bio on the About page of his small business website , he highlights his skills and explains why he finds his work meaningful. In particular, we love his description of why he chose to pursue guitar making:

“​My passion as a guitar maker comes from a life-long obsession with making things. From a young age I have always tried to manipulate objects and materials in order to create something entirely different. I find that working with wood is a way for me to connect with nature. The simple act of shaping wood to make something functional or beautiful brings me endless satisfaction.”

He also lists his accomplishments and awards, adding credibility to his business and building trust among prospective clients.

02. Alexandra Zsigmond

As someone who has served as art director for both The New York Times' opinion section and The New Yorker , it's no surprise that Alexandra Zsigmond's bio is thorough and detailed. Providing statistics or reflections on the things she achieved in her career is a clever way to demonstrate her value without saying so directly. As she explains:

"She has collaborated with a roster of over 1000 artists worldwide and art directed over 4000 editorial illustrations. She is known for greatly expanding the range of visual contributors to the Times, drawing equally from the worlds of contemporary illustration, fine art, animation, and comics."

03. Amanda Shields Interiors

Amanda Shields provides us with another effective bio example on her interior design website. Importantly, she spices up her bio by explaining how home decor aligns with her personal life and why it’s so close to her heart as a mother and entrepreneur:

"After working as a product designer for numerous retailers over the years, and after I had my first child, I decided to take the plunge and start my own home staging business…. Coincidentally, a month later I discovered I was pregnant with my second child. I loved the new challenges I faced as a new entrepreneur and mom and it didn't take long for me to discover that this was my calling…. I felt the need to expand my business and launch Amanda Shields Interiors as its own entity to focus specifically on residential interiors and design."

By placing this content on her website’s About page, she provides potential clients with insights into her expertise and professional experience. She expands upon the choices she made along her career path, strategically making note of her achievements and acquired skills along the way.

Tips for writing a bio

As you write your bio using the professional template above, make sure to keep the following tips in mind:

Keep it concise: Your bio should be sufficiently explanatory, but it should also be short and to the point. A good rule of thumb is to keep each element of your bio - from your job description to your mission statement and hobbies - to about 1-2 sentences. That way, you’ll end up with a brief paragraph that holds your readers’ attention without rambling on.

Consider your audience: The voice and tone you choose for your biography largely depends on your audience and personal goals. If you’re looking for a job and are writing primarily for recruiters, you’ll want to use a serious, professional tone. On the other hand, if you’re creating an Instagram bio , consider using more casual, conversational language that reflects your personality.

Add humor: Relatedly, consider adding humor when appropriate. This is especially valuable if you’ve founded your own business or created your own website , as it can give you a distinct brand identity while helping your audience build a stronger sense of connection with your brand.

Link to your website: When writing a bio for a platform other than your own website - a social media page, another company page, or a guest blog or publication - remember to include a link to your website. This will help you promote your website while highlighting your professionalism and authority.

Adapt for different platforms: You’ll most likely need to adapt the length and writing style of your biography to suit different platforms. For example, you may place a longer bio on your website’s About page and a shorter one on your LinkedIn page. In these cases, use the same main principles for writing a bio while scaling down the most important elements.

By following these tips, you can create a powerful bio that helps you stand out in your field and allows your audience to get to know you better.

How to write a bio in four sentences or less

Really need to create a super short bio? We'd suggest following some of the tips above, just condensing them into less word for a short bio that still makes impact.

But if we really had to choose we'd say focus on - you, your professional role and company. That condenses everything that matters for bio into three sentences. Humor, creativity and uniqueness still all matter - just use fewer words to convey them.

Creating a bio for your website

As we’ve noted in the examples above, one of the most strategic places to put your bio is on your website - so be sure to consider it within your web design plans. Whether the goal of your site is to start and promote your business , showcase your design portfolio or display your resume, including a bio gives your audience a glimpse into the person behind your content. It can also kickstart your professional growth . Show the world what you do, how you do it and why it matters, and people will be drawn to your passion and inspired by your experience.

Pro tip: You can add a bio to many different types of websites, so using templates can help you create yours faster. For example, if you're creating a portfolio website , explore portfolio website templates to help you get started.

Creating a bio for social media

Crafting a professional bio for social media is vital as it introduces you or your brand, and it builds credibility and trust. A well-written bio establishes your expertise, attracts the right audience, and fosters engagement. It helps maintain a consistent brand image, optimizes search and discovery, and opens doors to networking and career opportunities. A compelling bio delivers a concise, informative snapshot of who you are, what you do, and the value you bring, leaving a lasting impression on visitors and potential collaborators alike.

You may need to edit your bio depending on which social media platform you plan to use it on. Some of the most popular ones include Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. Focus on getting your bio right on the platforms you plan to focus your personal or brand social media marketing efforts on.

Writing a bio with AI

If you're looking to write your bio fast while creating your website, consider using an AI text generator to build your draft. You'll still need to make sure it goes through. an intensive editing process, so that it really captures the essence of who you are and your professional skills. A bio is about much more than just basic information, so don't forget to include the storytelling too. Build a website with Wix and you can make use of the in-built AI text generator within its Editor .

Why good bios are important for a professional

In a world where first impressions matter, a well-crafted bio can make a significant impact in establishing trust and credibility with potential clients, employers or collaborators. It also offers insight into your personality and values, helping to forge authentic connections with your audience. It acts as a powerful tool for personal branding, allowing you to differentiate yourself in a competitive landscape and leave a memorable impression.

A strong bio also serves as a gateway to opportunities, whether it's securing new clients, landing job interviews or establishing partnerships. It acts as a professional introduction, allowing you to showcase your expertise. A polished and impactful bio is essential for you to effectively communicate your professional identity and stand out in your field.

Writing a bio without experience

Writing a bio when you don't yet have experience can be challenging, but it's an opportunity to showcase your potential and aspirations.

Begin by highlighting your educational background, skills and any relevant coursework or projects you've completed. Focus on your passions, interests and personal qualities that make you unique. Consider including volunteer work, internships or extracurricular activities that demonstrate your commitment and initiative. Emphasize your eagerness to learn and grow in your chosen field and express your future goals and aspirations. Don't be afraid to be honest about your current stage and your willingness to gain experience and develop professionally.

If you don't know what to write in your bio, start by brainstorming your key experiences, achievements, skills and personal attributes. Consider what sets you apart and what you want others to know about you. Look for inspiration from other bios or profiles in your field, and consider seeking feedback from friends, mentors or colleagues. Don't hesitate to highlight your passions, interests and goals, as well as any unique experiences or perspectives you bring to the table. Remember to keep it concise and engaging, and don't be afraid to revise and refine your bio until it accurately represents you.

How to write a bio FAQ

What is a short bio.

A short bio, short for biography, is a concise summary of a your life or professional background. It provides a brief overview of your key achievements, qualifications, experiences, and relevant details. Typically written in the third person, a short bio is often used in various contexts, such as professional profiles, social media accounts, introductions for speaking engagements, author descriptions, and other situations where a brief introduction is required. The length of a short bio can vary, but it's generally kept to a few sentences or a short paragraph to provide a snapshot of the person's background and expertise.

How do I write a bio about myself?

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27 of the Best Professional Bio Examples I've Ever Seen [+ Templates]

Published: December 20, 2023

As a writer, I have to let readers and potential clients know my expertise, my skills, and why they should work with me or be interested in what I say. So, a professional bio is a must in my industry.

Though I'm definitely familiar with professional bios, I can admit they can be challenging. What do I include? What do readers need to know?

As daunting as writing a professional bio can be, professional bios are crucial when applying for jobs, seeking new clients, or networking. A professional bio also gives the world a brief snapshot of you and your professional ideals.

If you‘re at a loss for how to write a professional bio that packs a punch, I’ve got you covered. In this journey, tools like HubSpot’s user-friendly drag-and-drop website builder can be instrumental in showcasing your professional bio online with ease and style.

I will walk you through how to write a professional bio that you can proudly publish, provide professional bio templates, and show you the best professional bio examples you can get inspiration from.

What is a professional bio?

Professional bio templates, how to write a professional bio, best professional bio examples, how to write a short bio.

80+ Professional Bio Templates & Examples

Create a compelling professional narrative for a proper, attention-grabbing introduction.

• LinkedIn Summaries
• Speaker Intros
• Website Bios
• Professional Profile

You're all set!

Click this link to access this resource at any time.

Tell us a little about yourself below to gain access today:

A professional bio or biography is a short overview of your experience. Professional bios usually include details about education, employment, achievements, and relevant skills.

Purpose of Professional Bios

A bio tells an audience about who you are, what you've done, and what you can do. It can help potential employers, fans, or customers understand your personality and what you stand for.

Writing a bio without a clear starting point is challenging — believe me, I've tried. To ease the process, here are some templates I put together to get you started.

I‘ve found it’s best to keep your professional bio honest and to the point. Too long of a bio, and you risk losing your audience's attention. After all, audiences will only read a web page for less than a minute before clicking elsewhere.

And honesty is key because most consumers and clients won‘t invest in someone or something if it doesn’t seem trustworthy. In fact, 67% of consumers say they must trust a brand before investing in its products or services.

"Plus," she adds, "I'm always happy to talk about my cats at any given moment. You never know when a fellow cat mom could be reading."

Values and Work Approach

Your values can sometimes show your work ethic more effectively than your career path. It can also help you endear yourself to employers and colleagues who want to work with people with similar values.

So don‘t be shy: Share how you incorporate your values into your work. Whether it’s a commitment to innovation, customer satisfaction, or ethical decision-making, explain what drives you and be enthusiastic about it.

Your Personality

Remember: Your bio should always include a taste of your personality! Your sense of humor, creativity, or collaborative nature could all give readers a sense of who you are. This helps readers connect with you on a more personal level.

Remember to tailor your bio for different platforms and audiences. Also, keep it concise and impactful while highlighting the most relevant information in each context.

First-Person Bio vs. Third-Person Bio

While first-person bios are common, third-person bios can be more effective in formal situations.

Your decision to write your professional bio in the first or third person depends on your desire to leave a more personable or assertive impression.

Both approaches work, provided you tailor them to your goals and audience. What’s important is to be clear and tell your story in a way that connects with your reader.

How to Write a First-Person Bio

Writing in the first person can be a great way to connect with your audience when building a personal brand. When you write a first-person bio, use "I" or "me" to make yourself relatable and approachable.

Here's one way I’d write a first-person bio:

"I'm a freelance writer specializing in small business content. I've worked with companies in a variety of industries like home care to fine leather goods."

Speaking in the first person here connects you with a client or brand based on your experience and opinions. Put another way, writing a first-person bio is like telling your story to your audience.

Here are a few tips to make your first-person bio great:

Don’t start every sentence with "I."

Showing instead of telling is a great approach.

Let’s say you’re a writer who wants to create a short professional bio. Instead of saying, "I love to write," you can say, "Writer. Bad but enthusiastic dancer."

This portrays your writing skill, shows your personality outside of writing as a dancer, and includes a little sense of humor, which is essential for a writer.

Remember, you know yourself better than anyone.

Adding a back story to your bio helps create context for the roles and successes you write about. Think of it like a case study about who you were, what you are now, and the process that got you to your current position.

Focus on valuable details.

Quick facts about you can showcase your identity and values. For example, if you're writing a bio for LinkedIn, think about how to tie your hobby into what you do.

Let's say Animal Crossing is your hobby. Does it align with your career aspirations? It can be a great addition to your bio if you want to pursue a video game career.

However, if your interests lie elsewhere, including a more relevant hobby is better.

How to Write a Third-Person Bio

Third-person bios sound more authoritative and objective. So, if you’re job searching in a formal industry, applying for grants, or trying to get published, you may want to stick to the third person.

For instance, when you write a third-person bio, you may start with:

"Jasmine Montgomery is a Senior Hiring Manager at L’Oreal based in New York. She recruits across several business units to connect with the brightest talent from around the globe."

By only using your name and pronouns to speak about yourself here, you are letting your title and skill set speak for themselves.

These bios create distance between the subject of the bio (you) and the reader through a third person. This person could be anyone, but they usually speak in a tone emphasizing their expertise.

This makes third-person bios feel aloof or overly formal sometimes.

Ideally, your third-person bio should sound friendly but polished, like a message from a close colleague at work. Here are a few tips on how to write a great third-person bio.

Write from the perspective of someone you know and trust.

It can be challenging to write about yourself, so try to see yourself from the perspective of your favorite person at work or a mentor you trust. This can help you write from a position of authority without feeling self-conscious.

Show the reader why they should trust your opinion.

A professional bio often reflects a specific industry or niche. With this in mind, your text should include relevant details that professionals in your industry know. Avoid jargon whenever you can.

Remember, you're telling a story.

If you want a third-person bio, but you're used to writing in first-person, it may help to write it the most comfortable way for you.

Your professional bio is an essential piece of writing, so edit it carefully. Edit your writing from both points of view and see which works best for your target audience.

Here's how to write a professional bio, step by step.

• Create an 'About' page for your website or profile.
• Begin writing your bio with your first and last name.
• Mention any associated brand name you might use.
• State your current position and what you do.
• Include at least one professional accomplishment.
• Describe your values and how they inform your career.
• Briefly tell your readers who you are outside of work.
• Use humor or a personal story to add flavor to your professional bio.

If you’re anything like me, you probably don't think about your professional bio until you’re asked to "send one over via email."

You have one afternoon to come up with it, so you scramble together a bio that ends up reading like this:

"Rodney Erickson is a content marketing professional at HubSpot, a CRM platform that helps companies attract visitors, convert leads, and close customers.

Previously, Rodney worked as a marketing manager for a tech software startup. He graduated with honors from Columbia University with a dual degree in Business Administration and Creative Writing."

To be fair, in certain contexts, your professional bio needs to be more formal, like Mr. Erickson's up there. But there are also cases where writing a personable and conversational bio is good.

Whether you choose the formal or casual route, use the following steps to create a perfect bio.

1. Create an 'About' page for your website or profile.

You need an online space to keep your professional bio. Here are a few to consider (some of these you might already have in place):

• Facebook Business page .
• Industry blog byline .
• Instagram account .
• Personal website .
• LinkedIn profile .
• Industry website .
• Personal blog .

As you'll see in the professional bio examples below, the length and tone of your bio will differ depending on the platforms you use.

Instagram, for example, allows only 150 characters of bio space, whereas you can write as much as you want on your website or Facebook Business page.

2. Begin writing your bio with your first and last name.

If your readers remember nothing else about your bio, they should remember your name. Therefore, it's a good idea for your first and last name to be the first two words of your professional bio.

Even if your name is printed above this bio (hint: it should), this is a rare moment where it's okay to be redundant.

For example, if I were writing my bio, I might start it like this:

Lindsay Kolowich

Lindsay Kolowich is a Senior Marketing Manager at HubSpot.

3. Mention any associated brand name you might use.

Will your professional bio represent you or a business you work for? Ensure you mention the brand you associate with in your bio. If you're a freelancer, you may have a personal business name or pseudonym you advertise to your clients.

Here are a few examples:

• Lindsay Kolowich Marketing.
• SEO Lindsay.
• Kolowich Consulting.
• Content by Kolowich (what do you think ... too cheesy?).

Maybe you founded your own company and want its name to be separate from your real name. Keep it simple like this: "Lindsay Kolowich is the founder and CEO of Kolowich Consulting."

4. State your current position and what you do.

Whether you're the author of a novel or a mid-level specialist, use the following few lines of your bio to describe what you do in that position. Refrain from assuming your audience knows what your job title entails.

Make your primary responsibilities known so readers can know you and understand what you offer to your industry.

5. Include at least one professional accomplishment.

Just as a business touts its client successes through case studies, your professional bio should let your audience know what you've achieved.

What have you done for yourself — as well as for others — that makes you a valuable player in your industry?

6. Describe your values and how they inform your career.

Why do you do what you do? What might make your contribution to the market different from your colleagues? What are the values that make your business a worthwhile investment to others?

Create a professional bio that answers these questions.

7. Briefly tell your readers who you are outside of work.

Transition from describing your values in work to defining who you are outside of work. This may include:

• Your family.
• Your hometown.
• Sports you play.
• Hobbies and interests.
• Favorite music and travel destinations.
• Side hustles you're working on.

People like connecting with other people. The more transparent you are about who you are personally, the more likable you'll be to people reading about you.

8. Use humor or a personal story to add flavor to your professional bio.

End your professional bio on a good or, more specifically, a funny note. By leaving your audience with something quirky or unique, you can ensure they'll leave your website with a pleasant impression of you.

Following the steps above when writing your bio is important, but take your time with one section. People consume lots of information daily. So ensure your bio hooks 'em in the first line, and you won’t lose them.

(P.S. Want to boost your professional brand? Take one of HubSpot Academy's free certification courses . In just one weekend, you can add a line to your resume and bio that over 60,000 marketers covet.)

Why Good Bios Are Important for a Professional

You may think, "How many people read professional bios, anyway?"

The answer: A lot. Though there's no way to tell who is reading it, you want it catchy. Your professional bio will delight the right people coming across it on multiple platforms.

Professional bios can live on your LinkedIn profile , company website, guest posts, speaker profiles, Twitter bio , Instagram bio , and many other places.

And most importantly, it‘s the tool you can leverage most when you’re networking.

Bottom line? People will read your professional bio. Whether they remember it or it makes them care about you is a matter of how well you present yourself to your intended audience.

So, what does a top-notch professional bio look like? Let‘s review a few sample bios for professionals like you and me. Then, we’ll cover bio examples from some of the best people in the industry.

Short Sample Bios

Your bio doesn't have to be complicated. Here are five samples to glean inspiration from.

Example 1: Friendly Sample Bio

"Hey! My name is Ryan, and I'm a marketing specialist passionate about digital advertising. I have five years of experience managing various online campaigns and improving brand visibility for clients across multiple verticals. I love analyzing consumer behavior and leveraging data-driven strategies to maximize ROI. Outside work, I enjoy traveling, taking funny photos, and exploring new hiking trails."

Example 2: Mid-Career Sample Bio

"Jennifer Patel is a versatile graphic designer known for her creative approach and attention to detail. With a background in visual arts and eight years of experience, Jennifer has worked on diverse projects ranging from logo designs to website layouts. Her ability to understand and translate client needs into visually striking designs sets her apart. Jennifer finds inspiration in nature, music, and pop culture."

Example 3: Sales Sample Bio

"I'm a seasoned sales executive with a track record of exceeding targets and building strong client relationships. With a background in B2B sales, I've built a natural ability to understand customer needs and consistently exceed quota every month. I pride myself in my communication skills and strategic approaches, which have helped me thrive in highly competitive markets such as SaaS sales. Outside work, I enjoy playing basketball and volunteering at local charities."

Example 4: HR Sample Bio

"I am a dedicated human resources professional with a passion for fostering a positive workplace culture and facilitating employee development. With eight years of experience in talent acquisition and HR operations, I've played a key role in building high-performing teams. I'm known for my strong interpersonal skills and ability to create inclusive and supportive work environments. In my free time, I enjoy practicing yoga and exploring new culinary experiences."

Example 5: Software Engineer Sample Bio

"David Chang is a senior software engineer specializing in backend development. With a strong background in computer science and six years of experience, David has successfully built scalable and efficient solutions for complex technical challenges. He is well-versed in various programming languages and frameworks like C++, Java, and Ruby on Rails. In his spare time, David enjoys reading science fiction novels and playing the guitar."

Below, we've curated some of the best professional bio examples we've ever seen on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and the various places you might describe yourself.

Check 'em out and use them as inspiration when crafting your own.

• Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: Author
• Chima Mmeje: SEO Content Writer
• DJ Nexus: DJ
• Lena Axelsson: Marriage & Family Therapist
• Mark Levy: Branding Firm Founder
• Audra Simpson: Political Anthropologist
• Marie Mikhail: Professional Recruiter
• Wonbo Woo: Executive Producer
• Chris Burkard: Freelance Photographer
• Lisa Quine: Creative Consultant
• Nancy Twine: Hair Care Founder
• Trinity Mouzon: Wellness Brand Founder
• Alberto Perez: Co-Founder of Zumba Fitness
• Ann Handley: Writer and Marketer

1. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie : Author

Bio platform: personal website.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie begins her professional bio with an invitation to her roots.

In a few paragraphs, she describes when and where she was born, her family, her education, her honorary degrees, and the depth of her work, which has been translated into 30 languages and several publications.

She can keep readers engaged by leading with a powerful hook that aligns with her target audience’s marketing needs.

• There’s clarity about who Chima serves.
• The hook is bold, catchy, and compels anyone to read further.
• Including client results makes clients visualize what they can expect.

3. DJ Nexus : DJ

Bio platform: facebook.

This New England-based DJ has single-handedly captured the Likes of over 2,000 people in and beyond Boston, MA. And even if you don‘t listen to the type of music he produces, it’s hard not to read his compelling Facebook bio.

For instance, consider his tagline, under "About" — " Quiet during the day. QUITE LOUD at night! " DJ Nexus tells you when he works awesomely. I got goosebumps just imagining a dance club where he might play music.

The second is the "long version," which is even more interesting than the first. Why? It reads like a story — a compelling one, at that. In fact, it gets hilarious in some parts.

The second sentence of the bio reads: "He was frightened of public school, loved playing baseball and football, ran home to watch ape films on the 4:30 Movie, listened to The Jam and The Buzzcocks, and read magic trick books."

Here's another excerpt from the middle:

It's a well-put value proposition that sets her apart from the rest of the HR industry.

Marie concludes her bio with a smooth mix of professional skills, like her Spanish fluency, and personal interests, such as podcasting and Star Wars (she mentions the latter with just the right amount of humor).

• Straight off the bat, Marie uses a story to share her experiences of how she began as a recruiter.
• It provides a subtle pitch for readers to check out her podcast.
• The bio exudes Maries approachable, fun, and playful personality.

8. Wonbo Woo : Executive Producer

Wonbo Woo is the executive producer of WIRED's video content and has several impressive credits to his name. What does this mean for his professional bio? He has to prioritize.

With this in mind, Wonbo opens his bio with the most eye-catching details first (if the image below is hard to read, click it to see the full copy ).

I wouldn‘t necessarily be inclined to follow Chris if his bio had simply read, "I post beautiful images." But images that inspire me to travel? Now that’s something I can get behind.

Last, he ends on a humble, sweet note: "He is happiest with his wife Breanne raising their two sons." So inject personal information into your bio — it makes you seem approachable.

• It highlights Chris’s achievement without bragging.
• The last sentence portrays Chris as a responsible man who loves his family.
• The well-written bio speaks to nature lovers who like the outdoors, surfing, and more. This gives them reasons to follow Chris.

10. Lisa Quine : Creative Consultant

Bio platform: portfolio website.

Creative professionals who specialize in visual art may find it challenging to balance the writing of their bio and displaying of their portfolio. Not Lisa Quine. Lisa has an exceptional balance of her professional bio and creative work.

Throughout her bio, you'll notice the number of murals she's completed and a brief timeline of her career. This helps her paint the picture of who she is as a professional.

The rest of her bio similarly focuses on Twine's strengths as someone who’s able to take hair care "back to basics."

Mouzon effectively grips the reader's attention with this introduction and then dives into some of her impressive accomplishments — including a brand now sold at Urban Outfitters and Target.

The language used throughout Mouzon's bio is authentic, real, and honest.

For instance, in the second paragraph, she admits:

"While building a brand may have looked effortless from the outside, starting a business at age 23 with no resources or funding quickly forced me to realize that early-stage entrepreneurship was anything but transparent."

As an avid Zumba fan, I was excited to include this one. Perez styles his LinkedIn bio as a short story, starting with his background as a hard-working teen who held three jobs by age 14.

His bio tells the fun and fascinating origin story of Zumba, in which Perez, an aerobics teacher in Florida at the time, forgot his music for class and used a Latin music cassette tape instead ... "And it was an instant hit!"

His bio continues:

"Shortly after he was connected to Alberto Periman and Alberto Aghion, and Zumba was officially created ... What started as a dream now has 15 million people in more than 200,000 locations in 186 countries who take Zumba classes every week."

There's something in there for everyone.

• The last section of the bio shows Ann’s warm personality — "Ann lives in Boston, where she is Mom to creatures two- and four-legged."
• Written in the third person, this bio has lots of proof (like followers), which shows Ann is a terrific marketing leader.

If you're posting a bio on a social media account or sending a quick blurb to a client, you want to keep it short and sweet while showcasing your accomplishments.

To get started, use these best practices for writing your short professional bio:

• Introduce yourself.
• State what you do.
• Add key skills or areas of expertise.
• Include a personal mission statement
• Celebrate your wins.
• Provide your contact information.
• Show them your personality.

1. Introduce yourself.

Your introduction is your first impression, so always begin by telling people who you are. You may start with a greeting like, "Hello, my name is" or "Hi! Let me first introduce myself …" when sending your bio as a message.

If you’re writing a bio for an online platform, stating your name at the beginning works as well.

Leading with your name — even as a question — is important for recognition and building relationships.

2. State what you do.

Give people an idea of what you do daily and where you work. Your job title is how the people put you into context and consider whether your profession relates to their industry.

So detail your most relevant work in your short bios, like CEO, professor, and author.

Take a cue from Angela Duckworth , who specifies what she does in her LinkedIn bio:

3. Add key skills or areas of expertise.

If you send a bio to a client or potential employer, highlight your most valuable skills. For instance, if your expertise is in social media marketing and content creation, like Ivanka Dekoning , list these skills.

• A joke. "Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once. At least that’s what I learned when I created…"
• Mention a hobby. "I’ll be honest: for me, tennis is life — Go Nadal!"
• A fun fact. "Every year, I watch 100 new films! I’m a cinephile and love every movie genre."
• A few emojis related to your interests. "🎶🤖🎾🎬🎭"

Whichever way you choose to get personal, give people a glimpse into who you are as an individual.

When writing a short bio, it can be tempting to pack in as much relevant information about yourself as possible — but this isn’t the most effective approach.

Instead, focus on including the details that you and your audience care about most and leave out the fluff.

Let's dive into a few examples of short professional bios.

Short Professional Bio Examples

• Tristen Taylor: Marketing Manager
• Lianna Patch: Copywriter
• Precious Oboidhe: Content Strategist and Writer
• Rebecca Bollwitt: Writer
• Megan Gilmore: Cookbook Author
• Bea Dixon: Feminine Care Founder
• Tammy Hembrow: Instagram Influencer
• Dr. Cody: Chiropractor
• Larry Kim: Founder
• Dharmesh Shah: Founder and CTO
• Lily Ugbaja: Content Strategist
• Ian Anderson Gray: Marketer
• Van Jones: Political Commentator, Author, and Lawyer

1. Tristen Taylor: Marketing Manager

Bio platform: blog byline.

Tristen Taylor is a Marketing Manager here at HubSpot. She's written content for HubSpot's Marketing, Sales, and Customer Service blogs; her blog author bio is one of my favorites.

What I love most about Tristen's bio is that it’s a great example of how to deliver information about yourself that is relevant to your work while also sharing fun details that audiences will find relatable.

Her bio reads:

"Building from her experience with GoCo.io and Southwest Airlines, Tristen's work has been recognized by Marketing Brew and BLACK@INBOUND. She lives in Washington, DC, attending anime conventions and painting in her free time."

Gilmore further includes a CTA link within her Instagram bio that leads followers to free, ready-to-use recipes. You might think, " Why would she do that since it discourages people from buying her book?"

But that couldn't be further from the truth.

By giving her followers the chance to try out her recipes, she's slowly turning leads into customers. After I tried a few of her Instagram recipes and loved them, I bought her book, knowing I'd like more of what she offered.

• The bio is short and direct.
• The CTA link includes an invitation for people to join her newsletter. Meaning, she can build her email list.

6. Bea Dixon : Feminine Care Founder

Bea Dixon, Founder and CEO of The Honey Pot Company, efficiently uses the space on her Instagram profile to highlight who she is as a well-rounded human — not just a businesswoman.

For instance, while she highlights her girl boss attitude with a tiara emoji, she equally calls attention to her fashion interests (Free People), her pets, Boss and Sadie, and her love for ramen noodles.

What more do you need to know?

Ian doesn't take his bio too seriously but uses every character to highlight everything about him.

He includes his skills as a marketer and podcast host, who he is outside work as a dad, and what he can help you do. His smiles also give the bio a sense of humor and realness.

Don't forget to share this post!

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The Birth of a Mother

By Alexandra Sacks, M.D.

• May 8, 2017

For most women, pregnancy and new motherhood is a joy — at least some of the time. But most mothers also experience worry, disappointment, guilt, competition, frustration, and even anger and fear.

As the psychiatrist Daniel Stern explained in the 1990s in his books “The Motherhood Constellation” and “The Birth of a Mother,” giving birth to a new identity can be as demanding as giving birth to a baby.

Dr. Stern showed that becoming a mother is an identity shift, and one of the most significant physical and psychological changes a woman will ever experience.

[The topics parents are talking about. Sign up now to get NYT Parenting in your inbox every week.]

The process of becoming a mother, which anthropologists call “matrescence,” has been largely unexplored in the medical community. Instead of focusing on the woman’s identity transition, more research is focused on how the baby turns out. But a woman’s story, in addition to how her psychology impacts her parenting, is important to examine, too. Of course, this transition is also significant for fathers and partners, but women who go through the hormonal changes of pregnancy may have a specific neurobiological experience.

When people have more insight into their emotions, they can be more in control of their behaviors. So even when the focus remains on the child, understanding the psychology of pregnant and postpartum women can help promote healthier parenting. Mothers with greater awareness of their own psychology may be more empathetic to their children’s emotions.

Knowing the challenges of matrescence will normalize and validate how new mothers may be feeling. These are the four key things to look out for:

Changing Family Dynamics: Having a baby is an act of creation. Pregnancy is more than creating a new human, it’s also creating a new family. A baby is the catalyst that will open new possibilities for more intimate connections as well as new stresses in a woman’s closest relationships with her partner, siblings and friends.

In her 2012 book “The Maternal Lineage,” Paola Mariotti, a psychoanalyst and fellow of the British Psychoanalytical Society, says that a woman’s maternal identity is founded in her mother’s style, which in turn was influenced by how she was raised.

Whether a woman parents her child as her mother raised her, or adopts a different style, becoming a mother provides an opportunity for a do-over. In a way, a woman gets to re-experience her own childhood in the act of parenting, repeating what was good, and trying to improve what was not. If a woman had a difficult relationship with her mother, she may try to be the mother she wishes she’d had.

Ambivalence: The British psychotherapist Rozsika Parker wrote in “Torn in Two: The Experience of Maternal Ambivalence” about the pull and push of wanting a child close, and also craving space (physically and emotionally) as the normal wave of motherhood. Ambivalence is a feeling that comes up in the roles and relationships a person is most invested in, because they’re always a juggling act between giving and taking. Motherhood is no exception. Part of why people have a hard time dealing with ambivalence is that it’s uncomfortable to feel two opposing things at the same time.

Most of the time, the experience of motherhood is not good or bad, it’s both good and bad. It’s important to learn how to tolerate, and even get comfortable with the discomfort of ambivalence.

Fantasy vs. Reality : The psychoanalyst Joan Raphael-Leff, the head of the University College London Anna Freud Centre academic faculty for psychoanalytic research, explains that by the time the baby arrives, a woman has already developed feelings about her fantasy baby. As a pregnancy progresses, a woman creates a story about her make-believe child and becomes emotionally invested in that story.

A woman’s fantasies of pregnancy and motherhood are informed by her observations of the experiences of her own mother and other female relatives and friends and her community and culture. They may be powerful enough that reality disappoints if it doesn’t align with her vision.

Guilt, Shame and “The Good Enough Mother”: There’s also the ideal mother in a woman’s mind. She’s always cheerful and happy, and always puts her child’s needs first. She has few needs of her own. She doesn’t make decisions that she regrets. Most women compare themselves to that mother, but they never measure up because she’s a fantasy. Some women think that “good enough” (a phrase coined by the pediatrician and psychoanalyst Donald Winnicott) is not acceptable, because it sounds like settling. But striving for perfection sets women up to feel shame and guilt.

Mothers will feel guilty because they’re always making challenging and sometimes impossible choices. At times they are required to put their own needs over those of their child. Most women don’t talk about feeling ashamed because it’s usually about something that they don’t want anyone else to know. Shame is the feeling that there’s something wrong with me. This is often the result of comparing yourself to an unrealistic, unattainable standard.

Too many women are ashamed to speak openly about their complicated experiences for fear of being judged. This type of social isolation may even trigger postpartum depression.

When women find themselves feeling lost somewhere between who they were before motherhood and who they think they should be now, many worry that something is terribly wrong, when in fact this discomfort is absolutely common.

In the April issue of Glamour magazine, the model Chrissy Teigen became the latest in a series of celebrities who announced her struggle with postpartum depression . She joined Adele, Gwyneth Paltrow, Brooke Shields and other prominent women who have used their platforms to call attention to this serious condition.

Postpartum depression is an underdiagnosed and undertreated public health issue that affects 10 to 15 percent of mothers. But many other mothers may still be struggling with the transition to motherhood.

Consider the Instagram image of the pregnant and postpartum supermom: a nurturing, organized, sexy-but-modest multitasker who glows during prenatal yoga and seems unfazed by the challenges of leaking breasts, dirty laundry and sleep training. This woman is a fiction. She’s an unrealistic example of perfection that makes other women feel inadequate when they pursue and can’t achieve that impossible standard.

As the Yale psychiatrist Rosemary H. Balsam showed in an article in February in the Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, the history of psychiatrists ignoring how pregnancy impacts a woman’s development can be traced back to Freud. Women are often left with a false binary: They either have postpartum depression or they should breeze through the transition to motherhood.

Knowing the causes of distress and feeling comfortable talking about them with others is critical to growing into a well-adjusted mother. It will help new mothers and those around them to acknowledge that while postpartum depression is an extreme manifestation of the transition to motherhood, even those who do not experience it are undergoing a significant transformation.

Alexandra Sacks is a psychiatrist and co-author of a forthcoming book about the emotions of pregnancy and the postpartum period.

Pregnancy, Childbirth and Postpartum Experiences

‘A Chance to Live’: Cases of trisomy 18 may rise as many states restrict abortion. Some women have chosen to have these babies , love them tenderly and care for them devotedly.

Teen Pregnancies: A large study in Canada found that women who were pregnant as teenagers were more likely to die before turning 31 .

Weight-Loss Drugs: Doctors say they are seeing more women try weight-loss medications in the hopes of having a healthy pregnancy. But little is known about the impact of those drugs  on a fetus.

Premature Births: After years of steady decline, premature births rose sharply in the United States  between 2014 and 2022. Experts said the shift might be partly the result of a growing prevalence of health complications among mothers .

Depression and Suicide: Women who experience depression during pregnancy or in the year after giving birth have a greater risk of suicide and attempted suicide .

A Long Awaited Breakthrough: Scientists said they had pinpointed the cause of severe morning sickness — a discovery could lead to better treatments for severe nausea and vomiting  during pregnancy.

What Is Biography? Definition, Usage, and Literary Examples

Biography definition.

A  biography  (BYE-og-ruh-fee) is a written account of one person’s life authored by another person. A biography includes all pertinent details from the subject’s life, typically arranged in a chronological order. The word  biography  stems from the Latin  biographia , which succinctly explains the word’s definition:  bios  = “life” +  graphia  = “write.”

Since the advent of the written word, historical writings have offered information about real people, but it wasn’t until the 18th century that biographies evolved into a separate literary genre.  Autobiographies  and memoirs fall under the broader biography genre, but they are distinct literary forms due to one key factor: the subjects themselves write these works. Biographies are popular source materials for documentaries, television shows, and motion pictures.

The History of Biographies

The biography form has its roots in Ancient Rome and Greece. In 44 BCE, Roman writer Cornelius Nepos published  Excellentium Imperatorum Vitae  ( Lives of the Generals ), one of the earliest recorded biographies. In 80 CE, Greek writer Plutarch released  Parallel Lives , a sweeping work consisting of 48 biographies of famous men. In 121 CE, Roman historian Suetonius wrote  De vita Caesarum  ( On the Lives of the Caesars ), a series of 12 biographies detailing the lives of Julius Caesar and the first 11 emperors of the Roman Empire. These were among the most widely read biographies of their time, and at least portions of them have survived intact over the millennia.

During the Middle Ages, the Roman Catholic Church had a notable influence on biographies. Historical, political, and cultural biographies fell out of favor. Biographies of religious figures—including saints, popes, and church founders—replaced them. One notable exception was Italian painter/architect Giorgio Vasari’s 1550 biography,  The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects , which was immensely popular. In fact, it is one of the first examples of a bestselling book.

Still, it wasn’t until the 18th century that authors began to abandon multiple subjects in a single work and instead focus their research and writing on one subject. Scholars consider James Boswell’s 1791  The Life of Samuel Johnson  to be the first modern biography. From here, biographies were established as a distinct literary genre, separate from more general historical writing.

As understanding of psychology and sociology grew in the 19th and early 20th centuries, biographies further evolved, offering up even more comprehensive pictures of their subjects. Authors who played major roles in this contemporary approach to biographing include Lytton Strachey, Gamaliel Bradford, and Robert Graves.

Types of Biographies

While all biographical works chronicle the lives of real people, writers can present the information in several different ways.

• Popular biographies are life histories written for a general readership.  The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks  by Rebecca Skloot and  Into the Wild  by Jon Krakauer are two popular examples.
• Critical biographies discuss the relationship between the subject’s life and the work they produced or were involved in; for example,  The Billionaire Who Wasn’t: How Chuck Feeney Secretly Made and Gave Away a Fortune  by Conor O’Clery and  Unpresidented: A Biography of Donald Trump  by Martha Brockenbrough.
• Historical biographies put greater understanding on how the subject’s life and contributions affected or were affected by the times in which they lived; see  John Adams  by David McCullough and  Catherine the Great  by Peter K. Massie.
• Literary biographies concentrate almost exclusively on writers and artists, blending a conventional  narrative  of the historical facts of the subject’s life with an exploration of how these facts impacted their creative output. Some examples include  Savage Beauty: The Life of Edna St. Vincent Millay  by Nancy Milford and  Jackson Pollock: An American Saga  by Gregory White Smith and Steven Naifeh.
• Reference biographies are more scholarly writings, usually written by multiple authors and covering multiple lives around a single topic. They verify facts, provide background details, and contribute supplemental information resources, like bibliographies, glossaries, and historical documents; for example,  Black Americans in Congress, 1870-2007  and the  Dictionary of Canadian Biography .
• Fictional biographies, or biographical novels, like  The Other Boleyn Girl  by Philippa Gregory, incorporate creative license into the retelling of a real person’s story by taking on the structure and freedoms of a novel. The term can also describe novels in which authors give an abundance of background information on their characters, to the extent that the novel reads more like a biography than fiction. An example of this is George R.R. Martin’s  Fire and Blood , a novel detailing the history of a royal family from his popular  A Song of Ice and Fire

Biographies and Filmed Entertainment

Movie makers and television creators frequently produce biographical stories, either as dramatized productions based on real people or as nonfiction accounts.

Documentary

This genre is a nonfictional movie or television show that uses historical records to tell the story of a subject. The subject might be a one person or a group of people, or it might be a certain topic or theme. To present a biography in a visually compelling way, documentaries utilize archival footage, recreations, and interviews with subjects, scholars, experts, and others associated with the subject.

Famous film documentaries include  Grey Gardens,  a biography of two of Jacqueline Kennedy’s once-wealthy cousins, who, at the time of filming, lived in squalor in a condemned mansion in the Hamptons; and  I Am Not Your Negro , a biography of the life and legacy of pioneering American author James Baldwin.

Television documentary series tell one story over the course of several episodes, like  The Jinx :  The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst , a biography of the real estate heir and alleged serial killer that focused on his suspected crimes. There are many nonfiction television shows that use a documentary format, but subjects typically change from one episode to the next, such as A&E’s  Biography  and PBS’s  POV .

These films are biographical motion pictures, written by screenwriters and performed by actors. They often employ a certain amount of creative liberty in their interpretation of a real life. This is largely done to maintain a feasible runtime; capturing all of the pivotal moments of a subject’s life in a 90- or 120-minute movie is all but impossible. So, filmmakers might choose to add, eliminate, or combine key events and characters, or they may focus primarily on one or only a few aspects of the subject’s life. Some popular examples:  Coal Miner’s Daughter , a biography of country music legend Loretta Lynn;  Malcom X , a biopic centered on the civil rights leader of the same name; and  The King’s Speech , a dramatization of Prince Albert’s efforts to overcome a stutter and ascend the English throne.

Semi-fictionalized account

This approach takes a real-life event and interprets or expands it in ways that stray beyond what actually happened. This is done for entertainment and to build the story so it fits the filmmaker’s vision or evolves into a longer form, such as a multi-season television show. These accounts sometimes come with the disclaimer that they are “inspired by true events.” Examples of semi-fictionalized accounts are the TV series  Orange Is the New Black ,  Masters of Sex , and  Mozart of the Jungle —each of which stem from at least one biographical element, but showrunners expounded upon to provide many seasons of entertainment.

The Functions of Biography

Biographies inform readers about the life of a notable person. They are a way to introduce readers to the work’s subject—the historical details, the subject’s motivations and psychological underpinnings, and their environment and the impact they had, both in the short and long term.

Because the author is somewhat removed from their subject, they can offer a more omniscient, third-person narrative account. This vantage point allows the author to put certain events into a larger context; compare and contrast events, people, and behaviors predominant in the subject’s life; and delve into psychological and sociological themes of which the subject may not have been aware.

Also, a writer structures a biography to make the life of the subject interesting and readable. Most biographers want to entertain as well as inform, so they typically use a traditional  plot  structure—an introduction,  conflict , rising of tension, a climax, a resolution, and an ending—to give the life story a narrative shape. While the ebb and flow of life is a normal day-to-day rhythm, it doesn’t necessarily make for entertaining reading. The job of the writer, then, becomes one of shaping the life to fit the elements of a good plot.

Writers Known for Biographies

Many modern writers have dedicated much of their careers to biographies, such as:

• Kitty Kelley, author of  Jackie Oh! An Intimate Biography; His Way: The Unauthorized Biography of Frank Sinatra ; and  The Family: The Real Story of the Bush Dynasty
• Antonia Fraser, author of  Mary Queen of Scots ;  Cromwell; Our Chief of Men ; and  The Gunpowder Plot: Terror and Faith in 1605
• David McCullough, author of  The Path Between the Seas; Truman ; and  John Adams
• Andrew Morton, author of  Diana: Her True Story in Her Own Words; Madonna ; and  Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography
• Alison Weir, author of  The Six Wives of Henry VIII; Eleanor of Aquitaine: By the Wrath of God; Queen of England ; and  Katherine Swynford: The Story of John of Gaunt and His Scandalous Duchess

Examples of Biographies

1. James Boswell,  The Life of Samuel Johnson

The biography that ushered in the modern era of true-life writing,  The Life of Samuel Johnson  covered the entirety of its subject’s life, from his birth to his status as England’s preeminent writer to his death. Boswell was a personal acquaintance of Johnson, so he was able to draw on voluminous amounts of personal conversations the two shared.

What also sets this biography apart is, because Boswell was a contemporary of Johnson, readers see Johnson in the context of his own time. He wasn’t some fabled figure that a biographer was writing about centuries later; he was someone to whom the author had access, and Boswell could see the real-world influence his subject had on life in the here and now.

2. Sylvia Nasar,  A Beautiful Mind

Nasar’s 1998 Pulitzer Prize-nominated biography of mathematician John Nash introduced legions of readers to Nash’s remarkable life and genius. The book opens with Nash’s childhood and follows him through his education, career, personal life, and struggles with schizophrenia. It ends with his acceptance of the 1994 Nobel Prize for Economics. In addition to a Pulitzer nomination,  A Beautiful Mind  won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography, was a  New York Times  bestseller, and provided the basis for the Academy Award-winning 2001 film of the same name.

3. Catherine Clinton,  Harriet Tubman: The Road to Freedom

Clinton’s biography of the abolitionist icon is a large-scale epic that chronicles Tubman’s singular life. It starts at her birth in the 1820s as the slave Araminta Ross, continuing through her journey to freedom; her pivotal role in the Underground Railroad; her Moses-like persona; and her death in 1913.

Because Tubman could not read or write, she left behind no letters, diaries, or other personal papers in her own hand and voice. Clinton reconstructed Tubman’s history entirely through other source material, and historians often cite this work as the quintessential biography of Tubman’s life.

4. Megan Mayhew Bergman,  Almost Famous Women

Almost Famous Women  is not a biography in the strictest sense of the word; it is a fictional interpretation of real-life women. Each short story revolves around a woman from history with close ties to fame, such as movie star Marlene Dietrich, Standard Oil heiress Marion “Joe” Carstairs, aviatrix Beryl Markham, Oscar Wilde’s niece Dolly, and Lord Byron’s daughter Allegra. Mayhew Bergman imagines these colorful women in equally colorful episodes that put them in a new light—a light that perhaps offers them the honor and homage that history denied them.

Further Resources on Biography

Newsweek  compiled their picks for the  75 Best Biographies of All Time .

The Open Education Database has a list of  75 Biographies to Read Before You Die .

Goodreads put together a list of readers’  best biography selections .

If you’re looking to write biographies,  Infoplease  has instructions for writing shorter pieces, while  The Writer   has practical advice for writing manuscript-length bios.

Ranker  collected  a comprehensive list of famous biographers .

Related Terms

• Autobiography
• Short Story

• Funerals & Memorial Services

How to Write a Biography for a Funeral Program + Examples

Updated 05/11/2022

Published 03/10/2021

Belinda McLeod, BA in Secondary Education

Contributing writer

Cake values integrity and transparency. We follow a strict editorial process to provide you with the best content possible. We also may earn commission from purchases made through affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Learn more in our affiliate disclosure .

After a person dies, someone in the family usually writes a biography or obituary about the person. This task sometimes falls to a friend or the funeral director may also help with the writing process. 

You may then submit the biography or obituary to the newspaper through the funeral home. Most newspapers charge families a per-word rate to print the article. You may also write the obituary for the funeral program on the funeral home’s website.

Check out our tips for writing a biography for a funeral. We will also give you short biography examples to help you with your task of telling your loved one’s life story. 

Jump ahead to these sections:

Steps for writing a biography for a funeral, funeral biography samples.

Think of a biography (or obituary) as a news article informing the general public about a death that occurred. Even though you may feel emotional when writing an obituary, this is not typically the outlet for writing about your feelings. 

Even though the biography is an informative article, it is up to you to include the details. You can include pretty much whatever you want, but it’s a good idea to get the family’s general consensus regarding what you will write about in the biography.

The number and types of details may vary, depending on the person and where the biography or obituary will be used. A biography (or obituary) read at a funeral may include more details than one printed in the newspaper or funeral program . 

Step 1: Start with the general facts

You want to identify the deceased first. Use the full name (with the maiden name in parentheses) and the age of the person. If the deceased had an often-used nickname, consider putting it in quotes. 

The more identification factors you use makes it less likely that your loved one gets mistaken for someone else. This is especially important if your loved one had a common name. 

Step 2: Consider including the essential dates in the obituary

Some families choose to include the birth date and death date of the deceased in the obituary. You can present this information in a variety of ways. 

Others avoid giving this detailed information in hopes of limiting the likelihood of fraudulent activity. You may provide partial information, such as “She was born to Bob and Mary Smith in October 1982.”

Step 3: Consider including the cause of death

The family must decide whether or not to include the cause of death. Most people who read the biography will wonder, “What happened?” This question may seem nosy to you, but it is only human nature to be curious about such matters. 

Some families choose to leave this information out of the biography, which is their prerogative. Others may view it as a piece of information that may be helpful to future generations. Some may give partial information, such as “Mary Frankie Jones, 65, passed away after a long illness.”

Step 4: Include information about the early life of the deceased

Most people choose to include the names of the parents of the deceased as well as the city of birth. Again, only include specific information if you feel comfortable; some unscrupulous individuals use this biographical information for nefarious purposes.

You may consider including where the deceased graduated high school and/or college. Include any brief military service during this section of the biography as well.

Step 5: Include other family information

Often, you list a deceased person’s marriages in the article chronologically and list children at the end of the article as “survivors to the deceased.”

For some, it’s easy to write about the deceased’s spouse but makes a difficult task for others. Again, there are no “rules” on who to include, so you and your family must make those determinations.

People agonize over whether to include estranged family members. You may also wonder whether to label stepchildren differently than biological children. Ex-spouses and long-term partners that never marry may pause you as you write the obituary. 

Each situation is different, so most etiquette guides recommend that people do their best to keep their relationships with their living family members intact by not limiting the list of survivors in the obituary. 

Step 6: Write about your loved one’s professional life

A funeral biography is not the same as a resume, but most people give at least some general information about how the deceased earned a living. 

If the deceased worked his entire adult life at one place of business, you would include this detail in the obituary. If he job-hopped but stayed in the same industry, you may include a sentence about his profession.

You may make this section of the biography longer for those with active careers. 

Step 7: Consider including information about community involvement

Many families choose to include their loved one’s involvement in community groups. For example, you may choose to include the deceased’s involvement in a specific church, civic organization, or volunteer group. You may also want to include any offices that the deceased held in any of these organizations as well as any awards earned. 

Step 8: Add any details that made your loved one special

There’s much more to life than work and club memberships. Think about other details you could include in the biography that would help people understand what made your loved one unique. 

Perhaps you want to write about how she was a Star Wars superfan and waited in line each time a new film was released. Maybe your loved one was an avid camper and fisherman and spent each weekend in a tent. 

You may want to write a lengthy exposition about what made your loved one special, which you should do. Use this information to write your loved one’s eulogy or share your writing with close family members. Depending on where you publish it, you may find your writing limited by the amount of space available. 

To get you started in your writing process, read these short, fictional obituary snippets. 

For a parent or grandparent

Douglas Richard Schrute, 82, passed away peacefully in his home on Monday, June 23, 2020. His wife of 53 years was by his side at the time of death.

Douglas was born on December 22, 1938, to Richard and Mary (Sullivan) Schrute in Elmwood, Illinois. He was the fourth son born to the couple. 

After graduating from Elmwood High School, he joined the U.S. Army, serving his country in Korea.

For a child or grandchild

Mary Kate is survived by her parents, Michael and Patricia Carmichael, and one brother, Cole. Other survivors include her maternal grandparents, John and Tawnya Crabtree, and her paternal grandparents, Frank and Louise Carmichael. 

For a partner or spouse

Peter worked in the telecommunications industry all his life. He began his career at Southwestern Bell in 1973 and retired from AT&T in 2018. He worked as a technical salesperson for most of his professional life. 

For an adult without immediate family

Michael will always be remembered by his friends as the “man of 1,000 stories.” He began each conversation by saying, “Stop me if you’ve heard this before,” which no one ever did. He was the life of the party, and laughter followed him wherever he went. 

For someone who died after a long illness

Jack passed away Friday, December 8, after a long battle with lung cancer. 

The family wishes to express appreciation to the Elmwood Hospice organization for helping make his transition to heaven as peaceful as possible.

Take Great Care When Writing the Biography of a Loved One

If you are in charge of making all of the arrangements, you may find yourself overwhelmed by your list of “to-do” items. 

Even though you may find yourself pressed for time, carefully consider the wording of your loved one’s biography or obituary. Take care to be as accurate as possible by double-checking dates, the spelling of names, and other facts. 

Anytime you write something of this level of importance, it is good to have other family members and friends check the piece for accuracy, clarity, and grammar. Have others proofread the funeral program as well and help you pick which modern funeral program to include. 

You only have one chance to write the obituary of your loved one, so take your time as you complete this task. 

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Eulogy for a Mother

To everything there is a season, a time for every matter under heaven; a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to weep, and a time to laugh, a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to keep, and a time to cast away.

-Ecclesiastes

We are gathered here today in the memory of my mother, Martha Aquario, so that together we may acknowledge and share both our joy in the gift that her life was to us, and the pain that her passing brings. In sharing the joy and the pain together today, may we lessen the pain and remember more clearly the joy.

Martha was only 59 when she passed away unexpectedly on Monday, September 4 th in Colorado Springs. It’s hard to say goodbye. We wish that we had more time, and perhaps that during the time we had we had spent more of it together. We wish that so much of her life had not been lost to her illness, that things could have been different for her, and for us. While we know that she is at peace and that her struggles are at an end, there is pain and sadness. But even though she is gone, she has left the legacy of her love and perseverance. The ways she touched our lives will remain, and I ask you to keep those memories alive by sharing them with me and with one another.

One of the most important things in Mom’s life was gardening, and she took great pride in her flowers. Gardeners are special people. It takes patience and perseverance and a love for living things to grow a garden or a beautiful flower. Gardening is tedious and hard work, but there is something that gardeners know and experience that others sometimes do not. There is a beauty and a satisfaction in seeing the result of our labor grow and come to fruition. There is a peacefulness that can come over us as we care for and nurture the flowers and plants in a garden. In nurturing living things and helping to bring beauty and peace to the world, gardeners make a difference in the world and make their lives and the lives of those who see their gardens richer and fuller. I think that for Mom, maybe working in the garden was a way to be the careful nurturing person that she didn’t really get the chance to be.

Here is a poem by Helen Steiner Rice entitled ‘Spring Garden’

So when I looked at those flowers, I was looking at God For they bloomed in His sun and grew in His sod And each lovely flower was a “voice from above” That whispered a message of Kindness and Love For I feel in my heart, and I know you do, too, That God speaks to us all through the kind things we do And when I looked at those flowers I couldn’t help but feel That they brought heaven nearer and made God so real.

Mom is survived by the four of us and her 5 grandchildren, as well as other relatives and friends. This family, and her role as mother and grandmother, was the most important thing to Mom. This is where she drew her strength and left her legacy. Being with her family was what Martha enjoyed most of all. Her life had many obstacles, and she struggled for 20 years with a devastating illness. Yet through it all, her love and caring for her family remained her focus, and in so many, many ways, she was able to show that love to us. This perseverance through adversity is a powerful lesson for us, and I believe it is her legacy. What a wonderful lesson she gave us. Keep your priorities straight. Keep that which is most important in focus. Love and care for your family. Let them know in all the ways you can show them that you love them. Don’t let adversities or setbacks or any of the distractions of the world keep you from this most important aspect of life.

How many people in this world have it so much easier than our mom did. How many never had to face half the trouble she faced, and yet lose sight so easily of what is truly important. Many of us get distracted by insignificant things in life, many of us brood and focus on our little problems, and forget that which is most important.

But through everything Mom went through, she managed to keep her priorities straight. What can be more important than loving and showing your love for your family? How can some of us who are blessed with so much forget to be thankful to God, while somehow Mom kept her faith through all of her trials.

This is a wonderful legacy. This is a wonderful example to follow. Keep focused on what is truly important, not only when your life is easy, but when it is difficult too.

Knowing how much her family meant to her, and also how she loved to garden and grow flowers, I think it was such a special blessing that just before she passed away, Mom was able to spend a wonderful and unusually long time with us gardening at Peg’s house. The plants she nurtured and the love she showed to all of us will live on and be with us even now that she has gone to be with God.

We’ll close today with the 23 rd psalm ‘the Lord is my shepherd’, but before we do, on behalf of myself and rest of the family, I’d like to thank you all for coming here today.

The Twenty-Third Psalm

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Resources for parents to get through the challenges.

What is a Mother? 16 Real-Life Definitions from People of Different Backgrounds

It seems that we all have different opinions on what a mother is. To me, a mother is love. A mother is a person that’s always there for a shoulder to cry one, an ear to listen to, or the one that reads you bedtime stories.

She’s nurturing, loves you unconditionally, and is always there. We all have different definitions of what a mother is, though. Here are some other definitions of what a mother is. 

In this article

Mothers Are Role Models

A mother is a nurturer, a mother is safe, a mother is caring, mothers have unconditional love, a mother loves you more than herself, a mother is selfless, mothers protect, a mother always loves, a mother’s job never ends, a mother teaches you, motherhood is instinctual, motherhood is always with you, a mother is someone children can depend on, every mom has their own experience, being a mom means sacrifice, in conclusion.

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I don’t think it was until I became a mom myself that I was able to truly understand just what being a mother means: sacrifice. You Sacrifice your body, your quality sleep, your time, and your lifestyle in exchange for the most amazing, wonderful, and hardest job in the world. Moms are teachers, protectors, and friends. They are someone you can always turn to when you need help, no matter how much you drive her crazy. Mothers are role models, shoulders to cry on, and the biggest cheerleader for their little humans, and in so many ways, mothers are superheroes.

– Siobhan Alvarez, Mimosas & Motherhood

According to me, a mother is a nurturer, a friend, a guide, a confidant, a counselor, your greatest ally and supporter, sometimes your biggest critic, but always the person that will fight for you the hardest. She is capable of loving and protecting you in spite of your faults.

– William Taylor, VelvetJobs

A Mother is a child’s safe space, their protector. A mother is a child’s biggest advocate and someone that nurtures and supports a child to allow them to become the best person they can be. A mother is full of love for her child and works every day to make sure their child has the knowledge and skills needed to succeed at life. A mother is someone their child can always turn to and confide in and know they will receive love, acceptance, and constructive advice to work through whatever problem they need to get through. In the early years, a mother creates clear boundaries that allow their child to flourish without too much freedom. In the later years, a mother is there for their child with unconditional love and support.

– Heather Hoke, Embracing Chaos with Love

As a survivor of an orphanage, foster care & an abusive blended family with an alcoholic step-mother – I have to say that my ideal mom would be selfless, caring, and full of unconditional love for her offspring. Unfortunately, my bio-mom was NOT very good at those things. BUT- through the course of my life, I was blessed with many “moms” who gave me and my siblings all of those things and MORE – enduring caring. Several of them kept in touch over the years, even though I was not a blood relative. I discovered that a REAL mom – just like a REAL HOME – makes you feel SAFE & LOVED at ALL TIMES.

– Danny Vann, DannyVann.com

I’m extremely close with my mom and so are my siblings. She did all the things that moms are supposed to do, like take care of us when we were sick and feed us when we were hungry. But anyone can do those tasks. What makes her a mom is so much more.    A mother is someone who nurtures a child’s physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual growth, imparting her values for the child to learn and share with others. She does this with unconditional love and (hopefully) patience. A mother tries her best every day.. Her failures are as spectacular as her successes. But she persists.

– Matt Satell, Little Bundle

The instant I became a mom, I truly knew from that moment on what it is like to love someone more than you love yourself and to wish them ever more success, love, happiness, fortitude, and prosperity. Being a mom is seeing your children become a greater part of what you are.

– Vanessa Gordon, East End Taste Magazine  

A mother is someone who gives her a share of the cake when there is not enough for the whole family. A mother is someone who spends sleepless nights to listen to her child’s nightmares or to console her heartbroken daughter. A mother is someone who wakes up in the wee hours of the morning to prepare the food and everything her family might need before they go on with the rest of their day. A mother is someone who is selfless, and who would give pieces of herself, just so her family can be complete.

– Lewis Keegan, SkillScouter

My definition of a mother is someone, who not only gave birth to a child but someone who makes sure to take care of their kid’s physical, emotional and mental needs; someone who will help the child become the best version of themselves, someone who will be a source of protection and comfort should a child needs it and lastly, a mother will always be the first and last ally of their child, no matter what.

– Julie Ann, Adaptable Mama

A mother is someone who wakes up early and goes to bed late so that they can be alone, without tiny hands grasping for attention. A mother is someone who pushes past the exhaustion to rock a baby back to sleep at 1 am…and again at 3 am… and again at 5 am. A mother makes the best silly faces, gives the best hugs, and will always be the first person to call when something big happens in life. A mother is someone who loves, in both the hard and the easy times.

– Betsy Goodman, B Goods Lettering

A mother is a woman willing to play all roles. She puts the needs and wants of her children above her own and works diligently to raise functioning and kind members of society. A mother loves always, hugs tightly, kisses scraped knees, finds creative ways to sneak vegetables into meals, and teaches life skills. A mother’s job never ends.

– Kristy Speciale, A Speciale Life

A mother is not defined by blood. It is a person who loves you unconditionally. Nothing you say or do will ever change the love a mother feels. Mothers love their children on good days, and love and support them on the difficult ones. A mother is your greatest advocate and cheerleader.  She guides and teaches you how to navigate the bumpy road of life so that you step out into the world as a self-sufficient and capable adult. No matter how old you are, a mother will always be there with open arms and an open heart.

– Randi Latzman, Surviving Mom Blog

A mother offers unconditional love, a love that we as children take for granted and as husbands – can’t contend with. When a child is born, so too a mother is born, as raw and screaming as the tiny infant she holds. It is instinctual, motherhood, but filled with potholes of self-doubt and imposing suggestions. I firmly believe that a mother always knows what is best for her child, she needs to just listen to herself and not to be overwhelmed by all else out there.

– Andrew Taylor, Net Lawman

Motherhood is sacrificing your body and falling in love with someone you’ve never met. It’s being willing to have a small part of your heart – living, moving, and breathing outside of your body. It’s the most vulnerable, life-changing, soul alerting thing. Motherhood never leaves you where it finds you. And no matter how good you are at it, it always feels like you’re doing it wrong.

– Janey Strong, Mommy Academy

My personal and professional opinion, a mom is typically the one individual a child looks to for answers, acceptance, approval, empathy, and love. Mom is the constant. Mom is the safety and dependability needed to get through this thing called life. Holding the title of Mom is quite the role to be in. And guess what? Children turn into teens who turn into adults who still have those needs for their mom. A mom is the most important role in any individual’s emotional development. The good news? The position of “Mom” is usually filled by someone who comes by all of this naturally. Mom somehow has the answers, accepts and approves of their child, shows empathy and love unconditionally, with little to no trouble at all. She’s a natural.

– Tessa Stuckey, TessaStuckey.com

I genuinely believe that the experience of motherhood means something different for everyone, and that’s what makes this almost universal experience so very powerful. At its core, motherhood has been the most formative experience of my life. I feel like this experience has truly enabled and empowered me to live my life to the fullest. It wasn’t an easy transition and although I always wanted to be a mom and felt immediately grateful when each of my kids was born, the newborn stage was very hard for me each time. But eventually, I became a more creative, joyful, decisive, and clear-thinking version of myself that I’m incredibly proud of.

– Andrea Samacicia Mullan, Victory Public Relations

The definition of motherhood is breaking down walls you didn’t even know were standing in your way. Motherhood opens into a world of selflessness and sacrifice. You love so deeply it feels like your heart may explode. Raising children will test every nerve you have and bring every joy you could ever imagine and more into your life. Some days you will feel like you are drowning and failing, but the love you have for your children will pull you back up every time and give you the courage to keep going.

– Angela Carte, Mini Riches

The definition of a mother is different for everyone. To some, it means selfless love. To others, it means making sacrifices. No matter what, everyone agrees that a mother provides a special type of love for her children. 

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Family pay tribute to 'incredible mother' found dead at luxury hotel

• Samantha Mickleburgh, 54, was found dead Pennyhill Park in Bagshot, Surrey
• James Cartwright, 60, appeared at Guildford Magistrates Court today
• Cartwright was charged with murder and controlling and coercive behaviour

The grieving family of an 'incredible mother' who was found dead at luxury five-star hotel has hailed her as the 'true example of class, integrity, and dedication' in a heartfelt tribute today.

Samantha Mickleburgh, 54, died at the exclusive five-star Pennyhill Park in Bagshot, Surrey on April 14, where she had been staying with her ex-fiance James Cartwright.

Cartwright, 60, a wealthy estate agent, appeared at Guildford Magistrates Court today and was charged with murder and controlling and coercive behaviour in the case after having been arrested on Friday.

Ms Mickleburgh's family have now issued a statement, saying they are 'devastated' by her death and feel that 'nothing will ever fill the hole left in the lives of those who loved her'.

Her two children, whom she raised singlehandedly after the loss of their father, said there was 'no finer example of a mum' than Ms Mickleburgh and that they are feeling this loss in 'every aspect of our lives'.

'We are devastated by the loss of Samantha, an incredible mother, beautiful, much cherished daughter, and friend,' Ms Mickleburgh's family said today in a statement shared via Surrey Police.

'Loved by many, she was a true example of class, integrity, and dedication to those around her. Lighting up any room she entered with her vivacious personality and endearing smile.

'No words can truly capture all her beloved qualities and nothing will ever fill the hole left in the lives of those who loved her.'

Her two children added: 'Nothing can prepare you to face the world without your parents at a young age. 

'Our mother had been both parents to us since the loss of our father and she was doing such an amazing job at it. No finer example of a Mum could there be, we will feel the loss in every aspect of our lives.

'We are grateful to be such a close family and for the support we continue to receive from those who knew Samantha. We as a family wish for privacy at this impossibly difficult time.'

Ms Mickleburgh's body was found in a £500 a night room that she and Cartwright couple had booked for his 60th birthday.

Paramedics were called to the exclusive five-star Pennyhill Parkhotel, which is known to be used by England's football and rugby teams, after Cartwright called 999 saying he had 'found her dead'. 

The wealthy estate agent appeared in court today accused of murdering his ex fiancée at the luxury hotel used by the England football and rugby teams.

Prosecutor Gus Walter told the court the couple had met via a dating agency in September 2022 and they had planned to get married.

Cartwright, of Axminster, Devon, spoke to confirm his name and age and was dressed in a quilted jacket and grey trousers. He was arrested the day after the postmortem.

He was accused of murder and controlling and coercive behaviour and remanded in custody until his next appearance on Wednesday at Guildford Crown Court.

A source at the hotel revealed that a man and a woman arrived at the hotel last Friday.

The source said at the weekend: 'The couple had arrived on the Friday and had been booked in for the whole weekend with spa treatments as well.

'They had been booked for a massage that morning but didn't turn up and staff didn't even know it might be murder as the management wanted it kept quiet.

'Staff were told that there had been a death and nothing else so when the news broke everyone was shocked although police have been there all week but it's been kept very quiet.

'The hotel prides itself on privacy and discretion and guests have still been checking and using the facilities but none of them know what happened.

'The room where it happened is closed off and that area is out of bounds to everyone apart from the police and management.'

Senior Investigating Officer Detective Inspector Debbie Birch said: 'Our thoughts are with the victim's family at this difficult time.

'The investigation is in the early stages and a specialist team of officers are working around the clock to follow up enquiries.'

Pennyhill Park, which sits in 120 acres of parkland, near Bagshot, is described as 'Surrey's most luxurious spa and hotel retreat' and located around two miles from Bagshot Park, where Prince Edward, the Duke of Edinburgh lives.

Primary in Pennsylvania is here: A 2024 election guide from ballot issues to House races

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have essentially clinched their party’s 2024 nominations for the White House. But Pennsylvania voters on Tuesday will cast their ballots in a slew of contentious and potentially decisive congressional and state races that are still sure to make waves as the campaign chugs toward November.

The primary results in this pivotal swing state are certain to reveal insights about the major issues shaping the general election, namely on abortion and the Israel-Hamas war.

All 17 members of Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation are running for re-election in 2024 and three of those incumbents are facing serious primary challengers. Several others are also watching to see who their opponent will be in the fall. And, in some cases, the outcome of Tuesday’s races could determine which way those seats swing on Election Day. 

While it's a far-flung possibility, which party has a majority in Pennsylvania's congressional delegation also could have major implications on the presidential race. If the 2024 White House election is contested or tied, each state’s congressional delegation will have a single vote in deciding the winner. Currently, Democrats have a 9-8 advantage — meaning one general election race in November could make all the difference.  

At the state level, Democrats are hoping to hold on to their majority in the state House and take control of the state Senate. Republicans currently hold a 28-22 majority in the Senate, and Democrats are hoping to flip at least three seats to make it 25-25, giving them the majority via a tie-breaking vote from Democratic Lieutenant Gov. Austin Davis.  

Prep for the polls: See who is running for president and compare where they stand on key issues in our Voter Guide

Five Democrats and two Republicans are also battling for the open state attorney general position, once held by Democratic Gov.  Josh Shapiro . Michelle Henry, who is completing the remainder of Shapiro’s term since he was elected governor in 2022, is not running for the position.   

Candidates across these races are running on some of the biggest issues facing the country — from abortion to the war in Gaza to election integrity. And the candidates whom Democratic and Republican voters pick on Tuesday could give larger insights about their views on topics that appear central to this fall's general election.  

Here's a look at what to expect in Tuesday's primary. 

Abortion at play in Pennsylvania races  

Abortion has roiled down-ballot races across the country, and Pennsylvania is no exception. Reproductive rights have been a major topic in the attorney general’s race and in the Republican primary for the 1 st Congressional District.  

All five Democratic candidates for attorney general have committed to protecting the right to abortion and access to FDA-approved medications such as mifepristone . Meanwhile, the Republican candidates have said that they do not believe the state constitution guarantees the right to an abortion. As attorney general, both would leave the issue for the state legislature to decide. 

In Pennsylvania’s 1 st Congressional District, longtime Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick is being challenged on his right flank by a candidate who believes abortions should be banned in nearly all circumstances — including in cases of rape and incest.  

Mark Houck, Fitzpatrick’s opponent, was acquitted of criminal charges stemming from an altercation at an abortion clinic.  The incident reportedly inspired him to run for public office. A devout Catholic, Houck co-founded the men's religious group The King's Men. He's worked as an author, motivational speaker and human resources manager.

Fitzpatrick is a moderate Republican. He is one of a handful of Republican representatives serving in districts that Biden won in 2020.  

The primary race could demonstrate just how important the issue of abortion is for the Republican Party’s base.  

Pennsylvania Democrats clash on Israel-Hamas war  

In Pennsylvania’s 12 th District, which includes Pittsburgh and some of its suburbs, first-term progressive Rep. Summer Lee, is facing a primary challenge over her opposition to the Israel-Hamas war. Bhavini Patel, a more moderate Democratic congressional candidate has tried to closely align herself with President Joe Biden. 

Lee, who is affiliated with the “squad,” was among the early advocates in Congress calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. She has been an outspoken opponent of providing U.S. military aid to Israel. 

Patel is a 29-year-old municipal council member who also describes herself as a progressive. She has framed the incumbent's criticism of Israel as detrimental to Biden’s re-election efforts and unrepresentative of a district that is home to a large Jewish community. 

The election on Tuesday could reveal just how salient the issue of the war is for Democratic voters — particularly in swing areas of the country. It may also forecast how other progressives facing similar challenges from moderate Democrats could fair in their races.  

What are the key Pennsylvania House races to watch? 

There are several other high-profile House primary races to watch in Pennsylvania.  

Six Democrats are competing for the chance to challenge GOP Rep. Scott Perry in Pennsylvania’s 10th Congressional District, which includes Harrisburg and Hershey.  

Perry was a former chair of the Freedom Caucus, one of the most conservative factions of the Republican Party, with members including Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz and Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. Perry was also a key figure in efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

While the area leans Republican, Democrats say they can win over independents and moderate conservatives in the area with a message centered around protecting democracy. They plan to tie Perry to Trump and conservative extremism.  

Out of the six Democratic candidates running to unseat Perry, news anchor Janelle Stelson and former "Top Gun" fighter pilot Mike O’Brien appear to have the best shot. The other candidates include Harrisburg City Council member Shamaine Daniels, progressive businessman John Broadhurst and former radio executive Black Lynch.  

To the northeast of Harrisburg, in the Lehigh Valley, three Republicans are competing to take on Democratic Rep. Susan Wild. Her seat, in Pennsylvania’s 7th District, is a top target for Republicans in November.  

Wild barely eked out a victory against her Republican opponent, Lisa Scheller, in 2022. She won 51-49.  

Pennsylvania’s state legislature hangs in the balance  

If Pennsylvania Democrats hold their narrow majority in the state House and win the state Senate in November, it would give Gov. Shapiro enormous power to pass his agenda in the last two years of his term.  

It would also mark the first time in three decades that the party controlled the state Senate; Tuesday’s elections could determine whether that’s possible.  

Because the local districts tend to lean Democratic or Republican, the results of the primary elections can have a large sway on the race.  

Democrats currently hold a two-seat majority in the state House, and Republicans hold a five-seat majority in the state Senate.