Jenny Sanford

Jennifer Sullivan Sanford (born September 11, 1962) is the former First Lady of South Carolina and a former investment banker. She was married to Governor Mark Sanford. Early life and education Sanford was born and raised in Winnetka, Illinois, an upscale suburb of Chicago, the daughter of Susan Reynolds and John William Sullivan. She is the second of five children born to an Irish Catholic family. Sanford's family was prominent in the area. Her great-grandfather, Joseph W. Sullivan, co-founded Skil Corporation, which manufactured the first portable electric saw. Her uncle and another grandfather, both lawyers, headed the Winston and Strawn law firm. Sanford also is the niece of Anne Reynolds Skakel, who was the wife of Rushton Skakel, who in turn is the brother of Ethel Kennedy. Sanford attended Woodlands Academy, an all-girls Catholic school in Lake Forest, Illinois. She earned a bachelor's degree, magna cum laude, from Georgetown University in 1984. Career From 1984 until 1990, Sanford worked at Lazard Freres & Company, an investment bank based in New York City She eventually became a vice president in the firm's mergers and acquisitions group.