Matilda Cuomo

Matilda Cuomo (born Mattia Raffa; born September 16, 1931) is an American advocate for women and children, former First Lady of New York from 1983 to 1994, and matriarch of the Cuomo family. She is the widow of Governor of New York Mario Cuomo and mother of Andrew Cuomo who also served as Governor of New York before resigning in August 2021 and former CNN presenter Chris Cuomo. The founder of the child advocacy group Mentoring USA, Cuomo was inducted to the National Women's Hall of Fame in 2017. Early life and education Cuomo was born Mattia Raffa in New York to parents, Mary (née Gitto) Raffa (d. 1995) and Carmelo "Charles" Raffa (d. 1988), who had immigrated to the United States from Sicily. After arriving in the United States in 1927, her father Charles worked to establish his own firm, making supermarket shelves and refrigeration units and later invested in real estate. Cuomo is the third of five children, with older brothers Frank and Sam and younger brother Joseph and sister Nancy. Cuomo's mother attempted to register her daughter for kindergarten at a Brooklyn elementary school. However, the principal and school registrar threw both out of the registration because her mother could only speak Italian at the time. Years later, Cuomo recalled the registrar yelling, "Get Mrs. Raffa out of here and tell her she can come back when she can speak English," at her mother. During elementary school, Raffa's teachers called her Matilda, rather than her birth name, which was Mattia, which she accepted initially out of fear. The name stuck and she has used Matilda ever since. Cuomo attended Midwood High School. A capable student who was accepted at Columbia Teachers College, Brooklyn College, and Hunter, she was persuaded by family to attend school closer to home out of concerns for her safety. She further pursued her studies in teaching at St. John's University in Queens, graduating in 1954 from St. John's Teachers College.