Marsha Blackburn Biography

Marsha Blackburn was born Marsha Wedgeworth, in Laurel, Mississippi, to Mary Jo Morgan Wedgeworth and Hilman Wedgeworth. Marsha earned a 4-H scholarship to attend Mississippi State University. In 1973, she earned a bachelor’s degree in home economics.

She was part of the Chi Omega sorority and the Sigma Alpha Epsilon Little Sisters of Minerva and served as both the secretary and president of the Associated Women Students at the Mississippi State University.

Marsha Blackburn started her career selling books as a door-to-door sales person for the publishing firm Southwestern Company and then worked a sales manager for Times Mirror, Inc. She also served as a director of retail fashion at the Nashville-based Castner Knott Company. She launched a marketing and event management company, Marketing Strategies, which dealt with the retail marketplace and electronic and print media, in the late 1970s.

She also started a Young Republicans club in Williamson County, Tennessee. In 1989, she chaired Williamson County’s Republican Party.

In 1995, she began her career in public service and was made the executive director of the Tennessee Film, Entertainment, and Music Commission. Three years later, she was elected to the Tennessee State Senate.

During her time in the Tennessee Senate, Marsha Blackburn led a state-wide campaign to oppose a proposed state income tax. In 2002, Marsha was elected as a representative of Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District. During her congressional career, she chaired the Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Communications and Technology and supported the rights of songwriters and performers.

She opposed abortion rights and led a panel that investigated the Planned Parenthood Federation of America’s undercover video controversy. She was re-elected 7 times to the House.

A staunch supporter of Donald Trump, she was on the executive committee of Trump’s presidential transition team. In 2018, when U.S. senator Bob Corker announced he would not contest anymore, she decided to run for the seat. She eventually defeated moderate Democrat Phil Bresden in November 2018.

She assumed office as a senator on January 3, 2019. She thus became the first female US senator from the state of Tennessee. She was also the first female to be elected, in her own right, to the U.S. House from Tennessee.

Marsha Blackburn is dedicated to promoting women’s opportunities. However, she opposes same-sex marriage. She is also against net neutrality and does not believe in the theory of climate change.

Marsha Blackburn is married to American entrepreneur and author Chuck Blackburn. They live in Brentwood, a suburb of Nashville in Williamson County, Tennessee.

They have two children, Mary Morgan Ketchel and Chad Blackburn. They also have two grandsons and a granddaughter.

Marsha Blackburn has been part of countless charitable organizations. She has also been an active member of the Christ Presbyterian Church.

In 2016, the Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute named her the Woman of the Year. She has also been a member of various committees, such as the American Council of Young Political Leaders, the Country Music Association, the Arthritis Foundation, the Tennessee Chambers of Congress, the Nashville Symphony Guild, the Foundation of Women Legislators, and the National Association of Retail Merchants.

Marsha Blackburn is part of the prayer group The C Street Family. She was previously a member of the Smithsonian Libraries Advisory Board. An author, too, she published her book The Mind of a Conservative Woman: Seeking the Best for Family and Country in 2020.