Donald Trump is out, Joe Biden is in … and so are Jill, Hunter and Ashley – so who from America’s new first family will be living and working in the White House?

Nov 18 , 2020

From left to right: Hunter Biden and his nephew, also named Hunter, Beau’s widow Hallie, president-elect Joe Biden and Beau’s daughter Natalie attend Beau’s funeral in Delaware in 2015. Photo: Reuters

President-elect Joe Biden and wife Jill will be moving into the White House with their dogs Champ and Major – but what roles can we expect his children Hunter and Ashley to play in public affairs?

The Bidens have been a fixture in American politics for decades, and now the family – which includes the president-elect’s wife Jill and his two surviving children, Hunter and Ashley – are set to serve as the next first family, after Joe Biden is inaugurated on January 20, 2021. Of course, this means that they will be moving into America’s most-prestigious address together with their dogs, Champ and Major.

The Biden family have faced their share of tragedy over the years: Biden has a daughter named Ashley with Jill, his second wife. But he had three children with his first wife, Neilia, only one of whom, his son Hunter, is still alive. Neilia and daughter Naomi died in a 1972 car crash, and their son Beau died of brain cancer in 2015.

Read on to find out about each member of America’s new first family, how they got there and the troubles they endured along the way.

President-elect Joe Biden was born on November 20, 1942 and spent the first few years of his life in Scranton, Pennsylvania

Biden was born to Joseph Biden Sr., a used-car salesman, and Catherine Eugenia Finnegan. Growing up, Biden struggled with a stutter but said he overcame the speech impediment by memorising and reciting poetry.

He attended St. Helena School before going to the private Archmere Academy, from which he graduated in 1961. Biography.com reports that Biden developed a “sharp interest” in politics during his undergraduate years, in part inspired by watching the inauguration of John F. Kennedy in 1961. Biden would be only the second Catholic to be elected president, after Kennedy, per Pew Research Center.

Biden met his first wife, Neilia Hunter, during his third year in college

Biden met his first wife, Neilia, while he was on a spring break trip and while Neilia was attending Syracuse University. Biden himself went on to attend Syracuse University Law School after graduating from the University of Delaware in 1965.

In 1996, Biden and Neilia married and they had three children: Joseph “Beau” Biden III born in 1969, Hunter born in 1970, and Naomi born in 1971. After Biden graduated from law school in 1968, the family moved to Wilmington, Delaware. During this time, he started his own law firm and was elected to the New Castle County Council.

Tragedy struck the Biden family in 1972, when his wife Neilia and their children were in a car accident a week before Christmas

Tragedy struck the Biden family in 1972. Photo: Agence France-Presse