Mary Elizabeth Gore (born August 19, 1948) is the wife of Al Gore and Second Lady of the United States from 1993 until 2001.
Born Mary Elizabeth Aitcheson, Mrs. Gore grew up in Arlington, Virginia; she was nicknamed "Tipper" by her mother. In 1970, she married Al Gore. They have four children: Karenna (August 6, 1973), Kristin (June 5, 1977), Sarah (January 7, 1979) and Albert III (October 19, 1982).
Mrs. Gore received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Boston University in 1970 and her Master's degree in Psychology from George Peabody College at Vanderbilt University in 1975. Mrs. Gore worked as a newspaper photographer for the Nashville Tennessean until her husband was elected to Congress in 1976.
The Al and Tipper Gore wave before
boarding Air Force Two
In 1984, she co-founded the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC). Critics of the PMRC, including Jello Biafra and Frank Zappa, have accused the PMRC of conducting public and under-the-table censorship campaigns against various recording artists and have pointed out the PMRC's ties to the American religious right.
In 2000, Tipper Gore began to make public appearances as a "mental health" advocate. She has been criticised by human rights organizations for her ambiguous stance towards involuntary psychiatric treatment, including forced drugging and commitment of people labelled mentally ill.
In 2002, Tipper was urged by her supporters to run for the vacant senate seat her husband once held in Tennessee, which was being vacated by Fred Dalton Thompson. However Tipper declined the offer stating it was not the right thing for her at that time.
The Gores are known for being strong on family. In 2002, her and husband Al wrote two books on family values and the transformed American family: Joined at the Heart & Spirit of Family. The Gore's also hold an annual conference in Nashville that bring together families and those who work with them to talk and design better ways to strengthen family life in America. At the center of Family Re-Union is the belief that programs and guidlines should respond to the needs of families and communities, and should build on their strengths.
