Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States in January 2021, and perhaps equally historic is the fact that his wife, Jill Biden, became the first Italian-American to take on the role of first lady in the country's history.
Jill's family has deep roots in Italy, and Italian culture has played an important role in the First Lady's life.
Her maiden name is Jacobs, but before his great-grandfather immigrated to America around 1886 – reaching Ellis Island – it was Giacoppa.
Gaetano Giacoppa “Americanized” his family's surname, as did thousands of immigrants, when starting a new life in the United States.
Gaetano and Concetta Scaltrito lived in small Gesso, in Sicilia, in the province of Messina. Today, the village has just 549 residents.
His grandfather, Dominic (who was born in New Jersey, October 1898) worked as a furniture delivery man.
His father, Donald, started out as a bank teller and became the head of a savings and loan institution in Philadelphia.
His family's origin story – typical of immigrants – contributes to his resilience and growth with Italian influence. Something Jill Biden has credited in several interviews as the impetus for large Sunday family dinners in Italian style.
“My grandmother used to cook traditional Italian dishes for Sunday dinner. We would go to my grandparents’ house every Sunday because her food was the best. The red sauce, the meatballs, and the pasta,” First Lady Jill Biden said during a recent question-and-answer session with writer Joe Battaglia.
“I have beautiful memories of cooking with my grandmother, my mother and four sisters. It was at their house that I made homemade tomato sauce for the first time”, says the first lady of the most powerful country in the world with pride.
And during an interview she revealed that Joe Biden is a fan of her angel hair pasta with fresh tomato sauce and her children like her chicken parmigiana – a dish invented by Italian-Americans.
Born June 3, 1951, Jill Tracy Jacobs Biden is an American educator, writer, and philanthropist. She was born in Hammonton (New Jersey) to Donald Carl Jacobs (1927-1999) and Bonny Jean Godfrey (1930-2008), of English and Scottish descent.
