Neilia Hunter Biden

American teacher and first wife of Joe Biden (1942–1972)

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Lived 1942–1972, aged 30United States

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35 languages
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Era
1942–1972
Aged 30

Summary

Updated 2026-06-08

She was a teacher who married a young law student in 1966, became a senator's wife-elect in 1972, and died with her infant daughter in a car crash six weeks later — before he was ever sworn in.

Biography

About

Neilia Hunter was born July 28, 1942, and worked as a teacher before marrying Joe Biden. In November 1972, her husband won a U.S. Senate seat in Delaware. On December 18, six weeks after the election, she and the couple's one-year-old daughter Naomi were killed in a car crash. Their two sons, Beau and Hunter, were injured but survived. Biden took his Senate oath at their hospital bedsides the following January.

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