Jennifer Gates Has a 'Deeper Appreciation' for Mom Melinda After Becoming a Mother Herself (Exclusive)
Jennifer Gates tells PEOPLE in an exclusive interview that she has a "deeper appreciation" for mom Melinda French Gates after becoming a mother herself
"If I can be a quarter of as good of a mom as she was, I will feel like I've done a good job," Jennifer says
Jennifer shares two daughters, Leila and Mia, with husband Nayel NassarJennifer Gates is able to admire mom Melinda French Gates from an entirely new perspective after becoming a mother herself.
In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, Jennifer, 29 — who graduated last May from Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai — says that, as a mom and a pediatric resident, she has a new appreciation for "all that went into her raising us."
"I'm getting to see firsthand just how challenging and rewarding it can be to raise a child, particularly in this current climate, where parents often don't have the supports that they need, and just realizing how many things she was balancing and juggling when she raised us," she continues of mom Melinda, 60.
"Obviously, I have a lot on my plate as well, but I have a deeper appreciation for her as a mom," adds Jennifer.
Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Melinda shares daughter Jennifer — as well as son Rory, 25, and daughter Phoebe, 22 — with ex-husband Bill Gates. The pair divorced in 2021 after 27 years of marriage.
Jennifer became a mom for the first time in March 2023, when she and her husband Nayel Nassar welcomed their first child, daughter Leila, 2. The couple, who wed in October 2021, became parents again when Jennifer gave birth to daughter Mia in October 2024.
According to Jennifer, mom Melinda is a wonderful grandmother to her two grandchildren. "She is just such a generous, loving person, that getting to see her throw all that love and generosity that she gave to me towards my children is the most special thing in the world," she says.
Adds Jennifer: "If I can be a quarter of as good of a mom as she was, I will feel like I've done a good job."
In her recently released memoir, The Next Day: Transitions, Change, and Moving Forward, Melinda wrote about the decision to quit her job at Microsoft, where she had worked for more than nine years in product management and marketing.
Reflecting on how her choice to be a working mom differs from what Melinda chose, Jennifer tells PEOPLE, "I had my mom the whole time encouraging me, just stay the path. ... [When I was in medical school], it felt like the most amazing journey of my lifetime ... and, for some people, there comes a point at which their career is far enough along, or they have to make the choice to wait."
"We are in this position where we knew that we could afford what we needed to start a family, and I felt like, 'Okay, I'm ready to become a mom,' but I also still have this calling and this feeling that I want to become a board-certified pediatrician," Jennifer continues.
"It has not been easy, but I have a great amount of support around me that makes it possible for me to go to the hospital and know that my kids are loved, they're well taken care of, and that truly means the world to me," she adds. "And I'm grateful to be pursuing both. It's certainly a different path than the one my mom took, but she has been nothing but supportive of me following my dreams and becoming a mom at the same time."
is now available in the Apple App Store! Download it now for the most binge-worthy celeb content, exclusive video clips, astrology updates and more!
Currently, Jennifer says being in residency is "great" but also "hard," explaining, "I have so much respect for everyone in healthcare, but residency is a very particularly grueling training."
"I truly love getting to serve the patients at our hospital and community clinic, getting to learn about all of the disease processes and treatment modalities that we have to best serve children and prevent disease, and also learning what the things are that are allowing them to receive care in the hospital, and what things are making it challenging for them to attend their appointments or receive care or have good health at home," she adds.
Jennifer says she is also excited about the idea that she will be "someone who will hopefully have the opportunity to give back with my time and career."
"I want to become the best pediatrician possible and really know how to treat patients with respect and dignity with the best medical science, and then eventually, hopefully, expand that to helping best serve children and their families," she continues.
Read the original article on People
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox News
35 minutes ago
- Fox News
Rogan claims 2 former presidents called Spotify over his controversial COVID commentary
Podcaster Joe Rogan claimed Tuesday that two unnamed former presidents were involved in the protest against his skeptical discussions about COVID-19. Spotify received backlash in 2022 for allowing Rogan, one of its biggest stars, to spread what progressive critics claimed was COVID misinformation. Musician Neil Young famously removed his content from Spotify in protest over Rogan's rhetoric, saying he no longer wanted to share a platform with him. "And then all of a sudden, I hear that Neil Young wants me removed from Spotify. I was like, 'What the f--- is going on? This is crazy,'" Rogan said Tuesday. "Spotify got calls from two former presidents," he added. Then-Biden White House press secretary Jen Psaki commented on the controversy directly. After Spotify announced it would flag podcasts that cover COVID-19, Psaki responded, "So this disclaimer, it's a positive step, but we want every platform to continue doing more to call out misinformation while also uplifting accurate information." "Our hope is that all major tech platforms — and all major news sources for that matter — be responsible and be vigilant to ensure the American people have access to accurate information on something as significant as COVID-19," she added. But Rogan said that instead of being censored or deplatformed, "I grew by 2 million subscribers in a month." "People started listening," he said, despite how his critics attacked his reputation. "And they started listening, like, 'Oh, he's really reasonable and pretty humble about all this stuff and just asking questions.'" Rogan also condemned how media outlets attacked his use of Ivermectin to treat his COVID-19 by referring to it as a horse dewormer. "I'm, like, 'Why aren't you guys concentrating on the fact that a 55-year-old man is fine three days later during the worst strain?' It was during the Delta where everybody's freaking out. 'This one's going to kill us all.' And I was fine in three days," he said. Rogan described the whole experience as a "wake-up call" that opened his eyes about the liberal legacy media. "It's so dirty. It's such a dirty business," Rogan said. "God, I used to have massive respect for journalists. If I had never done this podcast, I would be your regular schmo out there with, you know, just spitting out all the company lines and all the blast all over the news." "I kind of liked it better then," he said with a laugh. "I didn't think the world is filled with demons, money-hungry demons that are willing to sacrifice human lives in the pursuit of revenue." Spotify founder and CEO Daniel Ek addressed the pushback against hosting Rogan during the company's earnings call in February 2022. "I think the important part here is that we don't change our policies based on one creator, nor do we change it based on any media cycle," the chief executive said at the time. "Our policies have been carefully written with the input from numbers of internal and external experts in this space – and I do believe they're right for our platform." Fox News Digital reached out to Spotify for comment and did not receive an immediate reply.
New York Times
35 minutes ago
- New York Times
How the Beach Boys' ‘Pet Sounds' Entered the Pop Music Pantheon. (Eventually.)
Making a list of the best rock albums ever is easy: Something old (the Beatles), something new or newer (perhaps Radiohead), something borrowed (the Rolling Stones' blues or disco pastiches) and Joni Mitchell's 'Blue.' And, of course, bursting into the top 10 — and often higher — of any respectable list: 'Pet Sounds.' The overwhelming brainchild of Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys' chief songwriter whose death at 82 was announced on Wednesday, 'Pet Sounds' is beautiful — with gorgeous vocal harmonies, haunting timbres and wistful lyrics of adolescent longing and estrangement. It was a landmark in studio experimentation that changed the idea of how albums could be made. But one thing that stands out about the Beach Boys' masterpiece is how gradually it came to be widely celebrated, compared with many of its peers. 'When it was released in the United States,' said Jan Butler, a senior lecturer in popular music at Oxford Brookes University in the United Kingdom, 'it did pretty well, but for the Beach Boys, it was considered a flop.' Released in the spring of 1966, 'Pet Sounds' represented a break from the catchy tunes about surfing, cars and girls that the group had consistently rode to the top of the charts. The opening track is called 'Wouldn't It Be Nice,' but previous Beach Boys songs had described how nice it was. The album peaked at No. 10 — low for one of the most popular acts at the time — and was the first Beach Boys album in three years not to reach gold status, Butler wrote in a chapter of an academic book. The Beach Boys' record company, Capitol, rushed out a greatest-hits that outsold the album of original music. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
CBS News
an hour ago
- CBS News
Blue Moon is getting into the lip balm business
In an unusual pairing, beer maker Blue Moon and personal care product company eos have teamed up to create a new orange-flavored lip balm. The Valencia Orange Lip Balm debuted Tuesday and is available exclusively on Blue Moon and eos' websites. It comes in a round shell typical of eos' style but with a twist: A small Blue Moon label is printed on the orange casing. In the online description of the product, the companies say the lip balm was designed to enhance the flavor of Blue Moon beer, a Belgian-style wheat beer known for its citrusy flavor. "This limited-edition balm doesn't just resemble a Valencia orange, it delivers the same refreshing, juicy taste," Blue Moon and eos said in a statement. While the product does not contain any alcohol, the companies say it is intended for an audience 21 and older. The balm retails for $4.99 and is available while supplies last, according to the companies' statement. Blue Moon is owned by Molson Coors Beverage Company, whose beer brands include Coors, Coors Light, Miller High Life and Miller Lite. "Through this unexpected partnership with eos, we're giving fans a whole new way to enjoy that iconic citrus taste," Courtney Benedict, vice president of marketing at the Molson Coors, said in a statement.
