Rachel Anne Maddow (born April 1, 1973) is an American television host and political commentator. Rachel Maddow, is first openly gay or lesbian host of a primetime news show on MSNBC. Maddow replaces commentator Dan Abrams in the 9 p.m. time slot. Her show focuses on national news and politics. Prior to this, she was a frequent guest on CNN's Paula Zahn Now.


A graduate of Castro Valley High School in Castro Valley, California, Maddow earned a degree in public policy from Stanford University in 1994. At graduation she was awarded the John Gardner Fellowship. She was also the recipient of a Rhodes Scholarship and began her postgraduate study in 1995 at Lincoln College, Oxford. In 2001, she earned a Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil) in politics from Oxford University. Her thesis is titled HIV/AIDS and Health Care Reform in British and American Prisons (supervisor: Dr Lucia Zedner). She was the first openly gay American to win a Rhodes scholarship.

Of course lesbians love Rachel Maddow for her fresh politics, her bold career and being cute as a button. However, her appeal spans the gender and sexuality spectrums, as noted in the New York Intelligencer's article Why We're Gay for Rachel Maddow in which she makes the point that while she is openly gay, she "will not dance like Ellen does."

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