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Long-time "Hardball" host Chris Matthews and wife Kathleen Matthews have both kept busy with work.
By Darren Paltrowitz — Written on Mar 03, 2020
An American political commentator and now retired talk show host and author, Christopher Matthews was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on December 17, 1945. A graduate of the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts for his undergraduate studies and a graduate school alumnus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Matthews was a visiting fellow at Harvard University's Institute Of Politics.
A winner of multiple awards — including the Pennsylvania Society's Gold Medal for Distinguished Achievement — Matthews first found success as a print media journalist before finding his way onto broadcast television. He started his own talk show in 1997, Hardball With Chris Matthews, which first aired on America's Talking before moving to MSNBC.
As an author, Matthews has written eight best-selling books, most recently 2017's Bobby Kennedy: A Raging Spirit. His first published book was 1988's Hardball: How Politics Is Played, Told By One Who Knows The Game.
Matthews has been back in the mainstream headlines this week because he announced his retirement from Hardball. So .. who is Chris Matthews' wife, Kathleen Matthews? Below is more information about Matthews, his wife Kathleen, their relationship and upcoming projects.
1. Who Is Chris Matthews' wife, Kathleen Matthews.
Following studies at Stanford University, Kathleen Ann Matthews — born Kathleen Ann Cunningham — worked as a production assistant at ABC's Washington DC affiliate WJLA. This led to her working her way up as a producer and subsequent an on-air anchor.
Kathleen Matthews hosted the nationally-syndicated Working Woman television show from 2001 to 2006, and in July 2006 was named Executive Vice President of Global Communications & Public Affairs at Marriott. She worked with Marriott until 2015.
Related to her work with Marriott, Matthews has served on the boards of the U.S. Travel Association, the International Tourism Partnership, and the Economic Club of Washington, in addition to working with the U.S. Travel & Tourism Advisory Board to the Secretary of Commerce.
2. Kathleen Matthews has also worked within the political world.
In June 2015, Matthews announced herself as a Democratic Party candidate for the 8th congressional district of Maryland. She was endorsed by the editorial board of The Washington Post as of March 2016.
Matthews' political bid became billed as "2016's most expensive House race" and she was reported to have raised around $2 million in campaign funds beyond money she personally contributed. However, Matthews finished third in this race.
In March 2017, Matthews was selected to be interim chairperson of the Maryland Democratic Party following the March 2017 resignation of chairperson Bruce Poole. She served in this role until December 2018, at which point she was replaced by Maya Rockeymoore Cummings.
3. Chris Matthews stepped down from hosting Hardball this week.
The host of Hardball since 1997, few television shows have lasted over 20 years like Matthews did. However, his sudden resignation from the show was announced as part of the March 2, 2020 broadcast.
Many people have pointed to Matthews' sudden departure being tied to a series of recent commentary. He had compared Senator Bernie Sanders' campaign "to the Nazi invasion of France" and his interview with Senator Elizabeth Warren was seen as carrying a "condescending and disbelieving tone."
Not directly addressing why he was stepping down, Matthews commented on-air "I’m retiring" and "This is the last ‘Hardball’ on MSNBC.” He did apologize for "insensitive comments" within this opening monologue.
4. Chris Matthews has been accused of sexual harassment.
Over the weekend, journalist Laura Bassett published an essay which accused Matthews of "making multiple inappropriate comments about her appearance." This appears to have been referenced in Matthews' farewell episode when he stated "Compliments on a woman’s appearance that some men, including me, might have once incorrectly thought were OK are never OK. Not then, and certainly not today.”
Several years ago, MSNBC had acknowledged that Matthews had been "reprimanded in 1999 after making inappropriate remarks to a female colleague, prompting a settlement." MSNBC never identified the employee or describe her role at the network, nor did it say when the reprimand was issued or when the payment was made.
5. It's unclear as to what Chris Matthews and Kathleen Matthews are up to next.
Chris Matthews' farewell monologue did not reflect what he is doing next. Meanwhile, Hardball appears to have rotating guest hosts until a permanent new host has been chosen.
Both Chris Matthews and Kathleen Matthews have IMDb pages, but neither of their pages show upcoming projects. No news can currently be found about a forthcoming book being penned by Chris Matthews.
However, Chris Matthews remains available for public speaking engagements.
6. Chris Matthews may need to change his social media handles.
Chris Matthews has been regularly spotlighted on the Instagram account of Hardball, but this account belongs to MSNBC. Its most recent posting was published on February 20, 2020, meaning that there are no references made to Matthews' resignation from Hardball on that account. The same can be said of the show's Facebook account.
However, the Twitter account of Hardball did include videos related to Matthews' on-air resignation. These videos had been posted initially through Matthews' Twitter account as @HardballChris.
Kathleen Matthews can be found on Facebook, but could not easily be found on Instagram or Twitter. In turn, to follow the latest from Chris Matthews and his wife Kathleen, you may have to track multiple social media accounts in the coming months.
Darren Paltrowitz is a New York-based writer, editor and author. He is also the host of the Paltrocast With Darren Paltrowitz podcast, as co-produced with PureGrainAudio.com.