2 weeks Ago By Pravrajya Suruchi
Priscilla Chan is best known as the wife of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, but her own story is one of compassion, intelligence, and a deep drive to help others. A pediatrician, educator, and philanthropist, Priscilla has built a powerful legacy through her work in healthcare, education, and social justice. Today, she co-leads one of the world’s most ambitious philanthropic organisations: the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI), with a vision to improve lives globally.
Humble Beginnings and Academic Brilliance Priscilla Chan was born on February 24, 1985, in Braintree, Massachusetts, to Chinese-Vietnamese parents who had fled Vietnam by boat. Growing up in a working-class immigrant household, she learned the value of hard work early. Her parents worked long hours—her father ran a restaurant and later a fish business, while her mother took up multiple jobs.
Priscilla often helped by translating for her grandparents, with whom she was very close. She went to Quincy High School, where she was not only the valedictorian but also voted “class genius.” Apart from being great at studies, she led the tennis team and participated in science competitions.
Her excellence earned her a place at Harvard University, where she studied biology. It was at Harvard that she met Mark Zuckerberg in 2003 at a college party. After completing her degree, she later studied medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, focusing on pediatrics.
Becoming a Doctor and Giving Back Driven by a desire to help children and underserved communities, Priscilla became a pediatrician. She completed her residency at San Francisco General Hospital and worked there until 2017. Her experience treating children from poor backgrounds made her realise that the problems went far beyond medicine.
Poverty, lack of education, and healthcare gaps were major challenges she couldn't solve just by being a doctor. Before becoming a doctor, she also briefly taught science in an inner-city school, where she saw firsthand the inequalities in education. These two experiences helped shape her future work in philanthropy.
The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative: A New Kind of Giving In 2015, shortly after the birth of their first daughter, Priscilla and Mark launched the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI). They pledged to donate 99% of their Facebook shares (worth USD 45 billion at the time) during their lifetime to help make the world more equal and just. CZI focuses on education, healthcare, and science.
It is structured as a private company, which allows it to invest in for-profit ventures, give grants, and even support policy changes. Priscilla leads the organisation’s operations, using her medical and teaching background to guide its goals. She helped launch big projects like the Biohub Network, which brings scientists together to tackle major health problems, and tools to speed up research using artificial intelligence.
She also started The Primary School in East Palo Alto, combining healthcare and education for low-income families. So far, CZI has given away nearly USD 5 billion in grants and invested USD 300 million in science and community projects. A Strong and Supportive Relationship Priscilla and Mark’s relationship goes back more than 20 years.
They met at a college party, bonded quickly, and dated through many ups and downs. In 2012, the day after Facebook’s IPO, they got married in a surprise backyard wedding. They now have three daughters, Maxima, August, and Aurelia.
The couple not only share a family but also run CZI together. While Mark focuses on the big-picture vision, Priscilla handles the daily work and strategy. They hold regular meetings and balance each other out, her empathy with his analytical style.
They have also openly shared their personal struggles, including miscarriages, to break social taboos and offer hope to others. A Statue, A Minivan, and A Disco Party In August 2024, Zuckerberg revealed a 7-foot-tall statue of Priscilla in their backyard, made by her favorite artist Daniel Arsham. This modern sculpture, combining silver and green hues, was his way of honoring her 40th birthday.
Along with the statue, he also gifted her a custom Porsche minivan and threw a disco-themed party. These sweet and grand gestures made headlines and showed the world just how much he values her. Lasting Impact Priscilla Chan’s story is inspiring.
From being a child of immigrants to leading one of the world’s biggest charitable efforts, her journey is full of purpose and heart. Her work touches lives across healthcare, education, and science, making the world a fairer and healthier place. Quiet but powerful, she proves that behind every great movement for change, there’s someone with deep compassion and relentless drive.
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