Meet Marianne Williamson, the motivational speaker, author, and Oprah Winfrey pal who is running for president in 2020

Grace Panetta

Jan 31, 2019, 01:02 IST

Meet Marianne Williamson, the motivational speaker, author, and Oprah Winfrey pal who is running for president in 2020

Ramesh Pathania/Mint via Getty Images

Marianne Williamson - Spiritual Author and Lecturer, during a session on Religion, Consciousness and Spirituality. What Next? at Hindustan Times Leadership Summit 2015

Marianne Williamson, a motivational speaker, New York Times best-selling author, and one-time congressional candidate with a substantial following announced her candidacy for president on Monday night.
Williamson, 66, is the 10th Democratic candidate to jump into the race. She began speaking and writing self-help books rooted in New Age spirituality in Los Angeles in the 1980s.
Here's everything you need to know about Williamson's life, career, and political aspirations.

Marianne Williamson, a motivational speaker, New York Times best-selling author, and one-time congressional candidate with a substantial following announced her candidacy for president on Monday night.

Williamson, the 10th Democratic candidate to jump into the race, began speaking and writing self-help books rooted in New Age spirituality in Los Angeles in the 1980s.

A 1992 appearance on Oprah Winfrey's show helped launch her into Hollywood's elite class as the preferred spiritual guide for many in the entertainment world.

Williamson has been involved in social justice advocacy for much of her life, creating two organizations to support HIV and AIDS patients at the height of the AIDS crisis in the 1980s.

Her first foray in politics was an independent run for Congress in California's 33rd congressional district in 2014. She ended up losing to current Rep. Ted Lieu, but is now launching a bid for the highest office in the land.

Here's everything you need to know about Williamson's life, career, and political aspirations.

Williamson grew up in Houston, Texas. She attended Pomona College in Southern California for two years before dropping out and moving to New York City to pursue a career as a singer.

"Growing up in Texas in a liberal household, I was made deeply aware of issues of social justice," she writes. "My father had grown up in poverty; he was insistent that we be aware of how fortunate we were, and always attendant to the needs of those who were not."

Her interest in religion and spirituality began in her 20s, when she discovered a set of books called "A Course in Miracles" written by a Columbia University medical psychology professor.

"The Course is not a religion, but rather a self-study program of spiritual psychotherapy based on universal spiritual themes," Williamson explains. "There is no dogma or doctrine; it is simply a book on how to forgive."

Williams moved to Los Angeles in the early 1980s, and began giving motivational lectures from a spiritual, but non-denominational perspective based on "The Course for Miracles'" teachings.

It was also at that time when she became involved in awareness and advocacy efforts for HIV and AIDS patients. She created two organizations — the Los Angeles and Manhattan Centers for Living, and the Angel Food Project — to support people living with AIDS.

Williamson is the author of 12 books, including four that have made The New York Times' bestseller list. Her first book, "A Return to Love," was featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show and helped launch her to star-status.

Williamson and Oprah are still good friends to this day.

After the exposure from her Oprah interview in 1992, Williamson and her self-help books and lectures gained a cult following, including several Hollywood celebrities and elites.

“I’m a provocateur. I come into a situation where I don’t particularly relate to any of the institutionalized boxes. I’m not a minister, I’m not a rabbi, but I’m totally excited by God and Jesus. So you get this Jewish girl talking about Jesus — it’s going to get attention," Williamson told Mother Jones in 1997.

Williamson began to get involved in politics in 1997 with the publication of her book "Healing The Soul of America." The book argued that universal values of spirituality and love could heal the divisions in the American political system.

“Because there’s a disconnection inside people, there is no listening,” Williamson told Mother Jones. “The reason that there are no major voices for social justice today is the listening isn’t there. We have to address it because people’s hearts aren’t open enough to hear. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

In 2014, Williamson launched an independent bid for Congress in California' affluent 33rd congressional district, which includes parts of Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, and Malibu.

While Williamson leveraged her high profile and large following to raise nearly $2 million and secure endorsements from figures including Dennis Kucinich, she ultimately finished in fourth place in the primary.

While Williamson leveraged her high profile and large following to raise nearly $2 million and secure endorsements from figures including Dennis Kucinich, she ultimately finished in fourth place in the primary.

Source: ELLE

Democratic Rep. Ted Lieu, the winner of that primary, has represented the 33rd district since 2014.

At the time, many Democratic insiders questioned Williamson's qualifications. "She has some very unusual beliefs about the world, a cult following, but she's not a credible candidate," the chairman of the Los Angeles County Democratic Party said to LA Weekly. "She's done a lot of work helping people heal, but that's not preparation to be in Congress."

"It sounds nice to say, 'I'm pure, I'm outside the system, and I can change the system,' but that's not how it works," Democratic strategist Donna Bojarsky told Elle. "It's too important a district to do on-the-job training."

"Over the six weeks I trailed her at numerous campaign question-and-answer sessions, I never once saw her glance at a note or trip over her words," Elle writer Amanda Fortini wrote. "Her verbal dexterity, combined with her staccato, almost patrician, '30s-era-movie-star delivery, often made me think of a heroine in a screwball comedy."

Williamson announced her presidential campaign at a January 28 event in Los Angeles. "It is time for us to rise up, the way other generations have risen up," she said. "Sometimes, people are so cynical these days, as though other generations owed us something. Cynicism is just an excuse for not helping. And whining is not an option."

"We need to address the deep emotional and psychological dynamics within the average citizen that have led to the erosion of our political system," she writes on her website. "In order to have a moral and spiritual awakening in America, we need a leader who is a moral and spiritual awakener."

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