On Jan. 20, 1993, the day of President Bill Clinton’s inauguration, Hart High School alumna Dee Dee Myers made history when she became the first woman to serve as White House press secretary.

At just 31 years old, Myers was also the second-youngest person ever to hold the position, a role she served in until Dec. 22, 1994.

Although Myers was born on Sept. 1, 1961, in North Kingstown, Rhode Island, she was raised in the Valencia Hills subdivision and graduated from Hart High School in 1979.

Her nickname, “Dee Dee,” originated in childhood when her older sister was unable to pronounce the word “baby,” according to a 1994 interview with The Seattle Times.

After high school, Myers studied political science and French at Santa Clara University. Following her graduation, she began her political career with the Citizens Action League, where she went door-to-door advocating for utility rate reform.

Myers later became a protégé of Los Angeles attorney Mickey Kantor during his role managing Walter Mondale’s 1984 California presidential campaign. Kantor, who would later serve as President Clinton’s U.S. trade representative, once said Myers had “tremendous instincts for politics.”

Although Mondale lost the election, Myer’s career continued to advance as she worked as a field representative for California State Senator Art Torres and later served as press secretary for Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley at City Hall and during his unsuccessful 1986 gubernatorial campaign.

In 1990, Myers was the spokesperson for Dianne Feinstein’s bid for governor, and in 1991, she helped Frank Jordan win a long-shot race for mayor of San Francisco.

Following that victory, Myers joined Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign, again with Kantor’s support. Clinton, then the governor of Arkansas, would later become the president she served under, a candidate Myers once described as “the best I’ve ever worked for.”

After leaving the Clinton administration in 1994, Myers transitioned into media and public commentary, becoming a political analyst, television commentator, and frequent speaker on politics and the media.

In 1997, Myers married Todd Purdum, a former White House correspondent and national editor for Vanity Fair. The couple has two children, Kate and Stephen, and lives in Los Angeles. Their relationship famously inspired the fictional pairing of C.J. Cregg and Danny Concannon on the television series The West Wing.

To read yesterday’s Today in SCV History, click here.

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