Roy and Kristin Cooper Have Both Served North Carolina for Many Years

Governor Roy Cooper has been a part of North Carolina's politics for three decades. He began serving the state as a member of North Carolina's House of Representatives, representing the 72nd district. After serving in that seat for four years, he then transitioned to a seat in the state's Senate for 10 years. From there, he has served as the Majority Leader for the state's Senate, as well as North Carolina's Attorney General.

With a long career in politics, it's unsurprising that he managed to secure himself the seat as North Carolina's 75th governor, taking on the role directly after his time as Attorney General.

But serving dutifully alongside Roy is his wife, who has an impressive career in politics on her own. Here's what we know about the governor's wife, Kristin Cooper.

As the wife of the governor of North Carolina, Roy's wife Kristin is also considered to be the First Lady of North Carolina. Upon taking on the role at the start of 2017, she announced that she would make it her mission to visit all 100 counties in the state of North Carolina to speak with the people and discuss their struggles and needs. Much of her energy has been focused on bringing attention to the arts, foster care, and other needs for children in the state of North Carolina.

Before taking on this role in public office, Kristin worked as an attorney and a guardian ad litem for foster children in Wake County, N.C., making decisions to help those in the foster care system without someone to decide on their behalf.

As a graduate of the University of Oklahoma and Campbell University, she has served on staff with both the Oklahoma Legislature and the North Carolina General Assembly.

"I hope they remember that I genuinely care about this state... I don't want to be remembered as somebody who stayed up in Raleigh and went to parties. I want to meet people, and see what interests them... and what challenges they face," she told Spectrum News in September 2017, less than one year into her time as First Lady. "I am finding out that we are more alike than different."

Throughout their long marriage, Kirstin and Roy have raised three daughters (Claire, Natalie, and Hilary), who are all adults now. All three daughters attended and graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel hill, where Roy received both his Bachelor of Arts and his JD.

All three children have grown and left their parents' home (the couple now live in North Carolina's Executive Mansion), though Roy and Kristin have celebrated every milestone with them.

The governor has posted congradulatory messages for his daughters as they've graduated from college, with Hilary following in her parents' footsteps and receiving her JD. Occasionally, his daughters will attend events with their father, showing their support for the Democratic politician, though their visits are not as frequent as they each pursue their own lives.