Gabrielle Dee Giffords is an American retired politician and gun control advocate who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives representing Arizona’s 8th congressional district from January 2007 until January 2012, when she resigned due to a severe brain injury suffered during an assassination attempt.
A member of the Democratic Party, she was the third woman in Arizona’s history to be elected to the U.S. Congress. Though a moderate on the issue during her time in Congress, Giffords has since become an ardent advocate for gun control.
In January 2013, she and her husband launched Americans for Responsible Solutions, a non-profit organization and Super-PAC which later joined with the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence to become Giffords.
On October 13, 2022, she was named the Grand Marshal of the 2023 Rose Parade and will preside over the Rose Parade and the Rose Bowl game.
How is Gabby Giffords related to Gwyneth Paltrow?
Gwyneth Paltrow is related to U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, the congresswoman who was shot in the head Saturday during a meet-and-greet in Arizona.
Paltrow’s rep told Entertainment Tonight that the actress and Giffords — who is in critical condition after being shot at point-blank range outside a supermarket — are cousins.
“Although I have never had the pleasure of meeting congresswoman Giffords, my thoughts and prayers are with her and her family as well as the other victims of this horrible act of senseless violence,” Paltrow said in a statement.
She’s not the only actress with ties to victims of Saturday’s shooting. Sophia Bush tweeted Sunday that 9-year-old Christina Green, one of six people killed during the incident, was her second cousin.
“There are no words to explain what my cousin’s family is going through in Arizona,” she wrote. “How can this be? Violence is never the answer.”
On Sunday, Jared L. Loughner, a 22-year-old college dropout, was charged with five federal counts, including the attempted assassination of a member of Congress. A total of 20 people were wounded during the shooting.