(CNN) – Conservative activist Charlie Kirk leaves behind a wife and two children after he was fatally shot Wednesday.
His wife has been one of his staunchest supporters for years.
For 36-year-old Erika Kirk, her marriage to 31-year-old Charlie Kirk became the center of her life, with much of it playing out in public.
Vice President JD Vance, right, Second Lady Usha Vance, center, and Erika Kirk, holding a cross on a chain, deplane Air Force Two, carrying the body of Charlie Kirk, the CEO and co-founder of Turning Point USA who was shot and killed, Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025, in Phoenix.(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Second only to her marriage, she says, is her first priority: her faith.
The two have been married for four years, getting engaged two years after their first meeting.
They went on to have two kids. Their boy is 1 and the couple’s daughter is 3 years old.
Erika Kirk committed herself to homeschooling their kids while supporting him.
“I love submitting to Charlie because he is a phenomenal leader, and the way that he loves me melts me to want to be able to,” Erika Kirk previously said.
She was often by his side as he traveled the country, but also speaking out herself. She didn’t just espouse his political belief, but complimented his with, what she says, are her more conservative values.
Raised in Scottsdale, Arizona, by her mother, Erika Kirk’s parents divorced when she was young. Her grandfather was an immigrant from Sweden.
She studied political science in college and is working on her doctorate in Christian leadership and biblical studies.
Erika Kirk was also briefly an NCAA women’s basketball player.
She was crowned Miss Arizona in 2012, has a nonprofit, a devotional podcast and a Christian clothing company.
Erika Kirk’s partnership in life and politics is often tinged with concern for their wellbeing; it’s something she mentioned during her most recent podcast.
“My husband is on college campuses getting screamed at by college kids as he’s trying to share with them the truth, and he is so calm,” Erika Kirk described. “Would I be calm? No, I wouldn’t. I barely go to those only because I don’t trust myself not climbing over the table and attacking someone in the crowd because I’m very protective of my husband.”
She acknowledged his appearances had made them vulnerable, but in conversation with her husband, committed to stay their chosen course together.
President Donald Trump spoke to Erika Kirk on Thursday. He says she is “absolutely devastated.”
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