{{short description|American journalist (born 1963)}} {{about||the English middle-distance runner|Helen Thorpe (athlete)}} {{Use American English|date=November 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=November 2025}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Helen Thorpe | image = File:Helen thorpe 2014.jpg | caption = Thorpe in 2014 | office = First Lady of Colorado | term_label = In role | governor = John Hickenlooper | term_start = January 11, 2011 | term_end = January 2015 | predecessor = Jeannie Ritter | successor = Robin Pringle {{small|(2016)}} | office2 = First Lady of Denver | term_label2 = In role | term_start2 = July 21, 2003 | term_end2 = January 11, 2011 | predecessor2 = Wilma Webb | successor2 = Gabriela Vidal | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1963|1|23}} | birth_place = London, England | death_date = | death_place = | alma_mater = Princeton University, Columbia University | occupation = Author, Journalist, First Lady of Colorado | spouse = {{marriage|John Hickenlooper|2002|2015|end=div}} | children = 1<ref name="nga.org">{{Cite web |url=http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/spouses-bios/col2-content/main-content-list/helen-thorpe.html |title=Helen Thorpe (Colorado) |website=National Governors Association |access-date=2014-08-07 |archive-date=2014-10-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141030080309/http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/spouses-bios/col2-content/main-content-list/helen-thorpe.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> }} '''Helen Thorpe''' (born January 23, 1963)<ref>{{cite web |title=Helen Thorpe |url=https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/helen-thorpe#Early-Life|url-status=live|access-date=March 27, 2021|website=The Colorado Encyclopedia|date=26 January 2021|archive-date=10 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210410122733/https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/helen-thorpe#Early-Life}}</ref>{{citation needed|date=November 2020}} is an American author and freelance journalist who was the First Lady of Colorado following her husband's inauguration until their divorce in 2015. She has written for major American newspapers and magazines, and has authored four books.
== Early life == Thorpe was born in London, England to Irish parents and was raised in Medford, New Jersey.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://authors.simonandschuster.com/Helen-Thorpe/41422705|title=Helen Thorpe|work=Simon & Schuster|access-date=2014-08-07|archive-date=2014-08-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140810045339/http://authors.simonandschuster.com/Helen-Thorpe/41422705|url-status=live}}</ref> Thorpe's father, Larry, was born in Dublin. Her mother is from Virginia, County Cavan, Ireland.<ref name="celticevents.com"/>
==Education== Thorpe attended Princeton University, graduating magna cum laude. In 1989, she attended Columbia University as a graduate student, receiving a master's degree in English literature.<ref name="celticevents.com">{{cite web|url=http://celticevents.com/2012/04/22/profile-helen-thorpe/|title=Profile: Helen Thorpe|work=celticevents.com|access-date=2014-08-07|archive-date=2014-08-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140810050626/http://celticevents.com/2012/04/22/profile-helen-thorpe/|url-status=live}}</ref>
==Career== Some of her first jobs following her graduation from Princeton were in Boston, working as an intern at the ''Atlantic Monthly''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.5280.com/magazine/2009/10/two-lives-helen-thorpe?page=full|title=The Two Lives of Helen Thorpe|work=5280.com|access-date=2014-08-22|archive-date=2014-08-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140826114124/http://www.5280.com/magazine/2009/10/two-lives-helen-thorpe?page=full|url-status=live}}</ref> She then worked for a short time at both ''The New York Observer'' as a staff writer, and then, having caught the attention of editor Tina Brown, for ''New Yorker Magazine''. In 1994, she was hired by ''Texas Monthly'' and moved to Austin. She left the magazine in 1999.<ref name="celticevents.com"/>
Her stories have also been published in ''George'', ''New York'', ''Westword'', ''The New York Times Magazine'', and ''5280.'' She wrote ''Talk of the Town'' for ''The New Yorker'', and has written for ''Slate'' and ''Harper's Bazaar''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/helen-thorpe/|title=Helen Thorpe|work=The Atlantic|access-date=2017-03-07|archive-date=2015-04-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150417025250/http://www.theatlantic.com/helen-thorpe/|url-status=live}}</ref>
Thorpe also published four books. Her first book, ''Just Like Us'', follows the lives of four Denver girls of Mexican ancestry and deals with aspects of immigration into the United States. It was published by Scribner in 2009.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.denverpost.com/theater/ci_24234429/helen-thorpes-just-like-us-adapted-denver-center|title=Helen Thorpe's "Just Like Us" adapted for the Denver Center stage|work=denverpost.com|date=3 October 2013|access-date=7 August 2014|archive-date=17 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150417023703/http://www.denverpost.com/theater/ci_24234429/helen-thorpes-just-like-us-adapted-denver-center|url-status=live}}</ref> It subsequently won the Colorado Book Award and was named one of the best books published that year by the ''Washington Post''. Her second book, ''Soldier Girls,'' was published by Scribner in 2014. It describes the experiences of three women who enlisted in the Army National Guard before 9/11. The three women had anticipated only part-time military service but ultimately served deployments in both Iraq and Afghanistan. ''Soldier Girls'' was named the number one nonfiction book of that year by ''Time Magazine''. Her third book, ''The Newcomers'', follows 22 newly-arrived teenagers from nations racked by drought, famine, or war, recording their first year in America as they take a beginner-level English Language Acquisition class at South High School in Denver. It was published by Scribner in 2017. Thorpe explores what it means to "be American" while learning these refugee students' stories, presenting a perspective on the issues of immigration, multiculturalism, and America's role on the global stage. ''The Newcomers'' won the Colorado Book Award for narrative nonfiction, was named a finalist for the J. Anthony Lukas Work-in-Progress Award, and was a finalist for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://coloradohumanities.org/programs/colorado-book-awards/|access-date=2021-03-27|website=coloradohumanities.org|title=Colorado Book Awards|archive-date=2021-03-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210323004846/https://coloradohumanities.org/programs/colorado-book-awards/|url-status=live}}</ref> Her fourth book, ''Finding Motherland'', is a collection of linked essays about family, food, and migration. It was published as a digital-only offering in 2020.<ref>{{cite web|title=Finding Motherland|url=https://www.helenthorpe.com/finding-motherland|access-date=2021-03-27|website=Books by Helen Thorpe|language=en-US|archive-date=2021-12-31|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211231044931/https://www.helenthorpe.com/finding-motherland|url-status=live}}</ref>
Some of Thorpe's stories have also aired on the radio shows ''This American Life'' and ''Soundprint''. In addition, ''Just Like Us'' was adapted for the stage by the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, and ''Soldier Girls'' was optioned by HBO and Julia Louis-Dreyfus as a potential miniseries.
Thorpe teaches narrative nonfiction at Lighthouse Writers Workshop and Regis University.<ref>{{cite web|title=Instructors|url=https://www.lighthousewriters.org/instructors|access-date=2021-03-27|website=Lighthouse Writers Workshop|language=en|archive-date=2021-04-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418193656/https://www.lighthousewriters.org/instructors|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Helen Thorpe {{!}} Regis University|url=https://www.regis.edu/about/profile-directory/affiliate-faculty/helen-thorpe|access-date=2021-03-27|website=www.regis.edu|archive-date=2021-01-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210117005602/https://www.regis.edu/about/profile-directory/affiliate-faculty/helen-thorpe|url-status=live}}</ref> She has also taught at Colorado College as a visiting professor in the journalism program. Thorpe is a board member of the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vaildaily.com/news/12429129-113/women-military-foundation-girls|title=Author Helen Thorpe discusses women in the military at Women's Foundation|work=The VailDaily|access-date=2014-08-07|archive-date=2015-04-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150417024238/http://www.vaildaily.com/news/12429129-113/women-military-foundation-girls|url-status=live}}</ref>
==Personal life== Thorpe met John Hickenlooper in 2000 at her 37th birthday party while she was living in Texas.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cozine.com/2011-june/qa-with-author-journalist-and-colorado-first-lady-helen-thorpe/|title=Q&A with author, journalist and Colorado First Lady Helen Thorpe|work=Colorado Central Magazine|access-date=2014-08-07|archive-date=2014-08-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140809221328/http://cozine.com/2011-june/qa-with-author-journalist-and-colorado-first-lady-helen-thorpe/|url-status=live}}</ref> They married in January 2002 in a Quaker wedding ceremony in Austin.<ref name="celticevents.com"/> In July 2012, the couple announced plans to separate amicably after 10 years of marriage, and they divorced in January 2015.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.9news.com/news/article/312033/339/Gov-Wife-would-stay-for-presidential-run |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140812002002/http://www.9news.com/news/article/312033/339/Gov-Wife-would-stay-for-presidential-run |url-status=dead |archive-date=2014-08-12 |title=Report: Hickenlooper's wife would stay for presidential run |work=9news.com }}</ref>
==Works== * 2009{{snd}}''Just Like Us: The True Story of Four Mexican Girls Coming of Age in America'' * 2014{{snd}}''Soldier Girls: The Battles of Three Women at Home and at War'' * 2017{{snd}}''The Newcomers: Finding Refuge, Friendship, and Hope in an American Classroom'' *2020{{snd}}''Finding Motherland: Essays about Family, Food, and Migration''
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category|Helen Thorpe}} *{{C-SPAN|77049}} {{John Hickenlooper}} {{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thorpe, Helen}} Category:1963 births Category:Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Category:First ladies and gentlemen of Colorado Category:First ladies and gentlemen of Denver Category:Journalists from Colorado Category:Living people Category:Princeton University alumni Category:Hickenlooper family Category:21st-century American women writers Category:American people of Irish descent Category:People from Medford, New Jersey Category:Journalists from New Jersey Category:American freelance journalists Category:21st-century American women journalists Category:21st-century American journalists