Kate Gosselin

Background

Kate Gosselin isn’t your run-of-the-mill reality T.V. star. For starters, she gave birth to sextuplets (think about that…). The ambitious T.V. personality, considered one of the world’s most famous moms, got her start in reality T.V. by appearing on a special about her family. She’s had her own reality show and appeared on “The View” since then. Gosselin has hit a few rough patches along the way but has continued to persevere. She was born on March 28, 1975, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to a large family of five siblings. Gosselin is the daughter of Charlene and Kenton Kreider and is of German, Scottish, and English ancestry. Before becoming famous, the mother of eight earned a nursing degree and worked as a labor and delivery nurse. When Gosselin went to a company picnic in 1997, she had no idea she was about to meet someone who would change her life.

Jon Gosselin was at that same picnic and the two met, fell in love, and married in 1999, after which Gosselin had her first two children, twins Cara Nicole and Madelyn Kate. The Gosselins were unable to conceive in the years that followed, so the family’s matriarch decided to undergo fertility treatment due to a condition she had. She eventually got pregnant and gave birth to sextuplets, daughters Alexis Faith, Hannah Joy, and Leah Hope; and sons Aaden Jonathan, Collin Thomas, and Joel Kevin, in 2004. Gosselin’s first foray into reality television manifested itself in a segment on the NBC show “Home Delivery.” Following the feature, the family appeared on “Surviving Sextuplets and Twins,” a Discovery Health special that aired in 2005, which resulted in high ratings, paving the way for the family to get their own show.

That show was “Jon & Kate Plus 8,” which was a behind-the-scenes look at the family’s life and catapulted them to fame in 2007. The reality show aired from 2007 to 2011 and was later renamed “Kate Plus 8” (2010). Regrettably, it was not all roses for Gosselin, as the couple decided to divorce, which was revealed in one of the show’s episodes (2009). However, while her personal life was falling apart, her professional life appeared to be taking off. Gosselin appeared as a contestant on “Dancing with the Stars” the same year. Gosselin returned to “The View” as a co-host a year later (2010). Season four of “Kate Plus 8” premiered in 2015 and ran until 2017.

On a personal level, the Gosselins had gone through a divorce, with their heated arguments and verbal scuffles making headlines. The sordid affair saw two of their children living with Jon, while the rest remained with the mother. More recently, Gosselin upgraded her nurse license to allow her to work in multiple states. She currently resides in Troutman, North Carolina.