According to Erika Kirk, her life changed for the better when she met her late husband, Charlie Kirk. Before meeting Charlie, she led a completely different life, a version in which she barely recognizes herself.
Erika, who grew up in Scottsdale, Arizona, graduated from Arizona State University in 2012. She has a bachelor’s degree in political science and international relations. She later attended Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, and she got her master’s in legal studies. The mother of two also holds a doctorate of education in Christian leadership.
Charlie Kirk was shot dead at a Utah university in September 2025. Erika has taken a vow to carry forward his beliefs. She described meeting her husband as the most magical thing to have happened to her. “When you meet the right man, everything shifts. Everything changes. When I met Charlie, that was it,” Erika said at the 10th annual Young Women’s Leadership Summit (YWLS) in 2025, while talking about her special bond with her late husband.
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Even before meeting Charlie, Erika was motivated to do community service. She served at soup kitchens along with her family. “My mom used to take us to soup kitchens and constantly said we needed to share our blessings with others,” Erika once revealed in a conversation with Arizona Foothills Magazine.
She started competing in beauty pageants when she was still in high school. She won the title of Miss Arizona USA in 2011 on her 23rd birthday, and also participated in the Miss USA pageant, owned by President Trump, the following year. In 2019, Erika appeared on season 3 of the hit reality show Summer House as the love interest of Jordan Verroi.
According to US Weekly, Charlie Kirk first met Erika in 2018 during a job interview. However, after talking to her about their shared belief, Charlie wanted to date her. They tied the knot in 2021.
…there is no linear blueprint for grief. One day you’re collapsed on the floor crying out the name Jesus in between labored breaths. The next you’re playing with your children in the living room, surrounded by family photos, and feeling a rush of something you can only attempt… pic.twitter.com/kzW5cCPQTA
— Erika Kirk (@MrsErikaKirk) October 10, 2025
Erika Kirk mentions that meeting Charlie shifted something in her. Previously, she was career-driven and didn’t want to settle down or start a family. In 2006, Erika started a non-profit named Everyday Heroes Like You. She revealed, “I have a passion to help people in general, so when I was creating my nonprofit, I didn’t want to focus on [solely] kids or animals; I wanted to make it all-encompassing and find a way [to] help everyone in a unified way.”
However, the more she knew of him and his ideology, the more deeply she fell for him. The Turning Point USA CEO revealed, “So, before I met Charlie, I was not on the path of, ‘I want to have six kids and a white picket house fence. That was not my mentality.” Erika Kirk’s aspirations changed, and all she wanted was to be a wife and embrace motherhood.
