Melissa Cohen

Melissa Batya Cohen Biden (born ) is a South African-American activist and documentary filmmaker. She is a member of the First Family of the United States as the wife of Hunter Biden, a son of U.S. President Joe Biden. Early life Melissa Cohen was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. She lived in an orphanage and was three years old when adopted by Lee and Zoe Cohen, a South African Jewish couple with three sons. She was raised in the Jewish faith and attended a Jewish day school before studying interior design at Greenside Design Center College of Design in South Africa. She moved to Los Angeles when she was 21 years old to attend the University of California, Los Angeles. Later life While in Los Angeles, she met American businessman Jason Lavender. They married in 2011 and separated in 2014. Cohen was an advocate for environmental and nature conservation groups.