Wendi Deng Murdoch 邓文迪 |
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Wendi Deng Murdoch at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival
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Born |
Deng Wenge (邓文革) December 8, 1968 Jinan, China |
Residence | New York City, U.S. |
Alma mater |
California State University at Northridge Yale University |
Occupation | Businesswoman, actress, producer |
Spouse(s) |
Jake Cherry (m. 1990; div. 1991) Rupert Murdoch (m. 1999; div. 2014) |
Children | 2 |
Wendi Deng Murdoch (simplified Chinese: 邓文迪; traditional Chinese: 鄧文迪; pinyin: Dèng Wéndí; born December 8, 1968) is a Chinese-American actress, producer, and businesswoman. She was the third wife of News Corporation chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch, who filed for divorce from her in June 2013. Deng's debut in the media came with Fox TV, and she was subsequently offered an internship at Star TV in Hong Kong, part of News Corporation.
Wendi Deng Murdoch was born in Jinan, Shandong, and raised in Xuzhou, Jiangsu. Her birth name was Deng Wenge (邓文革), Wenge meaning "Cultural Revolution." She changed it in her teens. She is one of four children (three daughters, one son) born to engineers. She attended Xuzhou First Secondary School (a.k.a. Xuzhou No. 1 Middle School). She developed an interest in playing volleyball. While she was in high school, her father relocated to Guangzhou, where he worked at the People's Machinery Works; she and her family remained behind for a short while. In 1985, at age 16, she enrolled in Guangzhou Medical College.
In 1987 she met an American businessman and his wife, Jake and Joyce Cherry, who had temporarily relocated to China and helped build a refrigerator factory. She studied English with Joyce. In 1988, she abandoned her medical studies and traveled to the United States to study, with Jake and Joyce Cherry sponsoring her student visa (Jake later became Deng's first husband). She enrolled at California State University, Northridge, where she studied economics and was among the top students. She received a bachelor's degree in economics from California State University at Northridge and an MBA from the Yale School of Management.