Who are Andrew Cuomo's parents? NY Guv slammed for 's**tting on his father's name'
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is being slammed for not living up to his late father's name amid allegations of sexual misconduct. Cuomo family patriarch and three-term New York state governor Mario Cuomo was a celebrated leader. But his list of accomplishments wasn't the only inspiration Andrew, or his four other equally well-established siblings, had in their lives. Their mother Matilda Cuomo is a pioneer in activism too, having been inducted in the National Women's Hall of Fame on her own merit.
Calls for Andrew to resign have gathered steam after NY Attorney General Letitia James filed a report where 11 women accuse the political figure of sexual misconduct. From former aide Melissa DeRosa to Andrew's youngest sibling Chris Cuomo - those closest to the 56th Governor of New York have been under close scrutiny. But as the Cuomo brothers face legal and media backlash, their father's legacy still shines. Here's a look at the lives of Mario and Matilda Cuomo.
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Who was Andrew Cuomo's father?
Andrew Cuomo was born to Mario and Matilda Cuomo - the former governor and first lady of New York. Mario was born in 1932, to parents from Campania, Italy, who ran a grocery store in New York. A baseball player in his student years, Mario gave up the game after suffering a head injury and decided on pursuing law - a career initially marred by ethnic prejudice against his Italian heritage that soared when he represented Fred Trump. Mario quit law to become New York secretary of state. After two unsuccessful attempts, he finally became the lieutenant governor of New York in 1979, before making waves by being elected the governor in 1983.
The Democrat had also served as the secretary of state of New York from 1975 to 1978, before becoming the 52nd governor of New York for three terms, from 1983 to 1994. In 2014, Mario was hospitalized for a heart condition, and after receiving treatment he was alleged to be "in good spirits". Less than two months later, Mario died on January 1, 2015, at his Manhattan home from heart failure. The tragedy struck the Cuomo family just hours after Andrew had been sworn in to his second term as governor of New York State. He was laid to rest at St John Cemetery, in Middle Village, Queens.
Years before his death, Mario had also been the alleged target of the Sicilian mafia, claimed Maurizio Avola - a mafioso turned police informer in 2016. The plan to ambush Mario with a dozen armed men during a trip to Italy ultimately fell through due to the number of guards he turned up with. In the wake of sexual assault allegations against Andrew, social media is also accusing him of tainting Mario's name. "You have shit on your father’s name" and "Andrew and Chris Cuomo have disgraced their father’s name" were tweets recently posted by a user. Another user wrote: "Two boys trying to make their Mother proud of them by living out their father's legacy, Mario, but they are failing big time at it. Andrew ought to resign and Chris ought to be removed as a CNN host of Cuomo, Prime Time."
Andrew and Chris Cuomo have disgraced their father’s name.
— Kihei Beach (@KiheiBeach) August 6, 2021
Two boys trying to make their Mother proud of them by living out their father's legacy, Mario, but they are failing big time at it. Andrew ought to resign and Chris ought to be removed as a CNN host of Cuomo, Prime Time.
— Thomas L Cooke (@ThomasLCooke) August 4, 2021
The Cuomo matriarch - Mattia Raffi
Born in 1931, the former first lady of New York is a celebrated educator who has advocated for women, children, and families. Some of her most notable work in the field include being a proponent of New York State Mentoring Program and the founder of child advocacy group Mentoring USA. Born Mattia Raffa, she changed her name out of fear, after teachers in elementary school kept calling her Matilda. And after achieving many titles and accolades, Matilda was inducted into National Women's Hall of Fame in 2017.
The Cuomo matriarch met her match Mario in 1951, at the St John's University cafeteria in Queens where they both went to school. After getting married in 1954, Matilda took up teaching as a profession and continued supporting her husband's law school education. Their love has been reported as "one of the great love stories" - one touted in public for the air of privacy they maintained. After 64 long years of togetherness, tragedy befell them when Mario died in 2015.
The couple also shared daughters Margaret - a noted physician specializing in radiology, Maria - producer of Newtown and The Invisible War, and Madeline. CNN anchor Chris is their youngest child. During the first phase of the pandemic, her son Andrew announced 'Matilda's Law' - a protective order for people over 70 in the state in response to the outbreak.