Hope Hicks Bio
Hope Charlotte Hicks (born October 21, 1988) is an American public relations executive and political advisor best known for her senior roles in the first Trump administration. A longtime aide within the Trump Organization, she served as White House communications director from 2017 to 2018 and later as counselor to the president from 2020 to 2021. She has testified to congressional panels about her White House tenure and provided testimony in the 2024 hush-money criminal trial.
Born in Greenwich, Connecticut, Hicks graduated from Southern Methodist University in 2010 and built her early career in New York City public relations before joining Donald Trump’s orbit. She also worked as an executive at Fox Corporation from 2018 to 2020, and in August 2025 was appointed chief operating officer of Devil May Care Media, the media company founded by Megyn Kelly.
Early Life and Background
Hope Charlotte Hicks was born on October 21, 1988, in Greenwich, Connecticut. She is the daughter of Caye Ann (Cavender) Hicks and Paul Burton Hicks III. Her father was Regional CEO, Americas, of Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide, and later served as executive vice president of communications for the National Football League from 2010 to 2015 before becoming managing director of the Glover Park Group.
Hicks grew up in a family with a deep history in government administration. Her mother was an administrative aide to Ed Jones, a Democratic congressman from Tennessee, while her maternal grandfather, G. W. F. “Dutch” Cavender, worked as an administrator at the U.S. Department of Agriculture during two administrations, and her maternal grandmother, Marilee Cavender, worked at the U.S. Department of Transportation.
As a teenager, Hicks pursued modeling, appearing in Greenwich magazine in 2002 and later posing for a Ralph Lauren campaign with her older sister Mary Grace. She also became the face of the Hourglass Adventures novels and was the cover model for The It Girl (2005), the first novel in Cecily von Ziegesar’s series. She attended Greenwich High School, where she was co-captain of the lacrosse team and graduated in 2006.
Path to US Politics
Hicks attended Southern Methodist University, where she majored in English and helped start a club lacrosse program. After graduating in 2010, she entered the New York City public relations world, first working at Zeno Group and then joining Hiltzik Strategies in 2012. At Hiltzik Strategies she worked for Ivanka Trump on her fashion line and other Trump ventures.
In August 2014, Hicks joined the Trump Organization full time, working for Ivanka Trump inside Trump Tower and helping expand the Ivanka Trump Collection and its online store. By October 2014, she had begun working directly for Donald Trump, marking her first formal step into the orbit of what would become a national political operation.
Until January 2015, Hicks had never worked in politics or volunteered on a campaign. That changed when Donald Trump summoned her to his office, telling her he was thinking about running for president and that she would be his press secretary. From that moment, she transitioned from corporate communications to the center of American political life.
Hope Hicks Career
Early Career (2010–2014)
Following her 2010 graduation from Southern Methodist University, Hicks began her professional life in public relations at the New York City firm Zeno Group. She later joined Hiltzik Strategies in 2012 after meeting the firm’s founder at a Super Bowl event, where she built her reputation working on fashion and lifestyle accounts.
At Hiltzik Strategies she represented Ivanka Trump’s fashion line, gaining direct exposure to the Trump business empire. Her work on these accounts positioned her for a full-time role within the Trump Organization, where she would soon become a key figure in the company’s external communications.
Trump 2016 Presidential Campaign (2015–2016)
In January 2015, Donald Trump selected 26-year-old Hicks as press secretary for his potential presidential campaign. She played the role of gatekeeper to reporters, handling more than 250 press requests a day and deciding which journalists would be allowed to speak with Trump. Hicks also took dictation from Trump for his tweets and transmitted the text to another staffer who posted from the candidate’s official account.
After Trump’s first primary victories, Hicks was asked to choose between staying with the Trump Organization or working on the campaign full time. She initially decided to leave, but Trump convinced her to remain, and she stayed on as press secretary through the general election. In January 2017, she was included on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, recognized for serving as a one-woman press team during the campaign.
White House Communications Director (2017–2018)
On December 22, 2016, it was announced that Hicks would join the Trump administration in the newly created position of White House director of strategic communications. On August 16, 2017, she was appointed interim White House communications director following the departure of Anthony Scaramucci, and Politico labeled her the “Untouchable Hope Hicks,” regarding her as one of the few officials whose job was secure. She was named permanent White House communications director on September 12, 2017.
On February 27, 2018, Hicks gave nine hours of closed-door testimony to the House Intelligence Committee, during which she acknowledged that she sometimes had to tell “white lies” in her role as communications director but declined to answer questions about her White House tenure. The next day, the White House confirmed to The New York Times that she planned to resign, and she officially stepped down on March 29, 2018.
Fox Corporation Era (2018–2020)
Between March 2018 and March 2020, Hicks served as Fox Corporation’s chief communications officer and executive vice president. During this period she earned more than $1.8 million in compensation.
Counselor to the President (2020–2021)
In February 2020, it was announced that Hicks would return to the White House as an aide to Jared Kushner and counselor to President Donald Trump, officially assuming her roles on March 9, 2020. On June 1, 2020, during the George Floyd protests in Washington, she was among those who suggested that Trump walk to St. John’s Episcopal Church across from the White House, an appearance preceded by the use of tear gas and riot control tactics to clear peaceful protesters from Lafayette Square.
On October 1, 2020, Hicks tested positive for COVID-19, prompting tests for President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump, both of whom also tested positive hours later. After the 2020 election, Hicks advised Trump to move on from his claims of victory, reportedly leading him to remark, “Well, Hope doesn’t believe in me,” to which she replied, “No, I don’t. Nobody’s convinced me otherwise.” She largely disappeared from public view in the final weeks of Trump’s presidency.
Post-White House and Recent Work
On October 25, 2022, Hicks sat for a transcribed interview with the United States House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack, with portions of her videotaped testimony aired during the committee’s December 19, 2022, public hearing. In that appearance she described Trump as saying “something along the lines of ‘nobody will care about my legacy if I lose … the only thing that matters is winning.’”
On April 1, 2024, it was reported that Hicks would testify for the prosecution in the Trump hush money criminal trial, and on May 3, 2024, she did so, providing detail on Trump’s relationship with former American Media Inc. head David Pecker and on how Trump allegedly wanted his affairs with Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal kept quiet after the Access Hollywood tape release. In November 2024, Hicks stated her intention of voting for Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election.
In August 2025, Hicks was appointed chief operating officer (COO) of Devil May Care Media, the media company founded by Megyn Kelly, where she is responsible for business development, operations, and expansion of the company’s podcast and digital content network.
Notable Events and Milestones
Hicks’s signature moments include her nine-hour testimony before the House Intelligence Committee in February 2018, her mention over 180 times in Robert Mueller’s report on Russian election interference and possible obstruction of justice released on April 18, 2019, and her high-profile testimony for the prosecution in the 2024 hush-money criminal trial. She was also recognized on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in January 2017.
Hope Hicks Family
Family Background and Public Service Lineage
Hope Hicks is the daughter of Paul Burton Hicks III and Caye Ann (Cavender) Hicks. Her father held senior communications roles at Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide and the National Football League, while her mother worked as an administrative aide to Democratic congressman Ed Jones of Tennessee. Her maternal grandfather, G. W. F. “Dutch” Cavender, served as an administrator at the U.S. Department of Agriculture during two administrations, and her maternal grandmother, Marilee Cavender, worked at the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Personal Life
Before Trump’s 2016 election, Hicks split her time between Greenwich and Manhattan before relocating to Washington, D.C. She was previously in a relationship with Rob Porter, White House staff secretary for Trump, at the time of his 2018 resignation. In May 2024, Hicks became engaged to Jim Donovan, a Goldman Sachs investment banker.