Melinda Gates, née French, is a former Microsoft employee who was the project manager of Microsoft Bob, Microsoft Encarta, and Microsoft Expedia. In 1994 she married Bill Gates, founder and leader of Microsoft. They have three children, Jennifer Katharine Gates (1996), Rory John Gates (1999) and Phoebe Adele Gates (2002).

Melinda was born and raised in Dallas, Texas. She earned Bachelor Degrees in Computer Science and Economics from Duke University in 1986 and an MBA from Duke in 1987, and now sits on Duke University's Board of Trustees.

Along with her husband, Melinda founded the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, a charitable organization.

She attends the Bilderberg Group.