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A look at Silda Wall Spitzer

Ryan Chatelain | rchatelain@am-ny.com

March 11, 2008

New York Governor Elliott Spitzer (L) and his wife Silda Wall Spitzer arrive for entertainment in the East Room of the White House, featuring singers Vince Gill and Amy Grant, following a State Dinner for US state governors in Washington, DC, February 24, 2008. AFP (SAUL LOEB, AFP/Getty Images / March 10, 2008)

A long-time professional and personal confidant of the governor's, Silda Wall Spitzer traded in success as an up-and-coming high-powered corporate attorney to care for her and Gov. Eliot Spitzer's three daughters.

New York's first lady met the governor while the two were attending Harvard Law School in 1984. The couple married in 1987.

While the governor has a stubborn streak, family friends have described Silda Spitzer, 50, as even-keeled, unassuming and charming.

Gov. Spitzer admitted in a January 2007 New York Daily News article that he often relies on his wife's advice. "She's brilliant, and she has a better sense of issues than just about anybody I know," he said.

After taking a break from working as a corporate lawyer and in-house counsel for Chase Manhattan Bank to care for her family, in 1996 Silda Spitzer founded Children for Children, a nonprofit foundation that encourages children to participate in community service.