Gavin Newsom: The Governor Who Learned to Lead with Dyslexia
Last updated: November 2026
Gavin Newsom is the Governor of California. He was born in San Francisco on October 10, 1967, and he was identified with dyslexia as a young child. Reading and spelling were hard for him at school, and he often felt far behind his classmates. The boy who struggled to read aloud in class went on to serve as Mayor of San Francisco, then as Lieutenant Governor of California, and then, in 2019, as Governor.
Newsom has spoken openly about dyslexia for years. He has described the fear of reading aloud, the support of his mother, Tessa, and the strategies that helped him learn. As Governor, he has kept early help for children with reading difficulties in public view, and he has written a children's book for readers who find reading hard. He still reads a great deal in the job, and a teleprompter is part of how he does it. He has said he rarely reads a speech from a printed page, and that a teleprompter is easier because he does not have to look down at a page and back up and lose his place.
"Reading aloud in front of the class filled me with heart-pounding fear and anxiety." — Gavin Newsom, September 2021
Quick Facts
- Born: October 10, 1967, in San Francisco, California
- Known for: Governor of California; author of the children's book Ben and Emma's Big Hit
- Identified at: As a young child; no public source gives an exact age
- Still does: Uses a teleprompter for speeches instead of reading from a printed page
- How we know: He was identified with dyslexia as a young child. He has spoken about it himself in interviews and in the statement announcing his children's book, Ben and Emma's Big Hit (2021).
Gavin Newsom's School Years and Identification
Newsom grew up in Marin County, California, and attended Redwood High School in Larkspur. In a 2016 interview with ABC7 News in San Francisco, he said spelling, reading and writing were difficult at school, and he often felt far behind his classmates. He moved between five schools in seven years.
His mother, Tessa, played a central part in the story. Newsom said his mother, a single mother, fought hard for him, and she did not tell him for years that he had been identified with dyslexia, because she did not want him to be stigmatized by it. When he learned about dyslexia, the explanation changed how he saw himself. He had thought he was simply not that smart. Learning the reason for his reading difficulties gave him a way to work on them, and the experience taught him to struggle and to overcome obstacles.