Kelly Chauvin is a Hmong American real estate agent and the ex-wife of former US police officer Derek Chauvin, who has been charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the death of George Floyd.
Wiki/Biography
Kellie May Chauvin (formerly Kellie May Thao, Kellie May Bear) was born in October 1974 in Laos (now 46 years old as of 2021). She went to Thailand with her family as a child refugee during the Laotian Civil War (1959-75). After spending several years in a refugee camp, her family fled to Eau Claire, Wisconsin in 1980. At the age of ten, she attended kindergarten. After divorcing her first husband, she earned an associate degree in radiology and enrolled in Kaplan University’s residential real estate program.
appearance
Height (approximate): 5′ 1″
Eye Color: Brown
Hair color: Black
Family and Race
She belongs to the Hmong community. She has an older brother who is a police officer in South Paul. At the age of 17, she married Kujay Xiong (whom she did not know beforehand); because she was from the Hmong community, her parents believed that if a woman passed the age of 18, she would not be able to find a husband for life. She went through an abusive marriage until she finally decided to divorce and move to Minnesota. She has two children from her first marriage. On June 12, 2010, she married Derek Chauvin for the second time in Washington County. In an interview, she said about her husband:
Under that uniform, he was just a weak man. He was such a gentleman. He still opened the door for me, still put on my coat for me. [previous] After my divorce, I made a list of what I needed to be in a relationship, and he met all of them.”
Kelly Chauvin and her ex-husband
She filed for divorce after her husband was charged with murdering George Floyd. She also requested a last name change and full right and title to joint property she and Derek own in Oakdale, Minnesota, and Windermere, Florida, as well as an equitable distribution of their shared vehicles and bank accounts. On April 20, 2021, after considering three weeks of testimony from 45 witnesses, including bystanders, police officials, and medical experts, a 12-member jury found Derek Chauvin guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and manslaughter; Chauvin was immediately handcuffed and taken into custody after the verdict was read.
Derek Chauvin is handcuffed after being found guilty of George Floyd’s death in a Minneapolis court on April 20, 2021
On June 25, 2021, Chauvin was sentenced to 22 and a half years in prison; previously, the sentencing guidelines range was 10 years and 8 months. This is the first time that Minnesota has exceeded 15 years. When sentencing, Judge Peter Cahill said that he wanted to –
Acknowledging the deep and overwhelming grief felt by all families, especially Floyd’s family.”
Chauvin will be held in a restrictive housing unit at Oak Park Heights Correctional Facility in Minnesota, which is separate from general inmate housing, said Sarah Fitzgerald, a spokeswoman for the Minnesota Department of Corrections.
Profession
She interned as a radiographer at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis and later became a full-time employee there. After working at the medical center for thirteen years, she quit her job and worked as a real estate agent at Re/Max Results. At the suggestion of a close friend, she entered the USOA’s Mrs. Minnesota pageant in 2018 and won, becoming the first Hmong person ever to win the title.
Kelly Chauvin as Lady Minnesota
dispute
- Kelly entered the public eye in 2020 when she filed for divorce from Derek Chauvin after the death of George Floyd. Her interracial marriage also became a target of attack by Asian Americans, who accused Kelly of self-loathing and supporting white supremacy. Many people called her marriage “a tool to gain social status in the United States” and nicknamed her “Lu,” which means “an Asian woman who worships white people in the form of dating white men.”
- Amid reports of her divorce from Derek, false posts began to appear on social media claiming that she was the sister of Tou Thao, the former police officer accused of assisting in George’s murder. Later, her divorce lawyer Amanda Mason-Sekula clarified that the two were not related and that Kelly’s family had been harassed and threatened due to multiple false reports.
- In February 2005, she was charged with writing a bad check for $42. Despite multiple letters to her home, she still did not pay the balance by July 2005. The state of Wisconsin then filed a criminal complaint against her. However, she had already paid the money, so the case was dismissed.
Assets and Properties
She co-owns a home in Oakdale, Minnesota, valued at $273,800, and a townhouse in Florida valued at $226,282, with Derek Chauvin.
Facts/Trivia
- In an interview during her campaign for Mrs. Minnesota, she said her hobby is helping people. She often buys groceries for police officers and military personnel and helps women who have been abused. She also rescues dogs, cats and other animals. She also donates to and volunteers for Hmong Women Empowerment, a nonprofit that helps Hmong women who have just arrived in the United States find jobs, care for children and build community.
- As a child, Kelly Chauvin was teased and bullied. She was the only one among her friends who was not invited to participate in the local parade because other children called her “ugly.”
- She first met Derek Chauvin while working at the Hennepin County Medical Center. Chauvin took a suspect for a health check before taking them to the jail. After Derek left, Chauvin contacted Kelly and became friends with her.
- After hearing about George Floyd’s death, she said
I am devastated by the death of Mr. Floyd, and I offer my deepest sympathies to his family, loved ones, and all who are grieving this tragedy.”
- Kelly is an animal lover and has a pet dog.
Kellie Chauvin and her pets
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education