Connie Britton Was Roommates With a U.S. Senator
Connie Britton is known for her roles in Friday Night Lights and Nashville. The actor has a fascinating career and is very talented, but she is one of the few celebrities who prefer to keep their private lives to themselves and let their work shine. Still, did you know that Britton was roommates with a U.S. senator?
Connie Britton and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand briefly roomed in college
Connie Britton and Kristen Gillibrand attended Dartmouth College and were Asian Studies majors, with Britton concentrating in Chinese. The two women became the earliest students from the college to travel to China when the country opened up to American students.
They enrolled at Beijing Normal University, where they both briefly shared a room. According to Britton, per HuffPost, they were in Beijing for the summer. She said, “We were there over the summer, so we were there over Fourth of July, and the American Embassy had a big Fourth of July party, and part of that was doing a lip sync contest, and Kirsten and two other girlfriends of ours did a Madonna song. Can’t remember exactly which one, but let me just say, we won the contest.”
Gillibrand shared a throwback photo of her and Britton in her memoir Off The Sidelines. Both were all smiles in the photo as the future politician rested her hand on the actor’s shoulder. The duo lived together throughout their time in China.
In a different interview, Britton said her pal Gillibrand had always been “fearless.” She said, “I’m so intensely proud of her and it’s really inspiring to watch her because I do know what a powerhouse she is. She was like that when we were living in China together.”
Britton further noted that Gillibrand had always exuded elements of leadership even when they lived together. “She was already at that time a real leader amongst our students there and you know almost larger than life- even back in college.”
A look at Kristen Gillibrand’s educational background
According to Kristen Gillibrand’s official website, the politician attended Albany’s Academy of Holy Names before graduating from the Emma Willard School in New York in 1984. The Emma Willard School is the first all-women private high school in the United States.
She then enrolled at Dartmouth College, majoring in Asian Studies, and studied for one summer at Beijing Normal University. She was a Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority member at Dartmouth and graduated magna cum laude from Dartmouth in 1988.
Gillibrand pursued a law degree at the UCLA School of Law, where she received her Juris Doctor and passed the bar exam in 1991. While in college, she interned at Senator Al D’Amato’s Albany office.
Are Connie Britton and Kristen Gillibrand friends?
Connie Britton and Kristen Gillibrand may have taken different paths in life, but their friendship continues to this day. The pair have often spoken positively of one another to the press, with Gillibrand commending Britton for always choosing roles she felt were role model worthy.
Britton endorsed Gillibrand, who competed for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Britton hosted a fundraiser for her college roommate at the Jane Club, with tickets for the event going for $100 to $2,000. Britton also posted a throwback photo of the two on Instagram with a lengthy caption announcing to her fans that Gillibrand was running for president.
Britton showered praise for the senator, saying she was thrilled for her friend and invited her fans to a campaign. Gillibrand was one of the six women up for the Democratic presidential nomination.
