Kyrsten Lea Sinema, born July 12, 1976, is an American attorney, politician, and exsocial worker who represented Arizona in the U.S. Senate from 2019 to 2025. Originally a Democrat, she switched to independent status in December 2022.
Before fame
She graduated as valedictorian from high school at 16 and obtained her BA from Brigham Young University by age 18.
Trivia
In 2005 and 2006, the Sierra Clubone of America’s oldest and most impactful grassroots environmental groupshonored her as its top performer.
Family life
Sinema wed and later separated from her Brigham Young University classmate, Blake Dain. She identifies openly as bisexual. Reports once described her as Congress’s sole atheist, a label she has disavowed.
In late 2025, an alienation of affection suit targeted Sinema over claims she pursued her married bodyguard, Matthew Ammel; the matter gained wider attention in January 2026 upon transfer to federal court. By March 2026, she admitted to an affair with him during her Senate tenure.