Background
Harris was born in Key West, Florida. Her family is one of Florida's wealthiest and most politically influential. Her father, George W. Harris, Jr., owned Citrus and Chemical Bank in Lakeland, Florida. Her grandfather was Ben Hill Griffin, Jr., a successful businessman in the citrus and cattle industries and a powerful figure in the state legislature, who, shortly before his death in 1990, was ranked as the 261st richest American on the Forbes 400 list. Ben Hill Griffin Stadium at the University of Florida is named for him.
Harris comes from a family that is active in Christian evangelism. Her grandfather was a Christian missionary in Africa, while her aunt and uncle were missionaries in India and now head the Arab World Missions. Harris studied under Dr. Francis Schaeffer at a L’Abris Fellowship International center. Harris attended an all girls Christian camp in the hills of Asheville, North Carolina called Greystone. She says her faith is “the most important thing in my life.” Harris grew up in the Presbyterian Church in America (she has criticized the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) for being "more liberal"). Currently she attends Calvary Chapel in Sarasota, Florida.
Harris married Swedish businessman Anders Sven Axel Ebbeson (born March 16, 1945) in 1996 and has one stepdaughter, Louise.
Read more about this topic: Katherine Harris
Famous quotes containing the word background:
“Silence is the universal refuge, the sequel to all dull discourses and all foolish acts, a balm to our every chagrin, as welcome after satiety as after disappointment; that background which the painter may not daub, be he master or bungler, and which, however awkward a figure we may have made in the foreground, remains ever our inviolable asylum, where no indignity can assail, no personality can disturb us.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“... every experience in life enriches one’s background and should teach valuable lessons.”
—Mary Barnett Gilson (1877–?)
“In the true sense one’s native land, with its background of tradition, early impressions, reminiscences and other things dear to one, is not enough to make sensitive human beings feel at home.”
—Emma Goldman (1869–1940)