Mellody Hobson

Hobson was born on April 3, 1969, in Chicago, as the youngest of six children. Hobson grew up in a household where there was often not enough money to pay the rent or make the car payment. Experiences like this made understanding money, she said, “something that gnawed at me. I wanted to have a different life.”

Hobson graduated from St. Ignatius College Prep in Chicago in 1987 as a first-generation college student. She later graduated from Princeton University in 1991. At Princeton, Hobson was a member of the Cottage Club.

After her graduation from Princeton, Hobson joined Ariel Investments, a Chicago investment firm that manages over $14 billion in assets, as an intern. She rose to become a senior vice president and director of marketing. In 2000, she became the company's president. Ariel Investments is one of the largest African American-owned money management and mutual fund companies in the US. She was a contributor to financial segments on Good Morning America and CBS This Morning for many years.

Hobson is also chairman of the board of trustees of Ariel Investment Trust and formerly a spokesperson for the annual Ariel/Schwab Black Investor Survey.

Hobson is on the board of numerous organizations, including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. She is also on the board of directors of Starbucks, and formerly of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. Hobson has been acclaimed in selections such as Time's 2015 Time 100 List, the magazine's annual list of the one hundred most influential people in the world), Ebony magazine's "20 Leaders of the Future" (1992), Working Women Magazine's "20 Under 30" (1992), the World Economic Forum's "Global Leaders of Tomorrow" (2001), Esquire's "America's Best and Brightest" (2002), and The Wall Street Journal's 50 "Women to Watch" (2004).

Hobson created and hosted a show on ABC on May 29, 2009, called Unbroke: What You Need to Know About Money, featuring celebrities such as the Jonas Brothers, Oscar the Grouch and Samuel L. Jackson.

In 2017, Hobson was named to head the Economic Club of Chicago, the first African-American woman to do so. In August, Hobson guest hosted CBS Sunday Morning's annual "Money Issue" episode.

In June 2018, Hobson was named vice chair of Starbucks Corporation. After heading the finance committee, she was elected to chair the board in 2020. Following the replacement of Laxman Narasimhan as Starbucks CEO on August 13, 2024, it was also announced that Hobson will step down as chair effective September 9, and become lead independent director.

In 2022, Hobson joined an investment group consisting of Rob Walton, Greg Penner, Carrie Walton Penner, Condoleezza Rice, and Lewis Hamilton that purchased the Denver Broncos.

Hobson began dating film director and producer George Lucas in 2006, after they met at a business conference in 2005. Hobson and Lucas announced their engagement in January 2013, and were married on June 22, 2013, at Lucas's Skywalker Ranch. They have one daughter who was born via surrogacy in August 2013.

Hobson was photographed by Annie Leibovitz for the 2016 Pirelli Calendar.

In October 2020, Hobson and the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation made the lead gift to establish a residential college at Princeton University.

In 2024, Hobson and her husband George Lucas provided funding for restoration of Girish Kasaravalli's film Ghatashraddha. The restoration is done by Film Heritage Foundation.