theGrio’s 100: Dante and Chiara de Blasio, the new first kids of NYC

theGRIO'S 100 - Dante, 16, and Chiara, 19, are the children of Bill de Blasio, who emerged from a crowded field to a surprising victory in a Democratic primary last year and then was elected mayor...

TheGrio Staff

Jan 31, 2014

Who are Dante and Chiara de Blasio?

Dante, 16, and Chiara, 19, are the children of Bill de Blasio, who emerged from a crowded field to a surprising victory in a Democratic primary last year and then was elected mayor.

Why are they on theGrio’s 100?

Chelsea Clinton is probably the most famous child of a politician in America, but Dante de Blasio may be the most influential in terms of helping his parent get elected. A commercial that featured his well-groomed Afro helped deliver three messages at once to New Yorkers trying to figure out if they wanted to vote for Dante’s dad: the controversial stop-and-frisk policies of New York’s Police Department could personally affect the de Blasios, that their father was a strong family man and he was proud of his biracial family.

The ad become such a hit President Obama made reference to Dante’s afro and New York magazine declared Dante “has the best hair in politics.”

Meanwhile, Chiara de Blasio is already setting a new standard of candor for a political child, announcing in a video released last month that she was treated for depression and alcohol and drug abuse over the last year.

What’s next?

The de Blasio children are now, in their own way, public figures along with their parents.

“Seeing my parents be public servants has definitely given me this drive to help fix the planet. “I definitely want to be an activist for all the issues I find righteous,” she said in a recent interview with Teen Vogue.