Matilda Cuomo

Matilda Cuomo ( ; born Mattia Raffa, September 16, 1931) is an American advocate for women and children, former First Lady of New York from 1983 to 1994, and matriarch of the Cuomo family. She is the widow of Governor of New York Mario Cuomo and the mother of Andrew Cuomowho also served as Governor of New York before resigning in August 2021and former CNN presenter Chris Cuomo. The founder of the child advocacy group Mentoring USA, Cuomo was inducted to the National Women's Hall of Fame in 2017.

Early life and education Cuomo was born Mattia Raffa in New York to parents, Mary (; 1903–1995) and Carmelo "Charles" Raffa (1904–1988), who had immigrated to the United States from Messina, Sicily, Italy. After arriving in the United States in 1927, her father Charles worked to establish his own firm, making supermarket shelves and refrigeration units and later invested in real estate. A capable student who was accepted at Columbia Teachers College, Brooklyn College, and Hunter, she was persuaded by family to attend school closer to home out of concerns for her safety.

Matilda Raffa Cuomo met Mario Cuomo in 1951 in the cafeteria at St. John's University in Queens where they were both enrolled in school. The couple married on June 5, 1954. Cuomo worked as a teacher and supported her husband while he completed law school at St. John's, graduating with a Juris Doctor degree in 1956. She created initiatives that mentored children at-risk, facilitated finding long-term homes for foster children, and strengthened families through providing education, as well as nutrition and immunization programs. The state-run program served over 10,000 students and was active with Cuomo as chair until 1995. After the New York State program was discontinued, she transitioned the initiative into Mentoring USA, an international nonprofit child advocacy organization creating mentor relationships for youth ages 7–21. The New York State Mentoring Program was reinstated in 2015. Her mentorship book, first published in 1999, was reprinted in 2002 and 2012 featuring a foreword by Hillary Clinton, and in 2016 was recorded as an audio book. Cuomo has appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show to discuss her work in support of mentoring programs.

Cuomo co-chaired the Governor's Commission on Child Care and chaired the NY Citizens' Task Force on the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect.

In 2010, she received the Lewis Avenue Alumni Legacy Award from St. John's University.

She was the distinguished honoree in 2016 at the 75th Anniversary Jubilee for Midwood High School. In 2017, she was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame. He called it "Matilda's Law" in honor of his mother, and appealed to all citizens to think of their mothers in abiding by the restrictions.

Personal life Cuomo and her late husband Mario had five children together: daughters Margaret, Maria, and Madeline, and sons Andrew and Christopher. Her elder son, Andrew Cuomo, was New York's 56th governor until his resignation in 2021. Cuomo's daughter Maria Cuomo Cole is a film producer whose projects include Newtown and The Invisible War. Her younger son is journalist Chris Cuomo, and her daughter Margaret Cuomo is a radiologist.