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Amy McGrath Biography: Age, Career, Family and More

F4U Editorial Desk • Updated October 5, 2026 • 3 min read

Quick Info

Date of birthJune 3, 1975

Age44 Years

BirthplaceCincinnati, Ohio, U.S.

ProfessionPolitician, Former Fighter Pilot

NationalityAmerican

Marital statusMarried

SpouseErik Henderson

FamilySons - Theodore Henderson, George Henderson; Daughter - Eleanor Henderson

Amy McGrath Biography

Amy McGrath is a former U.S. Marine Corps lieutenant colonel and Democratic politician from Kentucky. A trailblazer in military aviation, she became the U‑

Early life and background

Amy M. McGrath-Henderson was born on June 3, 1975, in Cincinnati, Ohio, and was raised in Edgewood, Kentucky. She attended St. Pius X Middle School and Notre Dame Academy in Kentucky, where she was active in varsity sports, including soccer, basketball and baseball. Her mother, Marianne McGrath, was among the early female medical school graduates at the University of Kentucky, and her father was Donald McGrath, a teacher.

McGrath went on to the United States Naval Academy, where she served as director of the Naval Academy Foreign Affairs Conference and was a member of the first women’s varsity soccer team there. She later pursued graduate studies at Georgetown University and Johns Hopkins University, earning a Master of Arts.

Career

Commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps at age 21, McGrath trained as a Naval flight officer and began her operational career as a weapons systems officer in the F/A‑18. She and a fellow aviator became the first female aviators assigned to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121. Over the course of her 20‑year Marine Corps career, which spanned 1997 to 2017, McGrath accrued more than 2,000 flight hours and flew in excess of 85 combat missions.

Her deployments included a 2002 tour based at Manas, Kyrgyzstan, during which she flew 51 combat missions in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. In 2005–2006 she returned to Afghanistan with VMFA‑121 and became the first female Marine Corps pilot to fly an F/A‑18 in combat. She rose through the ranks to lieutenant colonel and served in a variety of operational and staff roles. From 2012 to 2014 she worked at the Pentagon in the Strategy & Plans Division, International Affairs Branch as a Marine Corps liaison to the Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development. McGrath retired from the Marine Corps on June 1, 2017.

Public profile

After leaving the military, McGrath entered electoral politics as a Democrat. She announced a campaign via a widely viewed YouTube video in 2017 and ran for Kentucky’s 6th Congressional District in 2018. She won the Democratic primary in May 2018, defeating Lexington mayor Jim Gray and carrying 17 of the district’s 18 counties. In the general election she narrowly lost to incumbent Republican Andy Barr. During that campaign she raised over $300,000.

In July 2019 McGrath declared her candidacy for the Democratic nomination for the United States Senate in the 2020 election cycle. Her stated positions include opposition to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, support for measures to address climate change, support for gay and transgender service members serving in the armed forces, and opposition to repealing the Affordable Care Act. She has described herself as a fiscal conservative.

Awards and recognition

McGrath’s military decorations include multiple Strike/Flight Air Medals, the Meritorious Service Medal, Navy and Marine Corps commendations and achievement medals, a Presidential Unit Citation, and campaign medals for Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2016 she was inducted into the Aviation Museum of Kentucky Hall of Fame.

Personal life

Amy McGrath is married to Erik Henderson, a retired naval lieutenant commander. They have three children: two sons, Theodore and George, and a daughter, Eleanor. She is American, and her listed hometown is Edgewood, Kentucky.

Latest updates

Following her 2017 retirement, McGrath transitioned into politics and maintained a public profile through her 2018 House campaign and her subsequent 2020 Senate campaign. Her background as a pioneering female Marine aviator and Pentagon staffer has been a central element of her public narrative.

Editorial Review and Sources

This F4U profile is written from publicly available career and profile information, then reviewed for clarity before publication. If you spot an outdated detail about Amy McGrath, send the page URL and a reliable correction source to f4udotin@gmail.com.

Reference context: StarsUnfolded
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Recent Work

2018 Congressional Campaign

Democratic nominee for Kentucky's 6th congressional district; won the Democratic primary and narrowly lost in the general election.

2018
2020 Senate Campaign

Announced a run for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate in 2020.

2019
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Career Highlights

  1. First female Marine Corps pilot to fly an F/A-18 in combat
  2. More than 2,000 flight hours and over 85 combat missions
  3. Served as a Marine Corps liaison at the Pentagon to the State Department and USAID
  4. Inducted into the Aviation Museum of Kentucky Hall of Fame (2016)
Reviewed by F4U Editorial Desk

F4U profile pages are prepared from public career information, checked for readability, and updated when reliable correction sources are shared with the editorial team.

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Frequently Asked Questions

When was Amy McGrath born?

Amy McGrath was born on June 3, 1975.

What is Amy McGrath known for?

Amy McGrath is known for politician, Former Fighter Pilot.

What is Amy McGrath’s marital status?

Amy McGrath's marital status is listed as Married.

Who is Amy McGrath married to?

Amy McGrath is publicly listed as married to Erik Henderson.