Nicole Shanahan is the ex-wife of Sergey Brin, the co-founder of Google. Born in 1989, she is a 35-year-old American attorney, patent professional, and the founder of the Bia-Echo Foundation, a private foundation that invests in innovators and change makers.
While Nicole has built a prolific career for herself, she is more famously known for her association with her ex-husband. Read on to discover all about her life, career, marriage, and divorce from Sergey.
Nicole Shanahan’s Biography Summary
- Full Name: Nicole Shanahan
- Nickname: Nicole
- Gender: Female
- Date of birth: 1989
- Nicole Shanahan’s Age: 35 years old
- Birthplace: Oakland, United States of America
- Ethnicity: Mixed
- Nationality: American
- Sexual Orientation: Straight
- Religion: Christian
- Nicole Shanahan’s Marital Status: Divorced
- Nicole Shanahan’s Husband: Sergey Brin (m. 2018-2022)
- Nicole Shanahan’s Parents: Amy Shanahan and Shawn Shanahan
- Siblings: James Shanahan
- Nicole Shanahan’s Height in Inches: 5 feet 7 inches
- Nicole Shanahan’s Height in Centimeters: is 170 cm
- Nicole Shanahan’s Height in Meters: 1.7 meters
- Nicole Shanahan’s Weight: 58 kg
- Body Measurements in Inches: 36-25-38 inches
- Education: the University of Puget Sound, Santa Clara University School of Law
- Occupation: Attorney, philanthropist, and patent founder
- Kathleen Hixson’s Net Worth: $50 million
- Famous for: Being the ex-wife of Sergey Brin
- Twitter: @NicoleShanahan
What Is Nicole Shanahan’s Ethnicity?
Nicole Shanahan is of mixed ethnicity. She was born in 1989, but her exact date of birth has not been revealed. She was born to a Chinese immigrant mother, May Shanahan, who moved to the United States two years before she was born.
On the other hand, her father is an American man named Shawn Shanahan. He was diagnosed with bipolar schizophrenia, which did not allow him to have any active career, leading to financial difficulty for their family.
As a result of her parents’ poor financial status, Nicole did not have an easy life while growing up, as she had to start taking care of herself from an early age.
She revealed that her mother worked as a maid to take care of her family, but at times, she was unemployed, and the family had to rely on food stamps to get by. This situation provided Nicole with little parental guidance, and when she was just 12 years old, she started bussing tables and putting away her earnings towards acquiring a college degree.
Meanwhile, Nicole has an older brother whose name is James Shanahan.
Nicole Shanahan Has many Academic Degrees
Despite the hardships she faced, Nicole remained determined to get a sound education for herself. After she graduated from high school in 2003, she enrolled in the University of Puget Sound, where she studied Asian Studies, Economics, and Mandarin Chinese.
In 2013, she was admitted to the National University of Singapore, where she gained a degree in Global IP trade and Chinese Law. Nicole also attended Santa Clara University School of Law, where she obtained a Juris Doctor degree.
Nicole Shanahan and Sergey Brin’s Marriage Lasted 13 Years
Nicole Shanahan met Sergey Brin in 2015 when they both attended a yoga retreat. At the time, Sergey had just finalized his divorce from his first wife Anne Wojcicki. They started dating and at the 2016 Met Gala, they made their relationship public. After dating for 3 years, Nicole and Sergey got married in a private wedding ceremony in 2018.
Nicole and Sergey’s marriage lasted for 13 years as she and her husband reportedly split in late 2021, citing irreconcilable differences. Nicole had signed a prenuptial agreement and allegedly demanded a settlement of more than $1 billion from Sergey.
Does Nicole Shanahan Have Any Kids?
Nicole Shanahan has a daughter, but she has not revealed her name to the media. Her daughter was born in 2018, the same year she and Sergey officially got married. During the divorce proceedings, Sergey asked for joint custody of their daughter. He did not seek spousal support and requested that Nicole shouldn’t either.
She Froze Her Embryos
At the launch of the Center for Female Reproductive Longevity and Equality at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, Nicole revealed that she had her embryos frozen because she was not ready to have kids in her early 30s.
When she was finally ready to start having kids, the process did not go as smoothly as she had envisaged as she had three failed embryo-making and visited in vitro fertilization clinics over three dozen times before she finally got pregnant.
What Does Nicole Shanahan Do?
Given her educational accomplishment, Nicole has made an impact across several professional fields.
Nicole is an Attorney
In 2009, Nicole worked as a patent specialist at Townsend and Townsend Crew, LLP, and also worked as a database specialist and IP paralegal with Rutan & Tucker, LLP, in Orange County. In 2010, she joined RPX Corporation where she was a patent specialist for the start-up phase of the company. According to her reports, she is also a specialist in criminal justice reform and marriage contracts.
She is a Tech Guru
In 2013, Nicole established ‘ClearAccessIp’, an automated patent management and valuation company. As the CEO, Nicole developed the plan for the company over the years when she worked with other law firms and employed her wealth of experience in bringing her brainchild to life.
Nicole is also a CodeX academic fellow, a legal and computer science combined school that provides solutions to issues on technology and law.
Nicole is also a Philanthropist
Nicole has been involved in various philanthropy acts. She established a private foundation named Bia-Echo Foundation, which invests in innovators and change-makers to create a better life for future generations while maintaining societal equilibrium.
Furthermore, Nicole helped set up the Center for Female Reproductive Longevity and Equality in 2018. Her Bia-Echo Foundation collaborated with the center to help researchers develop more ways to resolve female reproductive aging.
What Happened Between Nicole Shanahan and Elon Musk?
After Sergey Brin and Nicole Shanahan announced that they were getting a divorce, speculations arose that their divorce was caused by an affair Nicole allegedly had with Elon Musk, Sergey’s friend and CEO of Tesla. According to sources, Nicole and Musk had a fling in December 2021, and when Sergey discovered it, he filed for a divorce from her.
Reacting to the news, Elon Musk firmly denied the allegations by revealing that he had not been in any sexual relationship with anyone and that he was still tight friends with Sergey, a fact that would not be possible if he had an affair with Nicole. Shanahan reacted to the allegation through her lawyer, who stated that it was defamatory.