Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s father served as a chemical engineer and got a job offer from Swatch.
Michelle Wu appeared on The Daily Show on Tuesday, March 25, 2025, and praised the city nationally.
Highlights
- Boston Mayor Michelle Wu praised the city nationally on The Daily Show on March 25, 2025.
- Michelle Wu was born to her father, Han, and her mother, Yu-Min Wu. Her parents immigrated from Taiwan to the United States.
- Her mother, Yu-Min Wu, was diagnosed with late-onset schizophrenia.
Speaking with host Ronny Chieng on the Comedy Central late-night talk show, Wu got a standing ovation from a New York crowd that mostly cheered her on through the interview, but she drew some boos at one point early on.
She said,
“Don’t make me go against New York here — better sports teams, better quality of life,”
Michelle Wu
Wu talked about her mother’s struggle with mental health challenges and the role she played in taking care of her while raising her younger sisters.
Host Chieng asked Wu what the most challenging part of being mayor is.
Responding to a question about her testimony on Capitol Hill about sanctuary cities, Wu continued to point to data showing Boston as the safest major city in the country.
She said the national criticism of cities with sanctuary policies is based on rhetoric, not statistics.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s Parents Are Taiwanese American Immigrants
Michelle Wu, 40, was born on January 14, 1985, in Chicago, Illinois, United States, to her father, Han Wu, and her mother, Yu-Min Wu.
Her parents are Taiwanese waishengren descent and later immigrated to the United States.
Therefore, Michelle and her family are of Asian-American ethnicity and American nationality.
Wu’s father, Han, a chemical engineer, was admitted to the Illinois Institute of Technology for graduate studies. However, neither Han nor his wife, Yu-Min, spoke much English.
According to the source, Michelle’s grandfather left mainland China during the Kuomintang retreat to Taiwan, and her maternal grandfather was a general in the National Revolutionary Army.
Mayor Michelle Wu’s Mother, Yu-Min Wu, Struggled With Mental Illness
During one of the interviews, Michelle Wu revealed how bringing her family to Boston helped to save her mother’s life.
When Michelle was a student at Harvard University, she spoke to her mother back home in Chicago nearly every day.
One day, however, Wu said her mother stopped answering the phone, and she became worried as her mother’s behavior became more erratic due to her mental illness.
Michelle said her mother started hearing things no one else was listening to.
Wu said her mother would often run out in the middle of the night, knocking on neighbors’ doors because she had heard something.
After stabilizing her home life, Michelle moved the entire family back to Boston, where she started attending Harvard Law School. Later, her mother was diagnosed with late-onset schizophrenia.
Michelle concluded the interview by saying that her mother is doing well. She added,
“She’s great,” Wu said. “She asks me every few weeks or so, are you still doing the politics thing?”
Michelle Wu
Michelle Wu Grew Up With Her Three Siblings
Boston mayor Michelle Wu has three siblings: Elliott, Sherelle, and Victoria Wu.
His sister, Victoria Wu, 28, was born on February 8, 1997, in Barrington, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago.
She spent the 2009-2010 school year at the Graham and Parks Alternative School in Cambridge, later attended the Eliot K-8 School in the North End, and took the ISEE.
Victoria also participated in the Boston Children’s Chorus in the Central Intermediate Choir.
On the other hand, Michelle’s other sister, Sherelle, is an associate at Epstein Becker Green.
She helped represent clients in discrimination matters in agency and court proceedings and counseled clients on ISHA compliance, vaccine mandates, and paid family medical leave issues.
Before joining Epstein Becker Green, Sherelle was a Labor and employment associate at a Massachusetts law firm and the Executive Assistant to the Chief of District Courts at the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.
Additional Information
- Michelle Wu married Conor Pewarski in 2012. Conor worked for Wells Fargo from June 2010 to April 2013, then joined East Boston Savings Bank and was employed three times until November 2021.
- Conor and Michelle were blessed with a son named Blaise in 2014. They welcomed their second son, Cass, in 2017, and a daughter, Mira, in January 2025.
- Wu plays the piano, having started taking lessons when she was 4.
- On her first day as mayor, she kept one in her city hall office.
