Marilyn vos Savant American writer, owner of the highest IQ in the world Date of Birth: 11.08.1946 Country: USA

Biography of Marilyn vos Savant

Marilyn vos Savant, an American writer and the holder of the highest recorded IQ in the world, was born in 1946 in St. Louis, Missouri. Her parents, Joseph Mach and Marina vos Savant, immigrated to the United States from Germany and Italy, respectively. Marilyn took her mother's surname as she believed that women should carry their mothers' surnames while men should inherit their fathers'.

During her teenage years, Marilyn developed a love for reading, assisted her father in his investment business, and wrote articles under a pseudonym for a local newspaper. She pursued her education at Washington University in St. Louis, studying philosophy, although her parents had hoped she would pursue a "more serious" field. However, she did not complete her university degree as her family needed her assistance.

Marilyn got married for the first time at the age of 16 to a university student. By the age of 20, she was divorced. Her second marriage ended when she was 35. In 1980, Marilyn relocated to New York, where she initially wrote for the magazine "Omni" under the column titled "Omni I.Q. Quiz Contest." She later received her own column in the weekly magazine "Parade" called "Ask Marilyn," where she responded to readers' letters. Her answers often sparked criticism and were controversial, but she has proven to be right in many instances after heated debates and discussions.

From 1986 to 1989, Marilyn held the record in the Guinness Book of World Records as the "person with the highest IQ." However, determining the exact measure of Marilyn's intelligence has proven to be challenging as various tests have indicated different scores of 167+, 186, 218, 228, and 230, making her undeniably a genius. Marilyn acknowledges that accurately measuring intelligence is impossible, and therefore, all the results shown are only relative.

In later years, Marilyn achieved slightly lower scores on tests. However, this cannot be considered a decline in intelligence. Different tests have different measurement scales. Overall, Marilyn's displayed result is one of the highest ever recorded in the world. She is a member of the high-IQ societies Mensa International and the Prometheus Society.

In 1987, Marilyn married Robert Jarvik, one of the creators of the artificial heart. She has two children from her previous marriages. Marilyn currently resides in New York. She served as the financial director of her husband's corporation, Jarvik Heart, Inc. Additionally, she worked on the Board of Directors for the National Council on Economic Education and was a member of the advisory board for the National Association for Gifted Children. Marilyn is also known for her involvement in the National Women's History Museum. In 2003, she received an honorary doctorate from The College of New Jersey.