Murdoch’s wife grabs protester, and headlines, at phone hacking hearings

While the News of the World phone hacking scandal has captured attention and headlines worldwide, the topic of conversation around many water coolers Wednesday morning was Murdoch’s wife, Wendi Deng.

Tuesday morning, Deng was known to most as the “young woman sitting behind Rupert Murdoch” during British parliamentary hearings.

But when a protester interrupted the hearings by throwing a pie plate of white foam at Murdoch, Deng leaped to her husband’s defence and slapped the protester.

Deng’s stock quickly rose, and her name spread across social media networks like wildfire.

But what do we know about Deng, besides her fierce right hook, and evident devotion to her husband?

We take a closer look at her:

Wendi Deng was born and raised in China.

She came to the United States in 1988 on a student visa. While studying at California State University she lived with Jake and Joyce Cherry, who were sponsoring her visa. In 1990 she married Jake Cherry after having an affair with him. Deng and Cherry divorced in 1993.

In 1996 Deng graduated from Yale with a business degree, and became an intern at STAR TV, one of Murdoch’s media companies in Asia. She met Murdoch when he needed a translator on one of his trips there. That was the beginning of their romance. They married in 1999.

Deng is Rupert Murdoch’s third wife, and is 38 years his junior.

In addition to raising their two children, Grace and Chloe, Deng helps shape Murdoch’s operations in Asia and Hollywood. She was one of the producers for the film “Snow Flower and the Secret Fan” for Murdoch’s movie studio, Fox Searchlight Pictures.

Now she stands by her husband’s side during the News of the World scandal, fiercely defending him in more ways than one.