Jake Tapper's Daughter Has Grown Up To Be Gorgeous

Since joining CNN in 2013, Jake Tapper has become known as a television journalist who separates fact from fiction, isn't afraid to cause a stir with his commentary, and calls out those in power. In 2021, he didn't hide his disdain for Donald Trump while discussing the president's alleged role in the January 6 Capitol attack on CNN's "State of the Union." Three years later, Tapper caused some drama with JD Vance after grilling the vice president about the many Trump allies who eventually turned against him. But while he regularly talks at length about politics and current affairs on his news programs, "The Lead" anchor isn't as open regarding his family and home life.

Tapper and his wife, Jennifer Marie Brown, tied the knot in 2006 and welcomed two children, Alice and Jack. Over the years, CNN's chief Washington correspondent has shared a few tidbits about his relationship and marriage with Brown, including how they first met at a hotel bar during the 2004 Iowa caucuses. As for his kids, he notably interviewed them in 2019 for a Men's Health piece about what he's like as a father but didn't mention their names or include any photos of his son and daughter, who were nine and 11 at the time.

However, one of Tapper's kids has stepped into the spotlight as they've grown up: his daughter Alice. At a young age, she followed in her famous dad's footsteps and penned books about a cause near and dear to her heart and a harrowing ordeal she went through in 2021. Here's a look at Alice's journey to becoming the smart, talented, and gorgeous young lady she is today.

Perhaps due to the influence of her journalist father and her advocacy consultant mother, who is passionate about women's and children's issues, Alice Paul Tapper has shown from a young age that she's not afraid to speak out. In fifth grade, she penned an op-ed for The New York Times about her observation that girls were much less confident about raising their hands and participating in the classroom than boys. According to her piece, Alice, with the help of her Girl Scout troop in Washington, D.C., launched what she called the Raise Your Hand patch to encourage girls to "have confidence, step up and become leaders by raising our hands."

Alice's campaign and op-ed scored her a book deal with Penguin Workshop, and in 2019, she published a picture book about her experience titled "Raise Your Hand" with the help of illustrator Marta Kissi and her cartoonist dad Jake Tapper, who contributed a few illustrations. She not only became a New York Times bestselling author at 11, but her efforts also brought her into the spotlight, with the young girl appearing on CNN and the "Today" show, among others. During her 2019 "Today" interview, Alice said she was glad that her campaign had a more far-reaching impact than she'd expected. "This patch was towards girls, younger, but once adults started doing it, I noticed that it can help all women and all girls because everyone needs to raise their hands and be confident in class," she told host Hoda Kotb. Alice donated all the proceeds from her book to the Girl Scouts Nation's Capital.

Alice Paul Tapper's inspiring book and campaign received praise from girls and women across the country, including two big names: Oprah Winfrey and Ellen DeGeneres. As a result of her efforts, the Girl Scouts received donations of around $25,000 each from Winfrey and DeGeneres, the latter of whom brought Alice and her dad, Jake Tapper, as guests on her eponymous show to discuss "Raise Your Hand." During the 2019 sit-down, 11-year-old Alice revealed she got emotional after reading a letter Winfrey sent her following the release of her picture book. "...[My parents] handed me a letter that said Harpo, and then I was like, 'What's Harpo?' And then my mom was like, 'Read it backwards.' So then I read it backwards, and I was like, 'Oh my god, it's Oprah!'" she shared.

Alice went on to say that the letter also made her mom, Jennifer Marie Brown, teary-eyed. "...It was just this nice letter saying that she really appreciated me. And then I was crying. My mom was crying. My brother didn't know what was going on. And it was just all so incredible," she recalled. But while she was touched by the media mogul's note, Alice was also happy that her book allowed her to appear on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" and meet one of her longtime idols. "You're my favorite," Alice told DeGeneres. Jake chimed in to reveal just how big of an "Ellen" fan his daughter was, telling the talk show host that he often wakes up to find his daughter watching the show. 

Just a few years later, Alice Paul Tapper went through a near-fatal ordeal at age 14 that left her "helpless, hunchbacked, green, [and] exhausted." In 2022, Jake Tapper's daughter revealed in an op-ed for CNN that she "almost died" after her appendicitis was misdiagnosed, causing treatment to be delayed. According to Alice, she was hospitalized in November 2021 due to fever and stomach cramps. Doctors allegedly quickly dismissed appendicitis and instead told her it was a viral infection, but her condition and abdominal pain only worsened over the next two days. She claimed doctors seemingly didn't take her seriously whenever she complained about how agonizing the pain was.

It wasn't until Jake called the hospital administrator and urged them to do more to find the cause of Alice's pain that doctors ordered an ultrasound. It showed that her appendix had ruptured and "was leaking a poisonous stream of bacteria" into her bloodstream, causing sepsis and hypovolemic shock, which in turn can result in organ failure and death. She underwent multiple procedures over 12 weeks to drain the toxic leakage before getting an appendectomy in March 2022. While she appeared to have bounced back by December 2022, Alice, then 15, explained to CNN that her path to recovery had been far from smooth. "I had lost so much weight from being hospitalized that I was just struggling to eat and [be] able to function. I had trouble going to school," she recalled.

Alice also shared some of her plans for the future following her ordeal. "I want to row in college and maybe study zoology," she said, adding, "...I wish it never happened to me, obviously, but it was a really important learning experience for me."

In August 2024, two years after going public with her misdiagnosis and horrible hospital experience, Alice Paul Tapper released a book about it to spread awareness and help kids and families who encounter similar situations. Titled "Use Your Voice," the children's book is a fictionalized take on the teenager's ordeal, featuring imaginary friends encouraging young Alice to speak to the doctor and be frank about the pain she's suffering. "I am so excited to share this book and empower kids visiting the hospital, a place that can be scary for everyone, not just children. The characters in the book who are part of the pain chart are my way of showing my thought process from when I was sick, and I hope readers enjoy them while also understanding the need to listen to their own bodies," she said (via Associated Press).

The then-17-year-old girl further discussed "Use Your Voice" during a sit-down on "The Jennifer Hudson Show," sharing that she made it a children's book because "I was never told what to do in a situation, especially in the hospital and especially when the adults weren't listening to me." Alice also wanted to tell her story because she realized that she was only treated because she had a famous dad who had connections but that not everyone had this same privilege. Due to this, Alice hoped to encourage everyone to speak up and avoid worst-case scenarios. 

As part of her advocacy, Alice and her family donated the proceeds of her book to the University of Michigan's medical center and collaborated with the institution to create a program focused on diagnostic medicine.

Alice Paul Tapper has a long list of achievements attached to her name before even turning 18, and she knows a huge part of it is thanks to the support she's received from her parents. In 2023, she was joined by her mom, Jennifer Marie Brown, as she spoke about her hospital experience and misdiagnosis at a CDC press conference on sepsis. On "The Jennifer Hudson Show," Jake Tapper praised his eldest child for coming out stronger than ever after her ordeal. "I couldn't be prouder of her. ... Both my kids I'm incredibly proud of, but Alice, in this book, took the worst thing that ever happened to her, and she turned it into advocacy so that nobody else would have to go through what she went through at the hospital," he said.

Jake also gushed about Alice in rare Instagram posts about his daughter in 2024, calling her and her brother "the apple of our eyes" and sharing old and recent photos of her in one video. Another post featured Alice — who looked all grown up compared to the first time she made headlines for publishing a book — holding up a copy of her second release, "Use Your Voice," and a dog. "So proud of my daughter Alice — taking her near-fatal traumatic misdiagnosis and turning it into a lesson for other sick kids!" he captioned the snap.

Alice credited her dad with her strong work ethic, revealing that she's always looked up to him. "I'm really grateful for him," she told Hudson. "He's taught me... to be patient and to work really hard, and good things will happen." Sitting by her father on the show, Alice referred to him as her biggest role model. 

Jake Tapper doesn't discuss or post about his children often, but it doesn't take a million Instagram posts to prove he has a close bond with his daughter Alice and son Jack. The fact that the siblings aren't afraid to tell it like it is and poke fun at their dad is a testament to the healthy and loving environment in which Jake and his wife, Jennifer Marie Brown, are raising their kids. While interviewing his kids for Men's Health in 2019, he asked Alice what he could do to improve his parenting, and the then-11-year-old bluntly responded, "Being off your phone and not worrying about the world around us and just spending some quality time with us." 

In the same year, Alice was asked by Ellen DeGeneres on her show to reveal some things about her dad that she finds embarrassing, and she gave a cheeky response, saying, "Well, there's a lot." She went on to roast Jake over his convertible and love for rap music, adding, "It's obnoxious." But car and music taste aside, Alice appreciates how loving and supportive Jake is. When he asked her, "What am I good at as a dad?" for his magazine piece, Alice replied, "Everything. And giving us a lot of attention and making sure that we're healthy and helping us with our homework and with issues that we have."

But Jake isn't the only one doing the teaching nowadays. During their October 2024 appearance on "Late Night with Seth Meyers," 17-year-old Alice confirmed she was the one who told her dad about Kamala Harris' "Brat Summer" involvement, which Jake had talked about on his CNN show. It's clear that both father and daughter are proud of each other, and it will be exciting to see how much more Alice accomplishes in the coming years.