Monica Samille Lewinsky born July 23, [ 1 ] is an American activist. Lewinsky became internationally known in the late s after U. President Bill Clinton admitted to having had an affair with her during her days as a White House intern between and The affair and its repercussions which included Clinton's impeachment became known as the ClintonβLewinsky scandal. Following the scandal, Lewinsky engaged in a variety of ventures that included designing a line of handbags under her name, serving as an advertising spokesperson for a diet plan, and working as a television personality.
She obtained a master's degree in psychology from the London School of Economics in In , Lewinsky began speaking out as an activist against cyberbullying. Following her high school graduation, Lewinsky attended Santa Monica College while working for the drama department at Beverly Hills High School and at a tie shop. Lewinsky moved to Washington, D. Lewinsky stated that she had nine sexual encounters with President Bill Clinton in the Oval Office between November and March According to her testimony, these encounters involved oral sex and other sexual acts, but not sexual intercourse.
Clinton had previously been confronted with allegations of sexual misconduct during his time as Governor of Arkansas. Former Arkansas state employee Paula Jones filed a civil lawsuit against him alleging that he had sexually harassed her. Lewinsky's name surfaced during the discovery phase of Jones' case, when Jones' lawyers sought to show a pattern of behavior by Clinton which involved inappropriate sexual relationships with other government employees.
In April , Lewinsky's superiors transferred her from the White House to the Pentagon because they felt that she was spending too much time with Clinton.
Lewinsky left her position at the Pentagon in December , [ 15 ] and in January submitted an affidavit in the Paula Jones case denying any physical relationship with Clinton. Though she attempted to persuade Tripp to lie under oath in that case, Tripp gave the tapes to Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr , adding to his ongoing investigation into the Whitewater controversy.
