Lindsay Mills

Last updated

Lindsay Mills
Born (1985-02-17) February 17, 1985 (age 39)
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)Blogger, gymnast
Spouse
​
(m. 2017)​
Children2
Website Archived 21 September 2019 at the Wayback Machine

Lindsay Mills (born February 20, 1985) is an American acrobat and blogger. [1] She came to international attention as the partner of former NSA analyst Edward Snowden in 2013 at the time of the global surveillance disclosures. Mills left the United States to join Snowden in exile in Moscow around October 2014. [2] They married in 2017. [3]

Contents

Before the global surveillance disclosures

Mills's father Jonathan Mills lives in Laurel, Maryland. [4] She graduated from Laurel High School, studied at the Maryland Institute College of Art, and became a dancer and acrobat. [5]

Mills and Edward Snowden lived together in Baltimore, Japan, and Hawaii. [6] They have been together since at least 2009. [6]

Mills kept a blog in which she posted pictures of herself posing and performing. [7] On May 20, 2013, Snowden left Hawaii for Hong Kong and told her that he was going on a business trip. [8]

On June 6, 2013, agents from the National Security Agency (NSA) searched Mills's home seeking Snowden. [9] On June 9, 2013, The Guardian published a story revealing that Snowden had made the global surveillance disclosures. [9] On June 10, 2013, Mills wrote on her website, "I'll be refraining from blog posts for awhile" then deleted all posts within a day. [10]

After the global surveillance disclosures

Mills was shocked to learn what Snowden had happened and described his emotions as the further sentence states [11] on her personal blog, where she wrote: "I feel alone, lost, overwhelmed, and desperate for a reprieve". [7]

Mills became the focus of a media sensation after the global surveillance disclosures when she was identified as Snowden's girlfriend. [12] One media outlet called Mills "the girlfriend Edward Snowden left behind". [5] In 2013, BuzzFeed reviewed Mills's personal blog. [5] It noted that she had a boyfriend whom she called "E" and her "man of mystery". [5] Mills blogged about Snowden leaving soon after he left. [13]

After Snowden left Hawaii, reporters sought to question members of the Waikiki Acrobatic Troupe for insight into Mills and Snowden's relationship. [14] Some comments reported from that interview included "I never got to know her", "I wasn't even aware she was in a relationship", and "I have no idea how much pole and other stuff she'd done". [14]

Between June 2013 and 2014, there was no public awareness in the media of any interaction between Mills and Snowden. [15] By January 2014, Mills had not spoken to the media for seven months. [16] Mills's father shared that she was trying to make sense of what had happened and plan for her future. [16]

Later, the Citizenfour documentary included a scene which showed Snowden and Mills reunited in Moscow. [15] This reveal in October 2014 was the first indication in the media that they were still dating. [15] The information that Mills and Snowden were together and happy was surprising because until the documentary, the media had reported that Snowden's life in Russia was a miserable punishment. [2]

Mills and Glenn Greenwald joined director Laura Poitras on stage at the 87th Academy Awards to accept the Academy Award for Citizenfour , [17] Mills took one of the three Oscar statues awarded in the ceremony. [18] Reflecting on the experience of being on stage to receive the statue for Snowden, Mills later commented, "We won a motherfucking Oscar!" [18] In September 2016, one reporter described the Oscar showing as "Mills's most notable public appearance". [19]

In March 2015, Mills revived her blog and made two posts which a writer for Jezebel described as "mysterious". [15]

For Halloween 2015, Mills posted pictures of herself with Snowden in Halloween costumes as Carmen Sandiego and Waldo of Where's Waldo? [20] [21] Both popular fictional characters are known for hiding. [20] [21] In the photo, Mills and Snowden are posing in front of the J. Edgar Hoover Building but presumably this is photo manipulation because they supposedly remain in Russia. [20] [21]

Permanent Record , Snowden's 2019 book, features Mills's writings from her diary as part of the narrative of the surveillance disclosures. [22]

In 2020, it was announced that Mills was pregnant and that she and Snowden intended to apply for Russian citizenship without renouncing their U.S. citizenship. [23] Their son was born in December 2020. [24] In 2020, Russia granted Snowden permanent residency rights, and on September 26, 2022, President Vladimir Putin signed a decree granting him Russian citizenship. [25]

Public image

Mills has a history of being highly active in new media publishing, including social media, blogging, and video sharing. [26] Her father described her as artistic, free and open, and the opposite of Edward Snowden. [16]

A reviewer for The New Yorker described Mills's blog as "a mixture of chatty accounts of Mills's days in Hawaii, stories of her athletic and pole-dancing feats, descriptions of fun evenings with friends, and declarations of girl power". [1] A writer for The Daily Telegraph described Mills's blog and social media presence as vivid. [16] Snowden has criticized the media's use of sexy pictures to portray Mills. [27] The character of Lindsay Mills has a prominent place in Snowden , a 2016 dramatization of Snowden's global surveillance disclosure. [28] Director Oliver Stone said that the relationship between Mills and Snowden was an important part of his movie. [29] Actress Shailene Woodley plays Mills in the film. [30] Unable to meet Mills in person before filming, [30] Woodley based her performance on information from Mills's blog and social media posts. [31]

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References

  1. 1 2 Weiss, Sasha (June 13, 2013), "We Are All Pole Dancing on the Internet", The New Yorker , archived from the original on October 11, 2016, retrieved September 16, 2016
  2. 1 2 Greenwald, Glenn (October 10, 2014), "Edward Snowden's Girlfriend, Lindsay Mills, Moved to Moscow to Live with Him", The Intercept , archived from the original on September 18, 2016, retrieved September 16, 2016
  3. ↑ MacAskill, Ewen (September 13, 2019). "'They wanted me gone': Edward Snowden tells of whistleblowing, his AI fears and six years in Russia". The Guardian. Archived from the original on September 14, 2019. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
  4. ↑ Siddique, Haroon (June 12, 2013), "Edward Snowden's girlfriend is 'as well as can be expected', says father", The Guardian , archived from the original on September 27, 2016, retrieved September 16, 2016
  5. 1 2 3 4 Van Dyke, Michelle Broder; Hall, Ellie (June 10, 2013), "This Is Edward Snowden's Girlfriend", BuzzFeed , archived from the original on September 16, 2016, retrieved September 15, 2016
  6. 1 2 Lewis, Paul (June 11, 2013), "Edward Snowden's girlfriend Lindsay Mills: At the moment I feel alone", The Guardian , archived from the original on July 24, 2013, retrieved September 16, 2016
  7. 1 2 Allen, Nick; Sanchez, Raf (June 11, 2013), "Edward Snowden's girlfriend Lindsay Mills 'lost and alone' after whistleblower flees to Hong Kong", The Daily Telegraph , archived from the original on February 24, 2017, retrieved September 16, 2016
  8. ↑ Greenwald, Glenn; MacAskill, Laura; Poitras (June 11, 2013), "Edward Snowden: the whistleblower behind the NSA surveillance revelations", The Guardian , archived from the original on December 5, 2021, retrieved September 16, 2016
  9. 1 2 Greenwald, Glenn (May 11, 2014), "Glenn Greenwald: Here's What Happened On The Day We Revealed Snowden's Identity", Business Insider , archived from the original on September 18, 2016, retrieved September 16, 2016
  10. ↑ LaGanga, Maria L. (June 11, 2013), "NSA leaker's girlfriend posts about her shock, goes silent", The Baltimore Sun , archived from the original on September 13, 2016, retrieved September 16, 2016
  11. ↑ Leonnig, Carol D.; Tate, Julie (June 11, 2013), "Snowden's girlfriend — dancer, nature lover — said to be shocked by his actions", The Washington Post , archived from the original on September 19, 2016, retrieved September 16, 2016
  12. ↑ Gray, Emma (June 12, 2013), "Lindsay Mills, Edward Snowden's Girlfriend, Becomes An Internet Sensation: 6 Ridiculous Things That Have Been Said About Her", The Huffington Post , archived from the original on September 20, 2016, retrieved September 16, 2016
  13. ↑ "NSA leaker's girlfriend says she's 'lost at sea'". CNN. June 12, 2013. Archived from the original on May 18, 2019. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
  14. 1 2 La Ganga, Maria L. (June 13, 2013), "Lindsay Mills and other pole dancers missing in action", Los Angeles Times , archived from the original on March 15, 2016, retrieved September 15, 2016
  15. 1 2 3 4 Ryan, Erin Gloria (March 12, 2015), "Edward Snowden's Girlfriend Posts Two Mysterious New Blog Entries", Jezebel , archived from the original on September 19, 2016, retrieved September 15, 2016
  16. 1 2 3 4 Sanchez, Raf (January 17, 2014). "Edward Snowden completely abandoned girlfriend, says her father". The Daily Telegraph . Archived from the original on June 24, 2020. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
  17. ↑ Makarechi, Kia (February 22, 2015), "Yes, That Was Edward Snowden's Girlfriend at the Oscars", Vanity Fair , archived from the original on September 13, 2016, retrieved September 15, 2016
  18. 1 2 Dowd, Kathy Ehrich (September 6, 2016), "5 Things to Know About Edward Snowden's Girlfriend Lindsay Mills and Their Life Together Now", People , archived from the original on September 9, 2016, retrieved September 16, 2016
  19. ↑ Brayson, Johnny (September 14, 2016), "Where Is Lindsey Mills Now? Edward Snowden's Girlfriend Has A Busy Life", Bustle , archived from the original on September 19, 2016, retrieved September 15, 2016
  20. 1 2 3 ABC News (October 30, 2015), "See Edward Snowden's Halloween Costume", abcnews.go.com, archived from the original on September 17, 2016, retrieved September 16, 2016
  21. 1 2 3 Nguyen, Tina (November 4, 2015), "Edward Snowden's Halloween Costume Is Too Real", Vanity Fair , archived from the original on September 30, 2016, retrieved September 16, 2016
  22. ↑ Hopkins, Nick (September 14, 2019). "Permanent Record by Edward Snowden review – the whistleblower's memoir". The Guardian. Archived from the original on September 14, 2019. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
  23. ↑ "Snowden and his wife seek to be Russian-US dual nationals". ABC News. The Associated Press. November 2, 2020. Archived from the original on November 2, 2020. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  24. ↑ "U.S. whistleblower Edward Snowden's wife shares photos of their new son". Reuters. December 26, 2020. Archived from the original on October 9, 2021. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  25. ↑ "Vladimir Putin grants Russian citizenship to U.S. whistleblower Snowden". CTVNews . September 26, 2022. Retrieved September 26, 2022.
  26. ↑ Coscarelli, Joe (June 11, 2013), "Edward Snowden's Girlfriend Is a Pole-Dancing Acrobat With a Dramatic Blog", New York , archived from the original on February 22, 2017, retrieved September 16, 2016
  27. ↑ Russian, Ale (September 15, 2016), "Edward Snowden Slams Reporters – Running Sexy Photos of My Girlfriend Wasn't Fair", People , archived from the original on September 16, 2016, retrieved September 16, 2016
  28. ↑ Phillips, Michael (September 15, 2016), "'Snowden' review: A conventional, even tame take on former NSA employee", Chicago Tribune , archived from the original on September 19, 2016, retrieved September 19, 2016
  29. ↑ Stone, Oliver; Open Road Films (September 15, 2016), "Oliver Stone Talks Snowden's Relationship with Lindsay Mills - Snowden Live", Open Road Films YouTube channel, Open Road Films, archived from the original on January 27, 2017, retrieved September 16, 2016
  30. 1 2 Topel, Fred (September 14, 2016), Snowden Roundtable: Shailene Woodley On The Real Lindsay Mills, archived from the original on May 3, 2017, retrieved September 16, 2016
  31. ↑ "Shailene Woodley: 'I stalked Edward Snowden's girlfriend online'", Belfast Telegraph , August 30, 2016, archived from the original on September 19, 2016, retrieved September 16, 2016/
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