Gabbard was born on April 12, 1981, in Leloaloa, Maoputasi County, on American Samoa's main island of Tutuila.
She was the fourth of five children born to Mike Gabbard and his wife Carol (née Porter) Gabbard.
In 1983, when Gabbard was two years old, her family moved to Hawaii, where her family had lived in the late 1970s.

Gabbard was raised in a multicultural household.
Her mother was born in Indiana and grew up in Michigan.
Her father was born in American Samoa and lived in Hawaii and Florida as a child; he is of Samoan and European ancestry.

Gabbard was raised in part according to the teachings of the Science of Identity Foundation (SIF) religious community and its spiritual leader, Chris Butler.
She has said Butler's work still guides her.
In 2015, Gabbard called Butler her guru dev (roughly, "spiritual teacher").
Gabbard's husband and ex-husband have also been part of the community.
Gabbard has been reluctant to speak publicly about the SIF.

Gabbard embraced the Hindu faith as a teenager.
Her first name comes from the Sanskrit word for holy basil, a plant sacred in Hinduism.
Her siblings also have Hindu Sanskrit-origin names.
She was homeschooled through high school except for two years at informal schools in the Philippines.


In 1998, Gabbard began working for the Alliance for Traditional Marriage and Values, an anti-gay political action committee her father founded, to pass an amendment giving the Hawaii state legislature the power to "reserve marriage to opposite-sex couples".
She spoke on the organization's behalf as late as 2004 and called those seeking marriage equality "a small number of homosexual extremists."

In the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks, Gabbard worked for a nonprofit, Stand Up For America (SUFA), founded by her father.

In 2002, while working as a self-employed martial arts instructor, Gabbard was the youngest legislator ever elected to represent the 42nd House District of the Hawaii House of Representatives.

In 2004, Gabbard volunteered for Army National Guard service in Iraq and chose not to campaign for reelection.
Before her deployment to Iraq in 2004, she also worked as an educator for the Healthy Hawai'i Coalition.
Gabbard was born on April 12, 1981, in Leloaloa, Maoputasi County, on American Samoa's main island of Tutuila. She was the fourth of five children born to Mike Gabbard and his wife Carol (née Porter) Gabbard. In 1983, when Gabbard was two years old, her family moved to Hawaii, where her family had lived in the late 1970s.
Gabbard was raised in a multicultural household. Her mother was born in Indiana and grew up in Michigan. Her father was born in American Samoa and lived in Hawaii and Florida as a child; he is of Samoan and European ancestry.
Gabbard was raised in part according to the teachings of the Science of Identity Foundation (SIF) religious community and its spiritual leader, Chris Butler. She has said Butler's work still guides her. In 2015, Gabbard called Butler her guru dev (roughly, "spiritual teacher"). Gabbard's husband and ex-husband have also been part of the community. Gabbard has been reluctant to speak publicly about the SIF.
Gabbard embraced the Hindu faith as a teenager. Her first name comes from the Sanskrit word for holy basil, a plant sacred in Hinduism. Her siblings also have Hindu Sanskrit-origin names. She was homeschooled through high school except for two years at informal schools in the Philippines.

In 1998, Gabbard began working for the Alliance for Traditional Marriage and Values, an anti-gay political action committee her father founded, to pass an amendment giving the Hawaii state legislature the power to "reserve marriage to opposite-sex couples". She spoke on the organization's behalf as late as 2004 and called those seeking marriage equality "a small number of homosexual extremists." 
In the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks, Gabbard worked for a nonprofit, Stand Up For America (SUFA), founded by her father.
In 2002, while working as a self-employed martial arts instructor, Gabbard was the youngest legislator ever elected to represent the 42nd House District of the Hawaii House of Representatives.
In 2004, Gabbard volunteered for Army National Guard service in Iraq and chose not to campaign for reelection. Before her deployment to Iraq in 2004, she also worked as an educator for the Healthy Hawai'i Coalition.
Tulsi Gabbard