Charlie Kirk, 31, was the founding and executive director of Turning Point USA, a conservative campus organization. He made frequent appearances on college campuses and presented media programs, notably his popular podcast The Charlie Kirk Show.
Kirk was born and raised in the Chicago suburbs of Arlington Heights and Prospect Heights, Illinois. Kirk was interested in politics throughout his high school years, supporting Republican candidate Mark Kirk and his U.S. Senate campaign, as well as opposing a cafeteria price hike.
He briefly attended Harper College before leaving out to focus on political action full-time, inspired by Tea Party member Bill Montgomery. Kirk founded TPUSA, a conservative student organization that quickly gained support from donors such as Foster Friess.
President Donald Trump said that Charlie Kirk, a right-wing talk show host and activist, was shot and killed on September 10 at an event at Utah Valley University.
Trump acknowledged Kirk’s passing in a post on Truth Social, expressing his admiration for the late man and sending his best wishes to Erika Frantzve, his now-widowed wife.
Who was Charlie Kirk?
Born in Arlington Heights, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, on October 14, 1993, Charles James Kirk grew up in Prospect Heights, a nearby suburb. His father is an architect, while his mother works as a mental health counselor. As an Eagle Scout, Kirk was a member of the Boy Scouts of America. When he was a junior at Wheeling High School in 2010, he volunteered for Illinois Republican Mark Kirk’s successful U.S. Senate campaign.
In his senior year, Kirk started a campaign to reverse a cookie price increase at his school and wrote an essay for Breitbart News accusing high school textbooks of liberal bias, which led to an appearance on Fox Business. Kirk attended Harper College near Chicago but left before earning a degree or certificate.
Later, at a Benedictine University “Youth Empowerment Day” speech, he met Bill Montgomery, a retiree who was then a Tea Party-backed legislative candidate. At the 2012 Republican National Convention, Kirk met with prominent Republican donor Foster Friess and convinced him to fund Turning Point USA (TPUSA), a “grass-roots organization to rival liberal groups such as MoveOn.org.” Montgomery encouraged Kirk to pursue political activism full-time.
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Career
Charlie Kirk was a notable conservative activist and television personality in the United States, as well as a loyal ally of President Donald Trump.
At the age of 18, he co-founded Turning Point USA, a nonprofit conservative advocacy group. Kirk’s group grew to be the country’s largest conservative youth movement, and he eventually became a key figure in a network of pro-Trump influencers, often referred to as the “Make America Great Again” movement’s spokesperson.
Throughout the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump frequently credited Kirk with attracting many young voters and voters of color to his side. He was also a strong critic of mainstream media and pushed himself into culture-war debates over race, gender, and immigration.
His outspoken style garnered him a devoted following but also intense resistance. Kirk also became great friends with the president’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., and the two traveled to Greenland together in January. He also became an early backer of Vice President JD Vance as Trump considered whether the senator might be his running partner.
Kirk has 5.5 million followers on the platform X, with the username @charliekirk11 and airs The Charlie Kirk Show, a podcast and radio show that receives over 500,000 listens every month. He made frequent appearances on Fox News, including a recent guest co-hosting stint on Fox & Friends.
According to The New York Times, Kirk never pursued a position in the administration. His goal was to transform the Republican Party and, more widely, American politics.
Kirk has also made a fortune from his successful podcast, regular speaking engagements, and books, including his 2020 hit The MAGA Doctrine. He posted often on social media, presenting a right-wing perspective on a wide range of problems.
Who Was Charlie Kirk’s Wife, Erika Frantzve?
In 2021, he married Erika Frantzve, a former Miss Arizona USA winner. “Above all, Erika cherishes her role as the wife of Charlie Kirk and the mother of their precious son and daughter,” according to her company website.
Her website lists her as the owner of PROCLAIM Streetwear, and her LinkedIn profile lists her as the founder of Everyday Heroes Like You, a 501(c)(3).
Frantzve is also a certified real estate agent with The Corcoran Group in New York City, a model represented by the agency, and a casting director for several television networks, according to the website. Kirk was the father of two young children: a daughter born in 2022 and a son born in May 2024.
Kirk was an Evangelical Christian. The Christian denomination to which Charlie Kirk belonged was the Calvary Chapel Association.
What Happened to Charlie Kirk?
On September 10, 2025, while on stage at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, for a TPUSA event, “The American Comeback Tour”, Kirk was fatally shot in the neck. The incident took place at around 12:20 p.m. MDT (18:20 UTC), 20 minutes after the event began, in front of an audience of about 3000 people.
Blood is shown streaming from his neck as he recoils while speaking in footage taken at the scene of the incident. Later, a university official said that although a suspect was in custody, it was found that the individual was not the shooter.
Kirk, 31, was declared dead later that afternoon after being transported to the Timpanogos Regional Hospital in severe condition. At 4:40 p.m. EDT (20:40 UTC), US President Donald Trump made his death public in a tweet on Truth Social. Kirk’s spokeswoman then verified it.
Kash Patel, the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), declared on social media that a “subject” was in custody at 6:21 p.m. EDT (22:21 UTC). According to Utah Governor Spencer Cox, the offender was thought to have acted alone, and there was just one individual in detention. After questioning, this person was later released. According to FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert Bohls, the probe is “in its early stages,” and he urged the public to come forward with information during a press conference.
How Did Charlie Kirk Make Money?
Public documentation suggests Kirk’s income streams previously included leadership salary at Turning Point USA, paid speaking engagements such as his national “American Comeback Tour,” and profits connected to his media programming, including The Charlie Kirk Show, and published books.