2014, the Marlo Thomas Center for Global Education and Collaboration was opened as part of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Hillary Clinton presided over the ribbon-cutting ceremony. On November 24, 2014, President Barack Obama awarded Thomas the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, at a White House ceremony. Personal life Thomas was in a long relationship with playwright Herb Gardner. In 1977, Thomas was a guest on Donahue, the television talk show, when she and host Phil Donahue fell in "love at first sight". They were married on May 21, 1980, and Donahue moved with some of his sons and his daughter from Chicago to New York City to live with Thomas and to produce his talk show there. Thomas is the stepmother to Donahue's four sons and daughter from his first marriage. Concerning her relationship with her stepchildren, Thomas told the AARP magazine in May 2012, "from the very first day, I decided that I was not going to try to be a 'mother' to Phil's children in the traditional sense — they already had a mom — but, instead, to be their friend. I'm proud to say that the friendships I established with them are as strong today as they were 30 years ago — even stronger." Filmography Films Television References External links MarloThomas.com Marlo Thomas at YouTube Marlo Thomas at Twitter Marlo Thomas at Facebook All About Marlo Thomas at StJude.org Marlo Thomas Video produced by Makers: Women Who Make America Marlo Thomas at the Comedy Hall of Fame 1937 births Activists from Detroit Activists from Los Angeles Actresses from Los Angeles Actors Studio alumni Actresses from Detroit American film actresses American people of Lebanese descent American people of Italian descent American stage actresses American television actresses Audiobook narrators A&M Records artists Bell Records artists Best Musical or Comedy Actress Golden Globe (television) winners Grammy Award winners Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute alumni Living people Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie Primetime Emmy Award winners Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients St. Jude Children's Research Hospital 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses USC Rossier School of Education alumni