Carolyn C. Kilpatrick (born June 25, 1945) is an American politician. She has been a Democratic member of the House of Representatives since 1997, representing the 13th District of Michigan (map), comprised of most of Detroit and portions of Downriver. Born in Detroit, she graduated from the Detroit High School of Commerce. She then attended Ferris State University in Big Rapids from 1968-1970 and received a B.S. from Western Michigan University (Kalamazoo) in 1972. She earned a M.S. from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) in 1977. She worked as a teacher and was a member of the Michigan State House of Representatives 1979-1996. She is a member of the Detroit Substance Abuse Advisory Council.
Having defeated incumbent Barbara-Rose Collins in the 1996 Democratic primary, Kilpatrick was elected as a Democrat to the 105th and to the three succeeding Congresses, serving from January 3, 1997 to the present.
She is the mother of Kwame Kilpatrick, who was elected to fill his mother's seat in the Michigan State House and was subsequently elected Mayor of Detroit in 2001.
