Ricketts and her three siblings grew up in
Omaha, Nebraska. She is the daughter of
John Joseph ("Joe") and Marlene Margaret Ricketts (
née Volkmer). Ricketts' father,
Joe Ricketts, founded what became
TD Ameritrade when Laura was age 7. He let it be known that he wanted his children to establish themselves through their own hard work and would not be allowed to join the company until they reached the age of thirty. Ricketts is a former corporate lawyer. Ricketts received her bachelor's degree from the
University of Chicago in 1989 and her Juris Doctor from the
University of Michigan Law School in 1998. Laura talks of her own struggle to come out; "I came out to my family I would say early to mid 90s. I think for a long time I wasn't really out to myself, growing up in Omaha, Neb., to a Catholic conservative family. It took me a while to come out to myself and not long after that I came out to them. I think that it really couldn't have been a better experience. They were all immediately supportive. ... I have been really really fortunate in that regard." On June 6, 2015, Ricketts married Brooke Skinner. Skinner is the Chief Experience Officer at
Cars.com. Their wedding was officiated by Jim Bennett, the Midwest Director of Lambda Legal. Ricketts is one of four children. Her older brother
Pete Ricketts is a former Governor of Nebraska and the current junior U.S. Senator from Nebraska. Her brother
Tom is chairman of the
Chicago Cubs, and the
chief executive officer of Incapital LLC. Tom, Laura, and their youngest brother,
Todd, live within blocks of each other in Wilmette, Illinois. In 2013, Ricketts was inducted into the
Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame.
Political involvement Ricketts is a
Democrat, unlike her parents and her siblings (who are all notable
Republicans). Ricketts is
liberal and an LGBTQ activist. Ricketts was a top
bundler for
Barack Obama's
re-election campaign during the
2012 presidential election. Ricketts was a top bundler for the Clinton campaign. In addition to supporting Clinton as a donor and fundraiser, Ricketts supported several Democrats running for other offices in the 2016 elections. Ricketts gave personal donations that year to
Jan Schakowsky's
congressional re-election campaign,
Tammy Duckworth's
senate campaign,
Maggie Hassan's
senate campaign, and
Russ Feingold's
senate campaign. Ricketts also donated to the
Hillary Victory Fund, a joint fundraising committee benefiting both
state parties and the Clinton campaign. Rickets served as a co-chair of the campaign finance committee of
Jesse Ruiz's campaign for the Democratic nomination in the
2018 Illinois attorney general election. During Chicago's
2019 mayoral election, Ricketts endorsed and became a co-chair of
Susana Mendoza's campaign in the first round. After Mendoza was eliminated, Ricketts backed
Lori Lightfoot in the election's
runoff. She supported Lightfoot in the
2023 Chicago mayoral election, with Ricketts and her wife both having been named in April 2022 to serve as a finance co-chair of Lightfoot's reelection campaign. Ricketts supported
Joe Biden during the
2020 United States presidential election. After his victory, she donated $250,000 to the inaugural committee planning the
Biden's inauguration. ==Chicago Cubs==