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Money & Work • Entrepreneur

Whitney Wolfe Herd

Whitney Wolfe Herd is an American entrepreneur best known as the founder of Bumble and a co-founder of Tinder.

Updated September 12, 20261 min readCited sources

Whitney Wolfe Herd is an American entrepreneur who co-founded Tinder and later founded Bumble. She became one of the youngest women to take a company public when Bumble listed in 2021.

Who she is

Born July 1, 1989 in Salt Lake City, Utah, Wolfe Herd earned a degree in international studies from Southern Methodist University. She married Michael Herd in 2017 and the couple have two sons, living in Austin, Texas.

Career: Tinder and Bumble

She co-founded Tinder and served as vice president of marketing before leaving in 2014. Later that year she founded Bumble, a dating app where women make the first move. After a stint as executive chair, she returned to the CEO role in March 2025.

Public company milestone

Wolfe Herd led Bumble’s initial public offering in 2021 at age 31, making her one of the youngest women to take a company public in the United States. The listing cemented Bumble as a major player in online dating.

In short

  • Co-founded Tinder and later founded Bumble.
  • Bumble’s key feature: women make the first move.
  • Led Bumble’s IPO in 2021 at age 31.
  • Returned as Bumble CEO in March 2025.

Quick questions

Who is Whitney Wolfe Herd?
Whitney Wolfe Herd is an American entrepreneur best known as the founder of Bumble and a co-founder of Tinder.
What happened to Whitney Wolfe Herd?
She left Tinder in 2014, founded Bumble later that year, and in 2021 led Bumble’s public listing. She stepped away from the CEO role in 2024, served as executive chair, and resumed the CEO role in March 2025.
Is Whitney Wolfe Herd married?
Yes. She married Michael Herd in 2017.

Sources

  1. Bumble Investor Relations — https://ir.bumble.com/governance/board-of-directors/person-details/default.aspx?ItemId=b318523a-18dd-4fde-8495-f1211b9f0659
    Supports: Founder and CEO role, Bumble founding, Tinder background, role changes in 2024–2025, education
  2. Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitney_Wolfe_Herd
    Supports: Birth date, marriage to Michael Herd, children, age-related biography details
  3. Basser Center for BRCA — https://www.basser.org/person/whitney-wolfe-herd
    Supports: Bumble founding, women-make-the-first-move concept, IPO milestone, board roles
  4. Biography.com — https://www.biography.com/business-leaders/a66106060/swiped-true-story-whitney-wolfe-herd-bumble
    Supports: Tinder departure, sexual harassment lawsuit, Bumble founding, self-made billionaire description
  5. BusinessWomen.com — https://businesswomen.com/profiles/whitney-wolfe-herd/
    Supports: Estimated net worth figure as of May 2024
  6. Southern Methodist University — https://www.smu.edu/cox/coxtoday-magazine/2024-08-05-leaders-on-leadership-whitney-wolfe-herd
    Supports: Education, Tinder background, Bumble founding context