Vicky Tiu Cayetano was First Lady of Hawaii from 1997 to 2002. She and Governor Ben Cayetano were married May 5, 1997 in Washington Place. Both had been previously married. He was a career politician with three grown children, and she was an independent business owner with two teenagers. During her tenure, she was instrumental in getting a new governor's residence built and turning Washington Place into a museum.
Background
She was born in Manila, Philippines, one of nine children of Pat and William Tiu. Her older sister is musician and actress Ginny Tiu. Both of them appeared in movies with Elvis Presley. After the family moved to San Francisco, Vicky and a group of her friends started a travel agency when she was a teenager. She later attended Stanford University in California, but did not graduate. Vicky married a financial consultant in California and had two children. The family later moved to Hawaii. In 1988, she helped start United Laundry Company to service hotels and hospitals, eventually becoming president and CEO. She divorced her first husband in 1992. Ben Cayetano was the sitting Governor of Hawaii, with three grown children with his first wife, Lorraine Cayetano. They were separated for five years, then divorced in 1996 after 37 years of marriage. Cayetano and Tiu met while both were working out at the Honolulu Club fitness center. They were married one-and-a-half years later in the governor's official residence on May 5, 1997.
After marrying Ben Cayetano, she continued to operate the laundry company, but spending fewer hours in the day on it. Her daily schedule was distributed to her employees, and she was available if needed. The evening hours were devoted to her family, giving individual time to her teenage children. In 1999, she participated in the Honolulu Habitat for Humanity's Women Build. She was named 1999 Woman of Distinction by Hawaii's Girl Scouts for her work in motivating young women. In 2001, Vicky proposed turning Washington Place into a museum telling the story of Lili'uokalani. Toward that end, she created the Washington Place Foundation to raise funds to build a new residence for the state's governor. The new residence, constructed directly behind Washington Place, was finished in time for the new governor Linda Lingle.
