Shriver was born in Washington, D.C. He is part of the Kennedy political family, since his mother was Eunice Mary Kennedy. He may also be considered to be a part of the "Shriver political family", since his ancestor David Shriver was a delegate of Frederick County, Maryland who signed the Maryland Constitution and Bill of Rights at Maryland's Constitutional Convention of 1776. His father is Sargent Shriver, the first director of the Peace Corps upon its establishment by President John F. Kennedy on March 1, 1961, a former ambassador to France and the 1972 Democratic Vice Presidential candidate. Mark Shriver has written a memoir about his father, "A Good Man: Rediscovering My Father, Sargent Shriver". In 2013, Shriver won a Christopher Award for the book. In 2016, he wrote a second book, "Pilgrimage: My Search for the Real Pope Francis".