Birth Name: Hillary Diane Rodham
Birth Date: October 26, 1947
Birth Place: Chicago, Illinois
Romantic Link: Bill Clinton
Claim To Fame: First lady of the United States 1993-2001
In 1984, Hillary Clinton was chosen as Arkansas’ Woman of the Year.
Hillary Clinton is the first First Lady to seek and win a political office.
Born in Chicago, Illinois, on October 26, 1947, Hillary Diane Rodham was raised by her father, Hugh Ellsworth Rodham, and her mother, Dorothy Emma Howell Rodham, along with her two younger brothers Hugh Jr. and Tony.
Growing up, Hillary knew that she wanted to get involved in a life of politics, as she made sure to be very involved in her community by attending church and becoming the school president when she attended Main East High School.
Hillary supports republicans
By 1963, Hillary was already involved in politics, when she became an avid supporter of a presidential bid made by Arizona Republican Senator Barry Goldwater.
Having also earned many accolades as a Brownie and a Girl Scout, when Hillary switched to and graduated from Main South High School in 1964, she received the school’s first-ever social sciences award.
When Hillary entered Wellesley College in Massachusetts in 1965, she became increasingly involved in politics, even in her school as she served as the President of the College Republicans.
In 1968, amid her junior year in college, Hillary was quite taken aback when she heard of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., whom she had met in 1962. It was during this year that one of Hillary’s professors encouraged her to head to Wellesley in Washington, and it was during this time that Hillary’s political views began to change and she became a Democrat.
Rodham marries Bill Clinton
To no one’s surprise, Hillary was selected as the class of 1969’s valedictorian and became the first student ever at Wellesley to deliver a commencement address when she spoke at her graduation. Not only did her words inspire everyone to stand up and applaud their hearts out; Hillary was even featured in Life magazine for what she did.
That same year, Hillary enrolled at Yale Law School, and spent all her free-time helping children via the Yale-New Haven Hospital, Children’s Defense Fund, the Yale Child Study Center, and provided free legal services to the poor.
After receiving a Juris Doctor degree in 1973, Hillary began her post-graduate studies and served as a staff lawyer for the Children’s Defense Fund. It was during this time that Hillary became a member of the faculty at the University of Arkansas Law School in Fayetteville. It was here that she met and eventually married William Jefferson Clinton, a.k.a., Bill Clinton on October 11, 1975.
Hillary is Arkansas First Lady
By 1976, Hillary joined the Rose Law Firm, and dealt with cases of intellectual property while doing pro bono cases for children on the side.
It was in 1978 that Hillary’s husband became the governor of Arkansas, making Hillary Arkansas First Lady – a role she would fill for the next 12 years. When 1979 rolled around, she became a full partner in the law firm.
On February 27, 1980, Hillary and Bill welcomed little Chelsea, their first and only daughter, into the world. But Hillary wasn’t one to rest on her laurels; as the First Lady, Hillary sat on the Arkansas Educational Standards Committee, as well as the Rural Health Advisory Committee, all in a bid to help children get better educated and help parents better teach their children.
Not only was Hillary named Arkansas Woman of the Year in 1983, and Mother of the Year in 1984, she also sat on the Board of Directors for TCBY and Wal-Mart from 1985 to 1992.
Hillary becomes First Lady of U.S.
But Hillary’s notoriety would no longer be limited to Arkansas once her husband became the President of the United States in 1992. By 1993, Hillary was selected to take on Health Care Reform.
While she had her share of critics, Hillary gained a lot of respect for her support of women’s rights and her continuing commitment to children’s issues. In 1996, she wrote a book entitled It Takes A Village: And Other Lessons Children Teach Us, which was a best-seller and garnered her a Grammy award for Best Spoken Word Album for her recording of it.
In 1998, Hillary’s life would be rocked by scandal when her husband was caught having an affair with an intern named Monica Lewinsky. Of course, there were many accusations made about Bill during their entire marriage, but this time, there was actual proof of it.
Hillary becomes NY senator
Nevertheless, Hillary and Bill showed the world a united front and worked their way through the issue. And while some admired her determination to make the marriage work, others called her an enabler of her husband’s flagrant disregard for monogamy.
In 2000, after her stint as the First Lady came to a close, Hillary decided to run for the New York State senate, and was elected by a 12% margin over her opponent Rick Lazio on November 7th of that year.
Having made many bids for improvement in New York State, Hillary continues to press for labor and education improvements, as well as financial incentives for business and job creations.
Hillary 2008 President
Hillary wrote her autobiography Living History in 2003, and sold more than a million copies of the book in its first month of sale. Although she was criticized for not having credited her ghostwriters, the book was ultimately translated into several foreign languages and garnered much praise.
In November 2004, Hillary announced that she would be running for the Senate again on November 7, 2006, and came away the victor once again.
Perhaps the most admirable thing about Hillary is that she is running for President of the United States in 2008, and, should she win, she will become the first woman ever to be nominated for President by a major party. Not to mention the first woman to ever be First Lady and President. That's making history, baby!
Resource:
IMDb.com - Hillary Clinton
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