During the 1992 presidential campaign, Hillary Rodham Clinton observed, "Our
lives are a mixture of different roles. Most of us are doing the best we can to
find whatever the right balance is . . . For me, that balance is family, work,
and service."

Hillary Diane Rodham, Dorothy and Hugh Rodham's first child, was born on
October 26, 1947. Two brothers, Hugh and Tony, soon followed. Hillary's
childhood in Park Ridge, Illinois, was happy and disciplined. She loved sports
and her church, and was a member of the National Honor Society, and a student
leader. Her parents encouraged her to study hard and to pursue any career that
interested her.

As an undergraduate at Wellesley College, Hillary mixed academic excellence
with school government. Speaking at graduation, she said, "The challenge now is
to practice politics as the art of making what appears to be impossible,
possible."

In 1969, Hillary entered Yale Law School, where she served on the Board of
Editors of Yale Law Review and Social Action, interned with children's advocate
Marian Wright Edelman, and met Bill Clinton. The President often recalls how
they met in the library when she strode up to him and said, "If you're going to
keep staring at me, I might as well introduce myself." The two were soon
inseparable--partners in moot court, political campaigns, and matters of the
heart.

After graduation, Hillary advised the Children's Defense Fund in Cambridge and
joined the impeachment inquiry staff advising the Judiciary Committee of the
House of Representatives. After completing those responsibilities, she
"followed her heart to Arkansas," where Bill had begun his political career.

They married in 1975. She joined the faculty of the University of Arkansas Law
School in 1975 and the Rose Law Firm in 1976. In 1978, President Jimmy Carter
appointed her to the board of the Legal Services Corporation, and Bill Clinton
became governor of Arkansas. Their daughter, Chelsea, was born in 1980.

Hillary served as Arkansas's First Lady for 12 years, balancing family, law,
and public service. She chaired the Arkansas Educational Standards Committee,
co-founded the Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, and served on the
boards of the Arkansas Children's Hospital, Legal Services, and the Children's
Defense Fund.

As the nation's First Lady, Hillary continued to balance public service with
private life. Her active role began in 1993 when the President asked her to
chair the Task Force on National Health Care Reform. She continued to be a
leading advocate for expanding health insurance coverage, ensuring children are
properly immunized, and raising public awareness of health issues. She wrote a
weekly newspaper column entitled "Talking It Over," which focused on her
experiences as First Lady and her observations of women, children, and families
she has met around the world. Her 1996 book It Takes a Village and Other Lessons
Children Teach Us was a best seller, and she received a Grammy Award for her
recording of it.

As First Lady, her public involvement with many activities sometimes led to
controversy. Undeterred by critics, Hillary won many admirers for her staunch
support for women around the world and her commitment to children's issues.

She was elected United States Senator from New York on November 7, 2000. She is
the first First Lady elected to the United States Senate and the first woman
elected statewide in New York.