Hillary Clinton Biography

Hillary Clinton Hillary Rodham Clinton was born on October 26, 1947, in Chicago, Illinois. Growing up, Hillary loved sports, church, and excelling in academics and leadership. She graduated from high school in 1964 as a debater, leader in student government, and a National Merit Scholarship finalist.While attending Wellesley College in Massachusetts, Hillary served as the head of her local Young Republicans chapter, later switching to the Democratic Party as her political views became more liberal. By the time she graduated from Wellesley in 1969 with honors in political science, Hillary had been named class valedictorian and become the first student in the history of the college to deliver a commencement address.Hillary was accepted into Yale Law School in 1969. It was there that she served on the Board of Editors of Yale Law Review and Social Action and met fellow law student and future husband, Bill Clinton. It was also at Yale where Hillary's interest in children's rights flourished. She served as a researcher for the Yale Child Study Center and for Senator Walter F. Mondale.After graduating from Yale Law School, Hillary served as an advisor to the Cambridge Children's Defense Fund. She also joined the impeachment inquiry staff, advising the judiciary committee of the House of Representatives during the end of Richard Nixon's Watergate scandal.Hillary married Bill Clinton in 1975, and that same year joined the faculty at the University of Arkansas Law School. In 1978, Bill Clinton was appointed governor of Arkansas, and Hillary was appointed to the board of the Legal Services Corporation by President Jimmy Carter. The couple welcomed their first child, Chelsea, in 1980.For twelve years, Hillary served as Arkansas first lady with a commitment to family, law, and public service. Her contributions included chairing the Arkansas Educational Standards Committee, co-founding the Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, and serving on the boards of the Arkansas Children's Hospital, Legal Services, and the Children's Defense Fund.At a 1989 education conference in Virginia, Hillary reportedly advised then-president George H W Bush that the U.S. infant mortality rate was statistically high compared to other countries. Although her claim was initially dismissed, the president is said to have concurred upon receiving the statistics from Governor Clinton's office following the conference.In 1993, Bill Clinton was elected the 42nd president of the United States. As the nation's first lady, Hillary chaired the task force on National Health Care Reform and advocated to expand health insurance coverage, particularly for children.Her appointment to the task force caused many critics to accuse the president of nepotism. Hillary also wrote the weekly column Talking It Over, which relayed her experiences with women, children, and families from across the globe. In 1996, Hillary wrote the best-seller It Takes a Village and Other Lessons Children Teach Us. She also won a Grammy Award for her recording of the book.While serving as first lady from 1993 to 2001, Hillary was often criticized for her changing hairstyles, involvement in public policy, and her involvement in the Whitewater scandal for which she became the first first lady to be subpoenaed by a grand jury. She was also at the center of scandals caused by her husband's extra-marital affairs the most public of which was with Whitehouse intern Monica Lewinsky, nick-named Monicagate.On November 7, 2000, Hillary was elected United States senator from New York, making her the first woman elected statewide in New York and the first first lady elected to the U.S. Senate. In 2003, she published her Whitehouse memoirs, Living History. Hillary's supporters now eagerly anticipate her candidacy for the 2008 Democratic Party presidential nomination, and have mobilized committees in support of a presidential run.