Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton (born October 26, 1947) is the junior United States Senator from New York and a member of the Democratic Party. She is married to Bill Clinton, the 42^nd President of the United States, and was the First Lady of the United States from 1993 to 2001.

A native of Illinois, Hillary Rodham initially attracted national attention in 1969 when she became the first student to speak at commencement exercises for Wellesley College. She began her career as a lawyer in the 1970s, moving to Arkansas and marrying Bill Clinton in 1975; she was named the first female partner at Rose Law Firm in 1979 and was named one of the hundred most influential lawyers in America in 1988 and 1991. She served as the First Lady of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and 1983 to 1992, and was active in a number of organizations concerned with the welfare of children. Her first major initiative as First Lady of the United States, the Clinton health care plan, failed to gain approval by the U.S. Congress in 1994; however, she was successful in other areas, such as establishing the Children's Health Insurance Program in 1997. She is a candidate in the 2008 United States presidential election and has consistently been the front-runner in polls for the Democratic nomination.