Sarah Palin Biography

Politician. Born Sarah Louise Heath on February 11, 1964, in Sandpoint, Idaho. At the age of three months, she moved to Alaska when her parents came to teach school in Skagway in southeast Alaska. Sarah Palin's father, Charles, was a science teacher and track coach. Her mother, Sally, was a school secretary.

Sarah Palin grew up in the small town of Wasilla, about 40 miles north of Anchorage. In 1982, she played on Wasilla High School's state champion girls' basketball team, picking up the nickname "Sarah Barracuda" for her intense playing style.

After graduating from Wasilla High in 1982, Sarah Palin wore the crown of Miss Wasilla in 1984 and was the runner-up in the Miss Alaska contest. She went on to earn a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Idaho in 1987. She also became a television sports reporter in Anchorage.

An outdoors enthusiast, Palin is a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association. She is an avid hunter, eats moose hamburger and rides snowmobiles.

Palin eloped with her high school sweetheart, Todd Palin, on August 29, 1988, and helped run his family's commercial fishing business. Todd, who is part Yu'pik Eskimo, also worked for BP at a Prudhoe Bay processing facility. He took leave from the company when his wife became governor to avoid a potential conflict of interest.

Affectionately referred to as Alaska's "First Dude," Todd is also a four-time champion of the Iron Dog, the world's longest snow machine race. From 1995 to 2002, he was a member of Alaska's Independence Party, a fierce states' rights group that wants to turn all federal lands in Alaska back to the state. Some party leaders have advocated Alaskan secession from the United States.

Palin and her husband have five children: Bristol (who is 17-years-old and expecting a baby with boyfriend Levi Johnston, a hockey player at Bristol's high school), Willow, Piper, Track (who is in the U.S. Army and was deployed to Iraq on September 11, 2008) and Trig (who was born in April 2008 with Down syndrome).

Palin entered politics in 1992, winning a seat on the Wasilla City Council by opposing tax hikes. Four years later, she was elected mayor of Wasilla by knocking off a three-term incumbent.

As mayor, Palin cut property taxes and reduced spending. She also raised the city sales tax by a half a percent to build a popular sports complex and put more money into public safety.

Mayor Palin also effectively used the system of congressional earmarks. She collected $26.9 million in such funding, according the independent watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense, including $15 million for a commuter rail project.

Palin ran her first statewide campaign in 2002 in a bid for the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor. She lost by fewer than 2,000 votes.

Alaska Governor Frank Murkowski appointed Sarah Palin to chair the state's Oil and Gas Conservation Commission in 2003. She resigned a year later in protest over what she perceived to be the "lack of ethics" of fellow Alaskan Republican leaders, including Republican Party Chair Randy Ruedrich.