Born: Feb. 11, 1964, in Sandpoint, Idaho, third of four children
Grew up: Wasilla, Alaska (moved to Alaska as an infant, to Wasilla in the early '70s)
Education: Graduated from in University of Idaho in 1987 with major in journalism, minor in politics
Religion: Protestant, attended nondenominational Bible churches growing up
Hobbies: Ice fishing, snowmobiling, hunting, running marathons
Married: Todd Palin, her high-school sweetheart, in 1988
His job: Formerly a commercial fisherman, now a production operator for BP on the North Slope for about 20 years
His hobbies: Four-time winner of the Iron Dog, the longest snowmobile race in the world
Children: Track (18), Bristol (17), Willow (13), and Piper (7), Trig (4 months). Track is scheduled to deploy to Iraq on Sept. 11. Trig was born with Down syndrome.
Nicknames: "Sarah Barracuda" for tenacity on basketball court as point guard in high school. "No Show Sarah" for missing campaign appearances during governor run.
Favorite food: "Moose stew after a day of snowmachining," according to an interview in Vogue magazine
Career timeline:
- After college: Covered sports for local Anchorage TV stations, helped husband run commercial fishing business
- 1992: Returned to Wasilla, served on city council
- 1996-2002: Mayor of Wasilla
- 2002: Ran for lieutenant governor, finished second in Republican primary
- April 2003-January 2004: Chair of Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation. During that time she helped expose ethical violations of Republican state chairman Randy Ruedrich, who resigned in November 2004
- 2006: Ran against incumbent Gov. Frank Murkowski in Republican primary, got 51 percent of vote. In general election, defeated Democrat Tony Knowles 49 percent to 41 percent.
Compiled by Samantha Henig