Elizabeth Edwards, Married to John Edwards, Democratic 2008 Candidate

Photo: Sara D. Davis/Getty Images. On March 22, 2007 at a news conference in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Elizabeth and John Edwards publicly reveal the return of Mrs. Edwards' cancer.

Elizabeth Edwards is a feisty, outspoken advocate for her husband's candidacy for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination. Despite her health challenges, she travels and actively campaigns with John throughout the U.S.

Elizabeth Edwards, an attorney with sharp political instincts and shared devotion to her husband's compassoniate causes, is considered to be one of John's closest advisors. Elizabeth is a popular and in-demand, charismatic speaker and a press favorite.

After the 1996 death in a car accident of the Edwards' 16 year old son, Elizabeth retired from her law practice. She has since focused on raising their two children born in 1998 and 2000, and on the Wade Edwards Foundation, established in honor of their late son.

Quote about the 2008 Campaign
"John has a set of things in which he believes, and those are the reasons he's running. He really believes in those things: eliminating poverty, and really doing something about universal health care, and standing up to the President on the war, and going after the environment in a really aggressive way.

The problem for me with the other candidates is I don't know what it is that drives them. What is it they really believe in that makes them get up in the morning and want to do this? I should think the President has to be somebody who has that kind of vision outside themselves."

Source: The Progressive, August 2007 issue

Personal Data
Breast Cancer: On November 3, 2004, only days after John Kerry and John Edwards conceded the 2004 presidential election, Elizabeth Edwards was diagnosed with breast cancer. She underwent chemotherapy and radiation treatment. Said John in early 2006, ""The good news is that Elizabeth's doing great. She's doing very, very well."

But on March 22, 2007, Elizabeth and John publicly revealed that her cancer has recurred, and had possibly spread to her lungs, ribs and hip. Her University of North Carolina doctor stated that Elizabeth's cancer is incurable but treatable.

Marriage: to John Edwards on July 30, 1977. (For more info, see John and Elizabeth Edwards Marriage Profile.)

Children: Wade (b. 1979, d. 1996), Cate (b. 1982), Emma Claire (1998), Jack (2000)

Education: B.A. in English, followed by a J.D. in May 1977 from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Birth: July 3, 1949 in Jacksonville, Florida to a U.S. Navy pilot and his wife. Elizabeth spent much of her childhood in Japan, where her father was stationed.