Sarah Palin became impossible to ignore in 2008, when John McCain chose the then-little-known Alaska governor as his running mate. A “force of nature,” she combined folksy charm with scrappy underdog energy—but in the years since, headlines have tracked heartbreak as much as politics.
Born in Sandpoint, Idaho, and raised in Wasilla, Alaska, Palin thrived at Wasilla High, where basketball left a “life-changing” mark. It was there she met Todd, her future husband, at a game. In 1988, the high-school sweethearts eloped, recruiting two witnesses from a retirement home across the street because a big wedding was out of reach. Together, they built a bustling Alaskan life—raising five kids (Track, Bristol, Willow, Piper, and Trig), running a commercial fishing business, and navigating the rugged rhythms of the Last Frontier.Palin’s career soared as she reported the news and entered politics, becoming Alaska’s youngest—and first female—governor in 2006. Todd, the self-styled “First Dude,” kept things grounded, balancing parenting with snowmobile races and oil-field work while Palin faced national scrutiny, from McCain’s 2008 campaign to family challenges like Bristol’s teenage pregnancy.
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