Despite first running for office at age 47, House Democratic Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi has managed to become the most powerful woman in Washington.
It's been a long road, but with staggering fundraising skills and a political sixth-sense, Pelosi has managed to break gender barriers and force her way into the notorious Old Boys Club on Capitol Hill.
Here's how a San Francisco housewife became part of the Washington elite.
Pelosi grew up in Baltimore, the daughter of the Democratic Mayor Thomas D'Alesandro. As a young girl, she manager her father's book of who owed him political favors.
Source: U.S. News, Nancy Pelosi Biography
She attended her first Democratic National Convention at age 12. Here she is at age 20 with JFK at his inaugural ball.
Source: Nancy Pelosi Biography
Pelosi met her husband Paul at Georgetown. She was a mother of five by 1969, when the family moved to San Francisco. Paul worked as a banker, while Nancy raised their children and started a Democratic Party club at her home.
Source: U.S. News
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