Jump to content

Elizabeth Edwards

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 62.40.161.64 (talk) at 19:29, 21 May 2009 (→‎Breast cancer: typo fixed). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

For other people named Elizabeth Edwards, see Elizabeth Edwards (disambiguation).
Elizabeth Edwards
Edwards campaigning for her husband in New Hampshire, October 2007
Born (1949-07-03) July 3, 1949 (age 75)
Jacksonville, Florida
SpouseJohn Edwards
ChildrenWade (1979-1996)
Cate (born 1982)
Emma Claire (born 1998)
Jack (born 2000)

Elizabeth Anania Edwards (born Mary Elizabeth Anania on July 3, 1949, in Jacksonville, Florida) is an attorney and the wife of John Edwards, a former U.S. Senator from North Carolina who was the 2004 United States Democratic vice-presidential nominee, and a former candidate for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination.

Education and family

Elizabeth Anania is the daughter of Elizabeth and Vincent Anania (1920–2008), a United States Navy pilot. For part of her childhood she lived in Japan, where her father was stationed. She attended Mary Washington College and then transferred to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She received her bachelor's degree from UNC, and also performed three years of postgraduate study in English there. She then entered UNC's School of Law and earned a J.D. She met John Edwards when they were both law students at UNC. They married on July 30, 1977.

Elizabeth and John Edwards are the parents of four children: Wade, Catharine, Emma Claire, and Jack. Wade was killed in April 1996 when he lost control of his Jeep while driving from his Raleigh home to the family's beach house near Wilmington [1]. Three weeks before his death, Wade Edwards was honored by First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton at the White House as one of the 10 finalists in an essay contest sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Voice of America. Wade, accompanied by his parents and sister, met North Carolina Sen. Jesse Helms. After he died, Helms entered Wade's essay and his obituary into the Congressional Record [2].

After Wade's death, Edwards and her husband chose to have children again: Emma Claire, born in 1998 when Elizabeth was 48, and Jack, born in 2000 when she was 50. She was pregnant with Emma Claire during her husband's 1998 Senate race. Emma Claire and Jack were born in Chapel Hill, where the family now resides.

Professional life

She began her career as a law clerk for a federal judge, then moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 1978 to become an associate at the law firm of Harwell Barr Martin & Sloan. In 1981, she and her husband moved their family to Raleigh where she worked for the Attorney General's office and then at the law firm Merriman, Nicholls, and Crampton. She used her maiden name professionally until 1996,[3] when she retired from legal practice upon the death of her son and changed her name to Elizabeth Edwards. Much of her time since leaving legal practice has been devoted to the administration of the Wade Edwards Foundation.[4] She has taught legal writing as an adjunct instructor at the law school of the University of North Carolina and worked as a substitute teacher in the Wake County Public Schools.

Political activities

During much of 2004, Edwards joined her husband and United States Democratic Presidential nominee Senator John Kerry on the nationwide campaign trail. She took a similar role in her husband's 2008 presidential bid and was considered one of his closest advisers.

Edwards disagrees with her husband on the topic of gay marriage. She became a vocal advocate in 2007 when she stated: "I don't know why someone else’s marriage has anything to do with me. I'm completely comfortable with gay marriage."[5]

On June 10, 2008, it was revealed that Edwards would be advising her husband's former rival, and eventual Democratic nominee, Barack Obama, on healthcare issues.[6] Her husband also endorsed Obama during the later stages of the primary season.

Breast cancer

On November 3, 2004, the day Kerry conceded defeat in the 2004 U.S. Presidential Election, Elizabeth Edwards was diagnosed with breast cancer. She later revealed that she discovered a lump in her breast while on a campaign stop in Kenosha, Wisconsin a few weeks earlier, in the midst of the campaign. Edwards was treated and has remained an activist for women's health and cancer patients. In a November 2006 comment on the Daily Kos website, Edwards stated that on her last visit her oncologist said that cancer was not one of the things going on in her life.[7]

In September 2006, Edwards released a book, Saving Graces: Finding Solace and Strength from Friends and Strangers,[8] focusing on the death of her son and her battle with breast cancer. In May 2009, Edwards released a second book, Resilience, further detailing her battles with cancer, the 1996 death of her son Wade, the effect of these events on her marriage to John Edwards, his subsequent infidelity, and the general state of health care in America.[9]

At a March 22, 2007 press conference,[10] John and Elizabeth Edwards announced that her cancer had returned, and that his campaign for the Presidency would continue as before. The announcement included the information that she was asymptomatic, and therefore that Elizabeth expected to be an active part of the campaign. [11] Her doctor, Dr. Lisa Carey of the University of North Carolina's Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, described the diagnosis as stage IV (metastatic) breast cancer with a spot in her rib and possibly her lung. In a March 25 interview on 60 Minutes, Edwards said that there was also a spot in her hip found on her bone scan.[12] Elizabeth and John Edwards and Dr. Carey stressed that the cancer is not curable, but is treatable.[10][13] In early April 2007, Edwards was informed that her cancer may be treatable with anti-estrogen drugs. "I consider that a good sign. It means there are more medications which I can expect to be responsive," she told the Associated Press during a campaign stop with her husband in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.[14]

References

  1. ^ "Edwards' bittersweet history: Kerry's choice comes with a rags-to-riches story that's marked by tragedy". Chicago Tribune. 2004-07-07. Retrieved 2007-01-30.
  2. ^ "LUCIUS WADE EDWARDS JULY 18, 1979-APRIL 4, 1996". Retrieved 2008-05-21.
  3. ^ Ms. Magazine | Elizabeth Edwards, The Strategist
  4. ^ Wade Edwards Foundation website
  5. ^ Elizabeth Edwards strays on gay marriage - John Edwards News - MSNBC.com
  6. ^ TPM Election Central | Talking Points Memo | Obama Says He's Partnering With Elizabeth Edwards On Health Care
  7. ^ "Edwards posting". Daily Kos blog. November 20, 2006. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ Edwards,Elizabeth (2006). Saving Graces: Finding Solace and Strength from Friends and Strangers. Broadway. ISBN 0767925378. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  9. ^ http://www.latimes.com/features/books/la-et-book8-2009may08,0,5029044.story
  10. ^ a b "Transcript of Former Sen. Edwards News Conference on Wife's Health". Washington Post. 2007-03-22. Retrieved 2007-03-27.
  11. ^ Pickler, Nedra (2007-03-22). "Edwards presses on with 2008 campaign". Yahoo.com. Retrieved 2007-03-22.
  12. ^ Couric, Katie (2007-03-25). "Exclusive:John and Elizabeth Edwards, Edwards Open About Cancer, Unconditional About Couple's Decision On Presidential Run". CBS 60 Minutes. Retrieved 2007-03-28.
  13. ^ Jill Lawrence and, Rita Rubin (2007-03-22). "For Elizabeth Edwards, a public battle for her life". USA Today. Retrieved 2007-03-23.
  14. ^ Elizabeth Edwards Gets a 'Good Sign'. April 4, 2007.

Footnotes

Preceded by Spouse of the Democratic Party Vice Presidential Nominee
2004 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Elizabeth_Edwards&oldid=291458227"