Despite a somewhat wretched childhood -- her parents died when she was young and she was raised by her grandmother -- Eleanor Roosevelt grew up to be an independent thinker and a woman to be reckoned with. She married her distant cousin FDR in 1905 and the couple had five children. They lived their entire married life with FDR's domineering mother Sara Delano. Eleanor Roosevelt supported her husband's wish to go into national politics after he was stricken with polio in 1921, standing in for him in public forums, and his campaign for President in 1932. As First Lady, she was an influential writer, speaker, politicial advisor to her husband and advocate for the New Deal and civil rights. She continued her activities affter FDR's death and became one of the most admired women in the world.
