Hillary Clinton's Family

Hillary Rodham was born in Chicago, Illinois on October 26, 1947. She has two younger brothers, Hugh and Tony, and is the daughter of Dorothy Rodham and the late Hugh Rodham.

Her mother was a full-time homemaker. She encouraged Hillary to get an education and pursue a career, even though she had never done so herself. Dorothy Rodham, whose maiden name was Howell, grew up in a small town in California. In 1937 she moved to Chicago where she married Hugh Rodham in 1942. Hugh Rodham was born in Scraton, Pennsylvania. His parents were British immigrants. During World War II Hugh Rodham was a Chief Petty Officer, training recruits in the Navy. After the war he entered the textile business in New York and Chicago. He worked his way up until he could finally buy his own drapery company in Chicago. When Hillary was born her father was already a successful businessman and a devoted Republican. When Hillary was three years old the family moved from their city apartment in Chicago to Park Ridge, an upper middle class suburb. In 1987 Hugh and Dorothy Rodham moved to Little Rock to be closer to their daughter. Hugh Rodham died on April 7, 1993 at the age of 82. Dorothy Rodham is still alive and well, and lives in Little Rock. She is very concerned about her privacy and rarely speaks to the media.

Hillary Rodham met her future husband Bill Clinton when they both attended Yale Law School and they married in 1975, two years after her graduation. Bill Clinton was then pursuing a political career in Arkansas. On February 27, 1980, their daughter Chelsea was born. She was named after the 1969 Joni Mitchell song "Chelsea Morning” . When Bill Clinton was elected president of the United States Chelsea Clinton became the first teenager in the White House since Amy Carter. While living in the White House, Chelsea attended Sidwell Friends School in Washington D.C. She is currently living at Stanford University in California. Hillary and Bill did their best to shield Chelsea from the media during her childhood. In April 1995, when Chelsea was 15 years old, she made her “debut” to the international media during a highly publicized tour with her parents in India.

The Clinton Rodham family also includes Socks the Cat. Together with Buddy the dog, Socks became very popular among the public during Bill Clintons time in the White House. Buddy the dog was tragically killed in an automobile accident after the family had moved to Westchester County. During their time in the White House the pets got their own official website and Hillary Rodham Clinton published the book “Dear Socks, Dear Buddy: Kids' Letters to the First Pets” . Socks name is derived from his distinctive white paws. He was a stray in Little Rock, Arkansas, when he was rescued and adopted by the family in 1991. Buddy, a chocolate Labrador retriever, was given to the president as a gift in December 1997. The dog was named Buddy after Clinton's great-uncle, Henry Oren "Buddy" Grisham, who had died in June of 1997.