Hillary Clinton has served many roles in US politics - first lady, senator, secretary of state. Now, she turns for a second time to her long-held ambition to fill the ultimate role - US president.
The 67-year-old served as President Barack Obama's secretary of state from the start of his administration in January 2009, stepping down shortly after he won re-election.
As top US diplomat, she was known for a punishing travel schedule and a person-to-person approach to diplomacy.
A leading international figure and Democratic politician, Mrs Clinton is now running for the party's 2016 presidential nomination. She previously lost the 2008 Democratic primary to Mr Obama.
Hillary Rodham Clinton
■Born 26 October, 1947 in Chicago
■Graduated from Yale Law School in 1973
■Married Bill Clinton in 1975
■1993-2001: Campaigned for expanding health insurance and women's rights as first lady
■Elected New York senator in 2000
■Re-elected by wide margin in 2006
■2008: Failed bid for Democratic Party presidential nomination
■2009-2013: Secretary of State
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Hillary Diane Rodham was born in October 1947 in Chicago. In the 1960s she attended Wellesley College in Massachusetts, and became active in student politics.
She went on to Yale Law School, where she met Bill Clinton. They married in 1975. She remained politically active after Mr Clinton became governor of Arkansas in 1978.
When Mr Clinton campaigned for the presidency in 1992, he quipped he was offering voters two presidents "for the price of one".
As first lady, Mrs Clinton campaigned for women's rights and universal healthcare, raising her profile both at home and internationally.
However, following her failure to deliver on a plan for universal health coverage - which was never even debated in Congress - many critics saw her as overambitious and politically naive.
From the mid-1990s - and throughout during Bill Clinton's second term - she became involved in the various scandals that marred his presidency.
There were congressional hearings and an investigation into the Whitewater affair, a failed real estate project in which the Clintons had invested.
Hillary Rodham Clinton first came to prominence as first lady
They were cleared of wrongdoing.
She also endured media attention over Mr Clinton's affairs - notably his relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky, which came to light in 1998.
Hillary Rodham Clinton developed a tough hide that helped her weather the personal and political turmoil.
She lashed out at her husband's critics, declaring in a 1998 interview that the Lewinsky scandal - which led to impeachment proceedings - was inspired by a "vast right-wing conspiracy".
In 2000, as the Clinton presidency was drawing to a close, she successfully ran for senator in New York State, positioning herself in the centre of the Democratic Party.
She voted for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 but distanced herself from the conduct of the conflict, and called for the withdrawal of US troops. She easily won re-election as a senator in 2006.
Presidential run
In 2008 she sought the Democratic nomination for the presidential election. However critics - including within her own party - saw her as a divisive figure for whom many Americans would never vote.
In the end, Barack Obama secured the nomination and went on to win the general election.
He named her as his secretary of state in an attempt to heal the rift within the Democratic party caused by a bruising primary campaign.
Mrs Clinton agreed to serve in Barack Obama's 'team of rivals'
During her four-year tenure, Mrs Clinton visited 112 countries - more than any previous secretary of state.
Mrs Clinton used her position to highlight women's rights and human rights. She also led the US response to the Arab Spring and the military intervention in Libya in 2011.
The state department came in for sustained criticism after an attack on a diplomatic compound in Benghazi in September 2012, in which the US ambassador was among those killed.
In a tense congressional hearing and one of her last public appearances as secretary, Mrs Clinton said she took responsibility for security failures at the outpost, but said she had not seen requests for more security beforehand.
She returned to Congress to testify about the attack in October 2015. Despite answering questions more than 11 hours in front of a special committee, the hearing yielded little new information.
After leaving the state department, Mrs Clinton continued to make public appearances and speeches on a limited schedule, ramping up for the publication for her second memoir, Hard Choices, which described her time as secretary of state.
Shortly before Mrs Clinton's announcement of her candidacy, there were accusations that she may have breached federal rules during her time as secretary of state by using a private email account for official business, including potential sensitive information.
She said that she used the personal email as she "thought using one device would be simpler". She has handed over 30,490 emails from the account to the State Department that her lawyers deemed "federal records".
Hillary Clinton debates fellow Democratic candidate Senator Bernie Sanders
Over the course of 2015, the state department has released thousands of the emails in question.
After winning the Iowa caucuses by a small margin and losing the New Hampshire primary by more than 20 percentage points, she now faces a strong challenge from Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.
He is running to the left of Mrs Clinton on many issues and has gained in popularity, particularly among young voters.
미 대선 지지율 조사: 클린턴 43%, 트럼프 37%
오는 11월 치러질 미국 대통령 선거의 사실상 양당 후보로 확정된 민주당의 힐러리 클린턴 후보(왼쪽)와 공화당의 도널드 트럼프 후보. (자료사진)
올 11월에 치러질 미국 대통령 선거에 나설 민주, 공화 양당 후보에 대한 여론조사 결과, 민주당의 힐러리 클린턴 후보가 도널드 트럼프 공화당 후보를 앞서고 있는 것으로 나타났습니다.
16일 미국 CBS 방송이 발표한 여론조사 결과에서 클린턴 후보가 지지율 43%로 37%를 기록한 트럼프 후보를 6%포인트 차로 앞섰습니다.
클린턴 후보는 CBS가 발표한 지난 5월 여론조사에도 지지율 47% 대 41%로 트럼프 후보를 앞선 바 있습니다. 등록한 유권자들을 대상으로 한 이번 여론조사는 미국 플로리다 주 올랜도 시에서 총기 난사 사건이 발생하기 전에 실시됐습니다.
조사결과, 민주당의 클린턴 후보가 결국 대선에서 이길 것으로 생각하는 사람이 더 많았습니다. 클린턴 후보가 승리할 것으로 보는 유권자의 비율은 51%였고, 트럼프가 이길 것으로 전망하는 사람의 비율은 35%에 그쳤습니다.
또 클린턴이 이길 것이라고 보는 사람의 비율은 민주당이나 당적이 없는 유권자 가운데 높았고, 공화당원 사이에서는 트럼프가 승리할 것으로 생각하는 사람이 많았습니다.
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