Hillary Clinton became an empty nester in 1998, when daughter Chelsea left for Stanford after spending most of her teen years in the White House. Since her full-time mothering duties ended, Clinton’s become a political force—in the Senate, as a presidential candidate, and now as secretary of State. An added bonus? The articulate Chelsea returned to the nest (metaphorically, at least) to support her mom on the campaign trail, speaking at events around the country—and reportedly dishing out wardrobe advice.
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Whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger: Valerie Jarrett cites her divorce and subsequent life as a single mother as helping to make her a better, more thoughtful politician. Before her appointment by President Obama as senior adviser to the president and assistant to the president for intergovernmental relations and public liaison (try saying that in one breath), Jarrett was named in a Wall Street Journal article an “essential member of the inner set.” She has “a fierce sense of loyalty and a refusal to publicly say anything that may reflect poorly on the candidate—or steal his thunder,” the paper reported.
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Like many empty nesters, motherhood seems to have trained Nancy Pelosi for her post as the first female speaker of the House. Pelosi spent most of the 1960s pregnant, giving birth to her five kids in a little more than six years—freeing her up for a high-powered political career later in life. In a 60 Minutes interview in 2006, daughter Christine Pelosi said her mom was the disciplinarian and drill sergeant in the family growing up—as she is in Congress now. “We were always expected to make sure our homework was done, and that we were prepared for what we did,” Christine said. “She would always say, ‘Proper preparation prevents poor performance.’” Pelosi is one of many female empty nesters in Congress.
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Don’t let this California junior senator’s meager stature fool you: Not even clearing the 5-foot hurdle, Boxer is one tough liberal cookie, butting heads with conservatives the world over on issues like gun control and abortion rights. But this grandma’s not without her fans. On Valentine’s Day 2005, Boxer received 4,500 roses for calling attention to voting irregularities in Ohio during the 2004 presidential election.
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Obama’s new White House social secretary, Desiree Rogers, is a force to be reckoned with: The chic single mom raised her daughter, currently an undergrad at Yale, while climbing Chicago’s corporate and civic ladders and looking good doing it. Originally from New Orleans, the 50-year-old—a friend of first lady Michelle Obama—was a major player at the $2 billion People’s Gas and North Shore Gas and then for Allstate Financial, and a high-profile Obama fundraiser, before assuming her White House duties. She’s emblematic of today’s high-powered empty nester.
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An outlier among women of her generation, Madeleine Albright—the first female U.S. secretary of State—is mom to three girls (including a set of twins), born in 1960 and 1963. The twins were born six weeks premature, requiring a long hospital stay—and perhaps shoring Albright up for the challenges that would face her throughout her career. By 1993, when Bill Clinton appointed Albright to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, her kids were well into their adult lives, and she could devote herself fully to the post.
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Keeping up with her husband’s loose lips is probably a full-time job in itself, not to mention undertaking the task of raising three children (and maintaining that signature blond mane). Even so, the second lady and teacher-turned adjunct professor is the founder of a nonprofit breast-health organization, was an avid campaigner for her husband during the 2008 elections, and, amazingly, is considered the first wife of a vice president to hold a paying job. Look out, Michelle—Jill just may give you a run for your money.
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Sure, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius had a steady state-level career during her sons’ formative years, but once Ned and John flew the nest, her résumé—and accolades—grew exponentially. During her years as the governor of Kansas, Time magazine named her one of the five best governors in 2005, and in February 2006, the White House Project called Sebelius one of its “8 in ‘08”—a list of eight female politicians who could potentially become president in the 2008 elections.
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Like mother, like daughter. Dianne Feinstein’s only child, Katherine, is now a politician herself, following in her mother’s footsteps of “firsts”: The California senator was San Francisco’s first female mayor, the first female president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, the first female California senator, one of two female Jewish senators (along with other empty-nester Barbara Boxer), the first woman to serve on the Senate Judiciary Committee, and the first woman to chair the Senate Rules Committee and Senate Intelligence Committee.
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