Elizabeth Edwards: Lawyer, Author and Wife of John Edwards Dies at 61

Elizabeth Edwards was an American lawyer, author and health care advocate. Born on July 3, 1949, in Jacksonville, Florida, she met John Edwards in law school at the University of North Carolina.

She campaigned beside her husband in his 2004 vice presidential run and 2008 presidential bid. Her bestselling memoir Saving Graces described the death of her teenage son Wade in 1996, and she became a leading public voice on cancer and health care.

She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004 and announced in 2007 that it had spread. The couple separated in 2010 after he admitted an affair. Edwards died at her home in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, on December 7, 2010, at age 61.

Achievements: Author of Saving Graces, health care advocate.

Birth: July 3, 1949 - Jacksonville, Florida.

Profession: Lawyer and author.

Interesting Facts: She raised four children.