photo courtesy of Pete Souza, Official White House Photo

These seven women didn't let divorce alter their dreams in politics. Despite their marriages, remarriages, and unwed pregnancies, they’ve made their mark in their community and in congress.

Sonia Sotomayor
Sonia Sotomayor, 54, recently made history when she became the first Hispanic and third female Supreme Court Justice nominee of the United States. Sotomayor was born to Puerto Rican parents living in a housing project in the South Bronx. After graduating summa cum laude in 1976 from Princeton University, Sotomayor pursued her law degree at Yale University and earned her J.D. in 1979. While attending Princeton, in 1976 she married Kevin Edward Noonan, whom she divorced in 1983.  During 1983 she also helped convict the “Tarzan Murderer” - one of her most notable cases. At 40, Sotomayor became the youngest judge in the Southern District of New York.

Lynn Jenkins
Kansas’ former treasurer Lynn Jenkins grew up on her family’s dairy farm, before being elected as Kansas’s 2nd district congresswoman. On January 6, 2009 Jenkins assumed office in the U.S. House of Representatives. In 2008, almost a week after Jenkins started this position, her husband of 25 years Scott Jenkins filed for divorce.  Jenkins isn’t letting that get the best of her, and continues to succeed. This 46-year-old was employed for more than 20 years as a Certified Professional Accountant, and her economic savvy should serve Kansas well during this tough economic climate.   

Loretta Sanchez
Loretta Sánchez has represented the 47th Congressional District of California since 1997.  She was born to Mexican immigrant parents in Anaheim and is the sister of Linda Sánchez of the 39th District of California. In 1984 Loretta Sánchez earned her M.B.A from American University.  After running unsuccessfully for Anaheim City Council under her married name Loretta Brixey, she switched to the Democratic Party in 1994.  Since her divorce, Sánchez, 49, has been trying to run for governor in 2010. Loretta and her younger sister Linda have published their joint memoir Dream in Color: How the Sanchez Sisters Are Making History in Congress in 2008.  

Linda Sanchez
Linda Sánchez has been a Democratic member of the House of Representatives, representing the 39th District of California. After attending the University of California Berkeley, she earned her J.D. degree in 1995 at UCLA. Linda and her sister, Loretta, the 47th District Congresswoman are the only sisters simultaneously serving in Congress.

Linda Sánchez gave birth to her first son, Joaquin Sánchez Sullivan at 40. Ms. Sánchez was unofficially engaged to Jim Sullivan, a consultant, at the time, and married him on April 13, 2009.  This unwed pregnancy caused much controversy for Ms. Sanchez and Mr. Sullivan, but her doctor told her “if your intention is to be a mother, I wouldn’t put it off.” She had the baby and unapologetically stated that she was financially stable and established with a career, according to the Los Angeles Times. Linda Sanchez is the eighth woman in Congress to give birth while in office, and her aide stated to United Press International that Sanchez worked until the last day of her pregnancy.

Sheila Ann Dixon
In 2007 Sheila Ann Dixon was elected the first female mayor of Baltimore, Maryland. Dixon, 55, previously worked for 12 years as Baltimore’s first African-American female president of the Baltimore City Council. Under Dixon’s term, the city of Baltimore experienced the biggest decrease in the crime rate in 30 years. In 2008, the murder rate dropped a record-breaking 40 percent. But even after two divorces and raising two children, Dixon has her work cut out for her. In January 2009, Dixon was indicted by a grand jury on 12 counts, which accuse her of stealing from the poor, perjury, and misconduct. Her trial is set for September 8, 2009.  

Cecilia Attias
Cécilia Attias, formerly Cécilia Sarkozy, was the First Lady of France in 2007. Attias, 51, worked previously as a fitting model for French fashion house Schiaparelli. She split from her marriage of five years to Jacques Martin, French TV host in 1988. She then married current French President Nicolas Sarkozy in 1996. During her time as a presidential wife, she visited Muammar-al-Gaddafi in Libya to help secure the release of five Bulgarian nurses and one doctor on death row. These prisoners were allegedly forced to confess that they infected Libyan babies with HIV. The Sarkozys divorced in 2007, after Cécilia and Nicolas both had extramarital romances. In 2008, she married events planner Richard Attias in New York City. bold

Eddie Bernice Johnson
Seventy-three year old Eddie Bernice Johnson has represented Texas’s 30th congressional district for the U.S. House of Representatives since 1993.  Before exploding on the political scene, Johnson worked as a nurse and psychotherapist.  As the 17th chairperson of the Congressional Black Caucus, Johnson dominated the floor in the 2002 house floor debate on the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution.