Inspiration to Live Your Magic: 75 Inspiring Biographies

Eleanor Roosevelt
As wife of a politician who became president of the United States, 
Eleanor Roosevelt used her high profile and spirited personality to 
become a renowned international activist, speaker, and author.
Eleanor Roosevelt was born into privilege and wealth. Her family had plenty of money 
and was part of New York high society, and her uncle Teddy was president of the United 
States.
But Eleanor’s early life was hard; her mother and brother both died of illness when she 
was very young, and her father drank himself to death. She was a lonely, quiet, shy girl 
with no confidence, despite the fact that she was very intelligent.
It was only as a teenager that Eleanor began to blossom. She started doing well in school, 
volunteered to do social work in the poor neighborhoods of New York, and began to 
believe in herself. Even though she knew that she was no great beauty, Eleanor decided 
that honesty and loyalty would show in her face and make her attractive from the inside 
out.
It seems she was right - she attracted the attention of a distant relative named Franklin, a 
tall, handsome man who seemed destined for great things in politics. But again, fate set 
out a hard road for Eleanor Roosevelt. Her husband had an affair, then developed polio 
and was very ill for a long time.
This is when Eleanor Roosevelt’s real character came out, and her determination and 
spirit only grew stronger. She began to be a force in politics herself, stepping in for her 
sick husband in public appearances while getting him back on his feet again at home.

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Thanks in large part to Eleanor, Franklin won the election to become governor of New 
York State and then, in 1933, to become president of the United States of America. 
Eleanor Roosevelt now had a very high profile.
From then on, this remarkable woman used her fame and dynamic personality to fight for 
every cause she believed in. She was a great supporter of equality for women and 
minorities, helped form the United Nations and write its Declaration of Human Rights, 
and won praise from soldiers for her compassionate visits to the front lines in World War 
II.
As an international author, speaker, and activist, she was a role model for women around 
the world at a time when few women had such public roles. Eleanor Roosevelt 
encouraged all people, whatever their gender or race, to live up to their potentials and 
pursue their dreams, just as she had done.
Today, polls in the United States still rank her as one of the most admired Americans in 
history.
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