Editor's note: An earlier version of this story did not fully attribute some information to its sources.

Sarah Palin, John McCain's vice presidential pick, became the first female governor of Alaska in 2006, as well as its youngest.

A 44-year-old mother of five, her anti-abortion stance is certain to appeal to evangelicals, while her views on the threats of climate change mirror McCain's.

"Palin is becoming a star in the conservative movement, a fiscal conservative in a state that is looking like a boondoggle for pork-barrel spending," Republican pollster Kellyanne Conway has said. "She's young, vibrant, fresh and now, a new mother of five. She should be in the top tier. If the Republican Party wants to wrestle itself free from the perception that it is royalist and not open to putting new talent on the bench, this would be the real opportunity."

Democrats will point out that she has no foreign policy credentials or experience, but her presence adds youth to a McCain ticket and her gender could help sway women, especially the "security moms" who helped President Bush win re-election in 2004, to vote GOP.

Born in Sandpoint, Idaho, on Feb. 11, 1964, Palin moved with her family at the age of three months to Wasilla, Alaska, according to the Almanac of American Politics' Web site. She returned to her birth state to attend the University of Idaho, where she studied journalism and graduated in 1987 with a bachelor's degree.

Palin is the mother of five children — Bristol, 17; Willow, 13; Piper, 7; Track, 18; and Trig, who was born in April with Down syndrome. Her husband is Todd. The governor is a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association and a strong anti-abortion advocate.

"She grew up in Wasilla, just outside of Anchorage, played on Wasilla’s state championship girls basketball team in 1982, wore the crown of Miss Wasilla in 1984 and competed in the Miss Alaska contest," the Almanac of American Politics says.

She began her professional career as a television sports reporter, but after she married she helped run her husband's family's commercial fishing business, the almanac says. Other professional endeavors included the ownership of a snow machine, watercraft and all-terrain-vehicle business.

She ran for Wasilla City Council in 1992, winning her seat by opposing tax increases, according to the almanac. Four years later, at age 32, she defeated a three-term incumbent to become mayor of Wasilla.

The almanac reports tension between Palin and city staff members aligned with her predecessor, earning the nickname "Sarah Barracuda" from her opponents.

"At the end of her second term, party leaders encouraged her to enter the 2002 race for the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor," the Almanac of American Politics says. "Against veteran legislators with far more experience, Palin finished second by fewer than 2,000 votes, making a name for herself in statewide politics."

Frank Murkowski, elected governor in 2002, "suffered politically from his decision to appoint his daughter as his Senate successor and for purchasing a state jet for his travel," the almanac says. "He also faced criticism that the natural gas pipeline deal that he had negotiated was a sweetheart deal with oil producers."

In 2006 Palin defeated Murkowski in the Republican primary running on a platform of ethics reform, and she easily beat former Gov. Tony Knowles, in the general election.

In office, her agenda included reduction in government spending, a 1,715-mile natural gas pipeline and government accountability, according to the Anchorage Daily News.

She won high approval ratings, but she also is now caught up in a probe of the firing of a state trooper who was married to Palin's sister until their divorce.