Born Marie Jana Korbelová, her family were political refugees from the communist takeover of Czechoslovakia in 1948. She met Joseph Albrightwhile interning on the Denver Post and they were married in 1959. Entered politics working for the election campaign of Ed Muskie, thence to National Security Council's congressional liaison for the Carter administration. Was posted as UN Ambassador by the Clinton administration and in the second term to Secretery of State.