Elizabeth Edwards: 1949-2010

Elizabeth Edwards, who closely advised her husband in two bids for the presidency and advocated for health care even as her marriage publicly crumbled, died Tuesday after a six-year struggle with cancer. She was 61.

Elizabeth Edwards Dies of Cancer

Elizabeth Edwards arrives at Stand Up to Cancer on Sept. 10, 2010, in Culver City, Calif.

Elizabeth Edwards Dies of Cancer

Elizabeth Edwards, actors Rob Lowe, and Thomas Jane speak during Stand Up To Cancer on Sept. 10, 2010, in Culver City, Calif.

Elizabeth Edwards Dies of Cancer

Elizabeth Edwards, Lisa Niemi, Maria Shriver and Susan Saint James participate in a panel discussion at the 2009 Women's Conference on Oct. 27, 2009, in Long Beach, Calif.

Elizabeth Edwards Dies of Cancer

Elizabeth Edwards, center, prepares to testify before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Administrative Oversight and the Courts on Capitol Hill on Oct. 20, 2009, in Washington. Edwards, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, testified about how reforming bankruptcy law might help alleviate the impact of some medical debt.

Elizabeth Edwards Dies of Cancer

House Energy and Commerce Committee's Health Subcommittee Chairman Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) greets former New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine (D) as Elizabeth Edwards embraces Rep. Lois Capps (D-Calif.) before a hearing about health care reform on Sept. 18, 2008 in Washington. The panel included researchers, health experts and academics talking about the future of health care in the United States.

Elizabeth Edwards Dies of Cancer

Edwards walks with seven time Tour De France winner Lance Armstrong as they leave a Chicago baseball field after filming a Stand Up for Cancer Foundation promo on Monday, July 21, 2008. The two worked together often on cancer research and fundraising efforts.

Elizabeth Edwards Dies of Cancer

John Edwards and honorees designer Vera Wang and Elizabeth Edwards attend the 30th Annual Outstanding Mother Awards on May 8, 2008, in New York.

Elizabeth Edwards Dies of Cancer

Elizabeth Edwards talks with Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee during a full committee hearing on "Cancer: Challenges and Opportunities in the 21st Century" on May 8, 2008, on Capitol Hill in Washington.

Elizabeth Edwards Dies of Cancer

Cancer survivor and seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong and Edwards each testified before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee hearing on the challenges and opportunities for fighting cancer, Thursday, May 8, 2008, on Capitol Hill in Washington.

Elizabeth Edwards Dies of Cancer

Presidential hopeful John Edwards hugs his wife, Elizabeth Edwards, as they address campaign workers on Jan. 3, 2008, at his campaign headquarters in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Elizabeth Edwards Dies of Cancer

Democratic presidential candidate and former Sen. John Edwards and his wife, Elizabeth, are greeted by Owen, Maggie and Carrie McKim before a campaign event on Jan. 2, 2008, in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, on the eve of the Iowa Caucus.

Elizabeth Edwards Dies of Cancer

Edwards hugs her son Jack on stage during a New Year's Day campaign event at Iowa State University on Jan. 1, 2008, in Ames, Iowa. At the time, Edwards, Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama were locked in a very tight race to win the Iowa Caucus.

Elizabeth Edwards Dies of Cancer

Democratic presidential hopeful former Sen. John Edwards speaks to voters as his wife, Elizabeth, looks on at a town hall style meeting at the Putnam Museum and IMAX Theatre on Dec. 28, 2007, in Davenport, Iowa.

Elizabeth Edwards Dies of Cancer

Presenter/cyclist Lance Armstrong, honoree Elizabeth Edwards, presenter Cate Edwards, and presenter Emma Claire Edwards are seen on stage during the 2007 Glamour Women of the Year award ceremony at Lincoln Center on Nov. 5, 2007, in New York.

Elizabeth Edwards Dies of Cancer

Elizabeth Edwards and her family attend the Glamour Women of the Year Awards at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall on Nov. 5, 2007, in New York. Edwards was honored for her work ethic and dedication to her family.

Elizabeth Edwards Dies of Cancer Glamour's Women of the Year Awards 2007

Former Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., and his wife, Elizabeth, wave to supporters from their bus as they arrive at a Democratic candidates debate in Des Moines, Iowa, on Aug. 19, 2007.

Elizabeth Edwards Dies of Cancer

Elizabeth Edwards, then wife of Democratic Presidential hopeful John Edwards, gestures during a speech at the Planned Parenthood Annual Public Affairs Conference in Washington on July 17, 2007.

Elizabeth Edwards Dies of Cancer

Elizabeth and John Edwards speak to then-Sen. Barack Obama after the Democratic Presidential Candidates Debate on June 2, 2007, at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, N.H.

Elizabeth Edwards Dies of Cancer

Elizabeth Edwards, wife of Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards, talks about his support during her battle with cancer at a campaign town hall meeting in Davenport, Iowa, on April 4, 2007.

Elizabeth Edwards Dies of Cancer

Elizabeth Edwards greets members after arriving for a speech at the City Club in Cleveland on March 26, 2007.

Elizabeth Edwards Dies of Cancer

Former Sen. John Edwards kisses his wife, Elizabeth, on April 27, 2007, as she departs just before the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner, a fund-raiser for the South Carolina Democratic Party in Columbia, S.C.

Elizabeth Edwards Dies of Cancer

Democratic Presidential candidate John Edwards and his wife, Elizabeth Edwards, share a light moment during a news conference held to tell of the return of her cancer on March 22, 2007, in Chapel Hill, N.C. Elizabeth said that the former senator would continue his run for the presidency.

Elizabeth Edwards Dies of Cancer

Lori Burgess, Elizabeth Edwards and publisher Paige Bishop pose at the Capitol File hosted celebration of Edwards' new book "Saving Graces" on Oct. 6, 2006, in Washington.

Elizabeth Edwards Dies of Cancer

Elizabeth signed in to vote at the Pullen Arts Center on the campus of North Carolina State University on Oct. 29, 2004, in Raleigh, N.C.

Elizabeth Edwards Dies of Cancer

Elizabeth Edwards, Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.), Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and former Sen. John Glenn (D-Ohio) attend church services at the Greater Grace Temple during a break from the "Believe in America" bus and train campaign tour on Aug. 1, 2004, in Springfield, Ohio.

Elizabeth Edwards Dies of Cancer

Catharine, Jack, Elizabeth, Emma Claire and John Edwards are cheered by the Democratic National Convention on July 28, 2004, in Boston.

Elizabeth Edwards Dies of Cancer

Cate Edwards, right, daughter of Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., introduces her mother, Elizabeth Edwards, on stage during the Democratic National Convention in Boston on July 28, 2004.

Elizabeth Edwards Dies of Cancer

Elizabeth Edwards, wife of Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards, is greeted by the Democratic National Convention on July 28, 2004, in Boston.

Elizabeth Edwards Dies of Cancer

Elizabeth Edwards stands with former First Lady Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) during a Kerry/Edwards Victory 2004 breakfast reception on July 9, 2004, in New York.

Elizabeth Edwards Dies of Cancer

Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., left, holds his daughter Emma Claire, 6, as his wife Elizabeth, holds their son Jack, 4,while departing Edwards' campaign plane in Boston on July 27, 2004.

Elizabeth Edwards Dies of Cancer

Elizabeth Edwards, Emma Claire Edwards, Jack Edwards, Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.), presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), Teresa Heinz Kerry and Chris Heinz pose for a photo on July 7, 2004, in Pittsburgh, before embarking on a four-day campaign tour.

Elizabeth Edwards Dies of Cancer

Democratic presidential candidate Senator John Edwards visited with staff members and journalists while his wife Elizabeth read the morning newspaper on the campaign bus on the way to their first stop of the day on Nov. 5, 2003, in Manchester, N.H.

Elizabeth Edwards Dies of Cancer

Elizabeth poses with her husband, former U.S. Senator John Edwards (D-NC) and children Catharine (then a junior at Princeton University), 5-year-old Emma Claire and 3-year-old Jack in front of his campaign bus in Nashua, N.H., on Aug. 20, 2003, the first stop on a six-day campaigning bus tour of New Hampshire for Edwards and his family.

Elizabeth Edwards Dies of Cancer

Elizabeth and John Edwards pose for a photo on their wedding day, July 30, 1977.

Elizabeth Edwards Dies of Cancer