Fast Facts: Sandra Day O'Connor

— -- Supreme Court Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor was born in El Paso, Texas, on March 26, 1930. She married John Jay O'Connor III in 1952 and has three sons -- Scott, Brian and Jay.

She received her bachelor's and law degrees from Stanford University. She served as deputy county attorney of San Mateo County, Calif., from 1952 to 1953 and as a civilian attorney for Quartermaster Market Center, Frankfurt, Germany, from 1954 to 1957. From 1958 to 1960, she practiced law in Maryvale, Ariz., and served as assistant attorney general of Arizona from 1965 to 1969.

She was appointed to the Arizona State Senate in 1969 and was subsequently re-elected to two two-year terms. In 1975, she was elected judge of the Maricopa County Superior Court and served until 1979, when she was appointed to the Arizona Court of Appeals. President Reagan nominated her as an associate justice of the Supreme Court, and she took her seat Sept. 25, 1981. She is the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court.

Her votes are generally conservative, but she frequently surprises observers with her political independence. A quietly determined woman who has blazed new trails for her sex, O'Connor has become a role model for Americans of both sexes and all ages.

During the final action of the Supreme Court to resolve the 2000 presidential election, O'Connor sided with the majority in blocking the hand recount of votes in the state of Florida.

The following are more facts on Supreme Court Justice O'Connor:

This information was compiled by the ABC News Law & Justice Unit.