Cindy McCain: Mother, Humanitarian and Potential First Lady

July 8, 2008 — -- On the surface, Cindy McCain, the wife of Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, may seem perfectly coiffed, but the potential first lady's appearance doesn't give a candid picture of her formidable character.

"I think if people were to just look at Cindy McCain as someone who is attractive and dresses well, they would be doing her a disservice," said her friend Bill Magee. "She is a risk taker."

The philanthropist and businesswoman has learned to fly planes and even drive race cars. The feats may surprise some, considering McCain's well-controlled persona on the campaign trail, but McCain gained all of those traits growing up.

Growing Up Cindy Hensley

Born Cindy Hensley, McCain grew up as a child of privilege. She's the heiress to her father's $100 million beer distributing company, Hensley & Co., an Anheuser Busch beer wholesaler.

McCain, an only child, spent her formative years in the rugged Arizona terrain, which Harper said helped mold her character.

"The big skies, the sunsets … in a way the need to be independent and strong as a woman … I think Cindy inherited that," said McCain's friend Sharon Harper. "She is a very loyal, compassionate, very polite and reserved individual."

Harper said McCain utilized those characteristics after receiving a University of Southern California special education degree when she took on a tough job -- one that surprised her friends and family.

"She took a very low-paying job at a grade school that was somewhat rural at the time in Avondale, Ariz., working with disabled children," Harper said.

McCain always had a passion for children and family.

Meeting and Marrying John McCain

She would get a chance to start a brood of her own after meeting her future husband on a Hawaiian vacation in 1979.

"I met him at a party that day," McCain said during an April 30 "Tonight Show" interview. "He kind of chased me around the cocktail party."

At the time, the handsome war hero John McCain, who was separating from his first wife, was the U.S. Navy liaison officer to the Senate and nearly 18 years her senior. By 1980 the pair had married, and the blonde-haired beauty focused on starting her own family.

McCain suffered several painful miscarriages, before successfully carrying a child to term.

Eventually, she gave birth to daughter Meagan, followed by Jack and Jim. Once she began raising her family, the political wife made a radical decision not to raise her children in Washington, D.C., but rather in her home state of Arizona.

She left her husband on Capitol Hill to pursue his political career as she served as a single mother during the week.

Today, the McCains' children haven't shied away from the political scene. In fact, 23-year-old Meagan is a campaign-trail fixture and has started her own blog. She's talked up the cool, unexpected side of her mother, like when she took a last-minute trip to a concert featuring a reunion of guitarist Eric Clapton and his old band, Cream.

McCain's two sons, 22-year-old Jack and 20-year-old Jim, have followed their father's and grandfather's footsteps into the military. The possible first lady always keeps a Blackberry handy so she won't miss a call from Jim, who is on active duty in Iraq.

"I was with her a couple of times when she actually missed a call, and it might have been the only time I saw Cindy cry," Harper said. "She is an amazing mother."

Charity Work

Besides her passion for family, McCain spends a lot of her time working for humanitarian causes. She currently works with Operation Smile, an organization where volunteer doctors repair childhood facial deformities like cleft lips.

Her charitable work has taken her to underdeveloped countries with the hope of saving the desperately sick.

"There are always at least 300 to 400 children, who show up with all these gaping holes in the lip and roof of their mouths. But she's right down there with them," said Magee, who co-founded Operation Smile.

Sixteen years ago McCain's work led her to adopting her fourth child, Bridget, who was an orphan at Mother Teresa's orphanage. Once the two locked eyes, McCain couldn't stop going back to Bridget's bassinet or stop thinking about her.

The infant badly needed medical aid and with Mother Teresa's encouragement, McCain took the newest addition to her family back home.

"I really think she chose me. She did," McCain said.

Just like Bridget, McCain too has had medical problems. After suffering from two slipped disks, she became addicted to pain medication — even stealing drugs from her own charity.

"I hid it from my husband. He never knew. My parents came to me one day and said, 'You know Cindy, there is something wrong with you. There is something wrong with you.' And I said 'You know, you're absolutely right,'" McCain said.

She quit the pills cold, but at age 49 she suffered a mild stroke. But that wouldn't stop the steel magnolia, who eight months later ran a marathon. McCain also has had a hysterectomy and knee replacement.

But none of it slows down the Arizona native, who is used to getting bumps and bruises on the campaign trail.

"I've had a very unusual life … a very unique life," McCain said.