Photos capture how Elizabeth Warren rose from a nearly broke Midwestern upbringing to a top Democratic presidential contender — and Wall Street's worst enemy

Reuters/Rachel Mummey

• Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren has forged a political identity as a fighter who wants to level the playing field for the American middle class.
• Now she is seeking the presidency, centering her campaign on a progressive vision to tilt the economic scales of power away from corporations and the rich.
• Warren's life trajectory has taken her from the prairies of Oklahoma to the classrooms of Harvard Law School and finally into the halls of Congress.
• Here's how a spirited academic became an influential senator and now a leading contender for the presidency.
• Visit the Business Insider homepage for more stories. 

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren has forged a political identity as a fighter aiming to level the playing field for the American middle class. First a respected academic, Warren started rising to national prominence after the 2008 financial crisis. When she arrived to Washington, she blasted the lack of government accountability for the banks and financiers that nearly caused an economic meltdown.—

Then she ran for the Senate in 2012 and won a competitive race against Republican incumbent Scott Brown, becoming the first female senator to represent Massachusetts.

Now she is seeking the presidency, centering her campaign on a progressive vision to tilt the economic scales of power away from corporations and the rich.

Read more: 'I've got a plan': Elizabeth Warren's running as the policy wonk candidate and her poll numbers keep going up

On the campaign trail, she regularly talks about a critical juncture in her childhood: her mother's decision to get a minimum-wage job answering phones at Sears.

In the 1960s, Warren's father suffered a heart attack. He then lost his job as a salesman in Oklahoma City, and their options were very limited. Suddenly, the Warren family risked losing their home and were on the brink of financial ruin. 

She credits her mother's minimum-wage job with keeping the family out of poverty, which gave them the money to pay the bills and stay afloat during hard times. She pointed out that a similar job could support a family of three then.

"It's a story about government. And about no matter how hard you work, the rules made by the people in government will still make the big difference in your life," she said at a presidential candidate forum earlier this year.

Here's how a spirited academic became an influential senator and now a leading contender for the presidency:

Elizabeth Warren was born Elizabeth Herring in Norman, Oklahoma on June 12, 1949. Growing up, her family called her 'Betsy.'

Source: The New York Times

Warren had three older brothers, all of whom later served in the military.

Source: Biography

A brilliant student, Warren skipped the sixth grade. And the family later moved to Oklahoma City so she could attend a better school.

Source: The New York Times

See Also:

• POWER RANKING: Here's who has the best chance of becoming the 2020 Democratic presidential nominee
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