American politician and lobbyist Barbara Boxer served in the United States Senate representing California from 1993 to 2017. She is a member of the Democratic Party and previously served as the U.S. representative for California's 6th congressional district from 1983 until 1993. Unabashedly outspoken, the 4-foot-11 powerhouse has shown passionate support for many progressive causes, including environmentalism and reproductive rights, lending her a reputation as one of Congress’s most tenacious liberal voices.

Born Barbara Sue Levy in Brooklyn, New York, to Jewish immigrants, she attended public schools before meeting her husband, Stewart Boxer, and graduating from Brooklyn College with a bachelor's degree in economics. She worked as a stockbroker before first dipping her toes into politics in 1968 by working on the presidential primary campaign of antiwar challenger Eugene McCarthy, who was running against President Lyndon B. Johnson. Two years later, she co-founded the anti-Vietnam War Marin Alliance.

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After an unsuccessful campaign for the Marin County Board of Supervisors in 1972, Boxer worked for a local newspaper for two years and then as an aide to Democratic U.S. Representative John Burton. In 1976, she ran again for the county board and won, eventually serving as its first woman president. After Burton retired from Congress, Boxer was elected to his seat, and in 1983, she began serving the first of five successive terms in the House.

While in Congress, Boxer denounced excessive military spending, advanced a number of legislative measures pertaining to women’s rights, and during the Senate confirmation hearings of Supreme Court nominee (later Justice) Clarence Thomas, led a march on the Senate in support of law professor Anita Hill, who had accused Thomas of sexual harassment.

In 1992, dubbed “The Year of the Woman,” Boxer launched a senatorial bid and defeated conservative commentator Bruce Herschensohn in the general election, bringing the number of women senators to six. She maintained her fiercely liberal credentials, advocating for a host of environmental reforms and social programs. Boxer put her figurative weight behind notable legislation including the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, and also co-sponsored a bill to repeal the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy concerning the service of homosexuals in the U.S. military.

Boxer left office in 2017 after deciding to not seek re-election the previous year. Her memoir, “The Art of Tough: Fearlessly Facing Politics and Life,” was published that same year.