The first female member of the Supreme Court, O’Connor traces her Irish ancestry to Co. Tipperary, with her maiden name reportedly being a corruption of the Irish surname O’Dea. A native of El Paso, Texas, she was appointed to the court in 1981 by another Irish American, President Ronald Reagan.

After a series of ground-breaking rulings by O’Connor on everything from the death penalty to affirmative action and the separation of church and state, the American Bar Association Journal in 1993 called her “arguably the most influential woman official in the United States.”

She was most recently involved in the Supreme Court hearing which will determine whether Paula Jones may proceed with her sexual harassment lawsuit against President Clinton, or if the lawsuit should be delayed until after he leaves office so as not to interfere with his official duties.

O’Connor graduated from Stanford University with a B.A. in 1950 and an LL.B. in 1952. She married John Jay O’Connor III the same year, and they have three sons, Scott, Brian and Jay.