THEN: After her son Casey was killed in action in Iraq, her 26-day vigil outside President Bush's ranch in Texas in 2005 made her the face of the antiwar movement.
NOW: She ran unsuccessfully in 2008 for Nancy Pelosi's seat in Congress and has kept up her appearances at antiwar protests. In his book Decision Points, Bush says he feels "sympathy" for her, which she dismisses as condescending. Sheehan never set out to be a celebrity, she told TIME. "It wasn't a conscious choice. But after George Bush wouldn't meet with me [at Camp Casey], I think that's about the time I became a public figure."