Age: 43
Occupation: Leader of France's extreme-right National Front Party, French presidential candidate
Le Pen will not win France's presidential election on May 6, but her campaign has changed French politics. Once shunned as xenophobes and reactionaries, National Front voters — and the party's policies — have shed their pariah status under Le Pen's leadership and are now copied by President Nicolas Sarkozy. Le Pen's efforts to "de-demonize" National Front and accentuate her younger, modern profile have sent her popularity skyrocketing among mainstream voters and make her a political force to be reckoned with.