Bristol Palin

Bristol Palin is the second oldest child of former Republican Vice-Presidential Candidate and former Governor of Alaska Sarah Palin. Bristol has become a well known name in her own right for becoming a spokesperson for teenage abstinence after her own teen pregnancy, appearing on numerous tv shows including the hit "Dancing with the Stars" and recently writing her own book.

Bristol was born on October 18, 1990 and grew up in Wasilla, Alaska where her family lived. She was named after Bristol Bay, a large bay to the west of Alaska known for its salmon fishing. Bristol attended high school in three different cities - Juneau, Anchorage and Wasilla, but she graduated from Wasilla High School in May, 2009.

In 2008, shortly after it was publicly announced that her mother would be the Vice Presidential running mate with Presidential contender John McCain, it was also announced that 18 year old Bristol was pregnant by her then boyfriend, Levi Johnston. The pregnancy caused some concern in Republican circles who did not approve of such teenage relationships. However, for the most part, people were understanding of teenage mistakes and supported Bristol and Levi and their new baby, born Tripp Easton Mitchell Johnston on December 29, 2008.

The following year, Bristol began to speak out publicly about the hardships of being a teenaged mother. She joined the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy and became the organization's spokesperson. She did a series of interviews in which she began to advocate for teen abstinence. In May 2009, Bristol became a Teen Abstinence Ambassador for Candie's Foundation, a non-profit teen pregnancy prevention organization.

On one of her most watched interviews on Good Morning America, she made this statement about teen abstinence, "Regardless of what I did personally, abstinence is the only 100% foolproof way you can prevent pregnancy." Predictably, many have criticized Bristol for taking a stand on this very personal issue. Former MSNBC host Keith Olbermann tagged Bristol his "Worst Person in the World" for advocating abstinence. Bristol made a brilliant reply, "Accusing me of hypocrisy is by now, an old canard... Parents warn their children about the mistakes they made so they are not repeated. Former gang members travel to schools to educate teenagers about the risks of gang life. Recovered addicts lecture to others about the risks of alcohol and drug abuse. And yes, a teen mother talks about the benefits of preventing teen pregnancy." If you would like to learn more about the difficulties of teen pregnancy, please read our article on the subject by Peggy Knudsen, the director of a pregnancy center for unwed mothers.

In March, 2009, Bristol and Levi announced that their engagement was off. In November, unbeknownst to the public, Bristol and Levi began a court battle for custody of Tripp. Bristol had requested that their names be kept private in the case, arguing that the publicity the case would receive would be harmful to the child. Levi argued to the judge that he did not "not feel protected against Sarah Palin in a closed proceeding." On December 1, the judge ruled in favor of public disclosure and the public learned of the proceedings. Bristol requested full custody and child support from the court, while Levi requested shared custody and lower child support payments.

In February, 2010, the judge ordered Levi to pay back child support payments. During that month, Bristol and Tripp moved into a condo in Anchorage, where she was working in a dermatologist's office and taking business classes at a local community college. In July, 2010, the couple announced that they were back together, but that only lasted a few weeks before they broke up again. In August, Bristol moved out of the condo and back to her parents, but she was soon off to Los Angeles to perform in Dancing with the Stars. During this month, it was finally announced that Bristol would have primary custody of Tripp, while Levi would have visitation rights and child support responsibility.

Bristol Palin - Television

Bristol has made numerous appearances on talk shows, but she has also appeared in several primetime tv slots.

The Secret Life of the American Teenager

Bristol appeared in the July 5, 2010 episode of the popular ABC Family show, The Secret Life of the American Teenager, in which she played the friend of a teenage girl who became pregnant.

Dancing with the Stars

Bristol appeared on the fall 2010 season of Dancing with the Stars. Her partner was professional dancer Mark Ballas, who had won the dancing competition in two previous seasons with Olympic figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi and Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson. Bristol and Mark had a very long and successful run on the series, finishing third, after Jennifer Grey and Kyle Massey. There was some controversy over Bristol's appearance and long run due to the fact that she consistently received lower scores from the judges than other contestants, but the public, which could vote for their favorite dancers each week, kept voting Bristol through to the next round. Many people believe that Bristol was receiving votes from her mom's political supporters and also from people who were sympathetic to her plight as a teenage mother. Whatever the reason, the show claimed record breaking viewership while she was on.

Sarah Palin's Alaska

In November, 2010, Bristol made an appearance on her mom's TLC show, Sarah Palin's Alaska. In the episode, Bristol and her mom spend time on a commercial halibut fishing boat in Homer, Alaska.

Static Cycle Video

Also during November 2010, Bristol made an appearance as "Mother Nature" in Alaskan indie rock group Static Cycle's "Inside This World of Mine" video. The video features an Alaskan ice castle and an Alaskan glacier. The video was mentioned on Entertainment Tonight, the Examiner, The Huffington Post, the NY Daily News and numerous Hollywood gossip venues.

Bristol Palin - Recent news

In December 2010, Bristol bought a five bedroom home in Maricopa, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix, for $172,000, according to public records of Pinal County. How did she afford such a home at 20 years old? Well, she was paid $262,000 for her work with the Candie's Foundation. She is now on the speaker's circuit, earning $15,000 to $30,000 a speech. Bristol also authored her own book, "Not Afraid of Life: My Journey So Far," in which she talks candidly about the presidential campaign, her ex-boyfriend and her pregnancy. The book was released on June 21, 2011.

Her OWN reality show!

In May 2011, it was announced that Bristol was going to be starring in her own reality show which would be based on her moving to Los Angeles with her son and moving in with Disney stars Kyle and Chris Massey, while she worked at a local charity. Kyle Massey was Bristol's competitor on Dancing with the Stars and won second place, just above Bristol. The show will air on the BIO Channel. David McKillop executive vice president of programming for A&E and the BIO Channel said,

Bristol put up her home in Arizona for rent while she lives in Los Angeles for the show.

In May, 2011, Bristol shocked people with a new look at a Candie's Foundation event in New York City. Bristol had corrective jaw surgery in December that changed the look of her face. Some people speculated she had had plastic surgery for vanity reasons, but Bristol said, "It's not plastic surgery. I had corrective jaw surgery back in December, 2010. It improved the way I look, but this surgery was necessary for medical reasons, so my jaw and teeth could properly realign. I don't obsess over my face. I'm absolutely thrilled with the results. I look older, more mature and don't have as much of a chubby little baby face!"

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