Road to the White House

On April 12, 2015, Hillary Clinton officially launched her 2016 presidential campaign with a video promoting her new website. Swipe down to see her journey unfold. Click the button to see Donald Trump's road to this point. VIDEO: HILLARYCLINTON.COM

Mrs Clinton (second from left) was born in Chicago in 1947 into a middle-class family. Her father, Hugh Rodham, was famously strict, refusing to give an allowance and was stingy with praise. Younger brother Hugh Jr is also pictured. PHOTO: NYTIMES

Dorothy Rodham was not less strict as a parent. Mrs Clinton recalled how her mother taught her to deal with bullies. “When I tried to hide from a neighbourhood bully, she literally blocked the door. ‘Go back out there,’ she said.” PHOTO: HILLARY CLINTON/FACEBOOK

Mrs Clinton was active in politics from an early age. She was originally a Republican supporter before she switched sides after hearing Martin Luther King’s speech in Chicago in 1968. PHOTO: HILLARY CLINTON/FACEBOOK

She then became an overnight sensation with this unapologetic commencement speech for Wellesley College in 1969 where she famously said: “The challenge now is to practise politics as the art of making what appears to be impossible possible.” VIDEO: WELLESLEY COLLEGE ARCHIVES

When Hillary met Bill: They first spoke at a library while attending Yale Law School in the 1970s. The legend goes that it was Hillary who ended an awkward staring contest by boldly introducing herself: “I’m Hillary Rodham, who are you?” PHOTO: HILLARYCLINTON.COM

They were married in 1975 in the living room of their small home in Arkansas. Only 15 people attended the ceremony. In 1976, Bill was elected Attorney General of Arkansas, and Hillary joined the Rose Law firm. PHOTO: HILLARY CLINTON/FACEBOOK

Their only child, Chelsea, was born in 1980. PHOTO: HILLARYCLINTON.COM

While campaigning for the Oval Office in 1993, Mr Bill Clinton described his wife as an important and active partner. Elect him, he said frequently on the campaign trail, and the voters would be getting “two for the price of one”. PHOTO: HILLARYCLINTON.COM

Indeed, Mrs Clinton was an influential First Lady. She tackled important issues like healthcare reform and is remembered for her 1995 speech at a UN conference for women in Beijing where she famously said: “Human rights are women’s rights, and women’s rights are human rights.” PHOTO: HILLARY CLINTON / FACEBOOK

For all her legislative efforts, her time in the White House is largely remembered through the lens of her husband’s affair with intern Monica Lewinsky. She has described her decision to stay married as one of the most difficult ones she had to make. PHOTO: BREITBART MEDIA

She launched her own bid for the White House in 2008 after a successful run for the Senate in New York. Her first attempt would ultimately prove a failure but she said the defeat still represented a step forward for women. PHOTO: REUTERS

During her time as President Barack Obama’s secretary of state from 2009, the US got to see her at her best and her approval ratings rose. In Asia, she will be remembered as the first person to articulate the administration’s rebalance to the region. PHOTO: EPA

On July 26, 2016, after an unexpectedly bruising campaign, she succeeded where she failed eight years ago. She became the first woman to be the presidential nominee of a major political party, and is close to becoming the first woman to be US President. PHOTO: EPA

On June 16, 2015, Donald Trump iconically rode downgolden escalatorsand officially launched his 2016 presidential campaign from Trump Towers in New York. Swipe down to see his evolution from his early years, click the button to see Hillary Clinton’s journey. VIDEO: DONALD J. TRUMP FOR PRESIDENT

Mr Trump was born in 1946 in Queens, New York, to real estate developer Fred Trump and Mary MacLeod Trump. He rarely speaks of his childhood but the few times he has spoken about his father, he described him as loving but “very tough”. PHOTO: DONALD TRUMP/FACEBOOK

Mr Trump was the fourth of five children who were brought up in a strict, traditional household. He is seen on the far left with his siblings (from left) Fred Jr, Elizabeth, Maryanne and Robert. PHOTO: DONALD TRUMP/FACEBOOK

When Mr Trump was 12 years old, his father pulled him out of private school - he apparently loved to fight - and moved him to the New York Military Academy. Trump (pictured in uniform with his parents) credits the academy with giving him his ruthless streak. PHOTO: DONALD TRUMP/FACEBOOK

AAfter graduating in 1968, Mr Trump went into real estate with a “small” US$1 million loan from his father. He would later join the family business and take over completely in 1971. PHOTO: DONALD TRUMP/FACEBOOK

When he took over the business, Mr Trump set about remaking the company from a successful if low-key developer of apartments in Queens and Brooklyn, into a glitzy Manhattan brand. His reputation was largely built on a series of struggling projects that he bought and turned around, like the Commodore Hotel near Grand central station, pictured. PHOTO: NY DAILY NEWS ARCHIVE

Mr Trump married his first wife, Czech model Ivana Zelníčková, in 1977. It was Ivana who coined the nickname “The Donald” in a 1989 Spy magazine cover story. PHOTO: CAMERA PRESS

Mr Trump has five children, three with his first wife Ivana. Donald Jr was born in 1977, Ivanka in 1981 and Eric in 1984. PHOTO: IVANKA TRUMP/INSTAGRAM

Mr Trump’s first marriage ended amid rumours that he was having an affair with American actress Marla Maples (pictured). He later married her, and their daughter Tiffany was born in 1993. PHOTO: TIFFANY TRUMP/INSTAGRAM

When the real estate market declined in 1990, Mr Trump faced a low point, with the Trump organisation depending on loans to stay afloat. All of the casinos he bought in Atlantic City in the 1990s, like the one pictured, are closed today. ST PHOTO: JEREMY AU YONG

Mr Trump married his third wife, Slovenian model Melania Knavs, in 2005. Three years later, they had a son, Barron. PHOTO: EPA

In 2004, Mr Trump embarked on a project that made him a household name worldwide: a reality TV show known as The Apprentice. Here he is pictured in his trademark “you’re fired” pose. PHOTO: DONALD TRUMP/FACEBOOK

It was in 2011 that Mr Trump established himself as a political figure when he positioned himself as the strongest public voice of a movement known as “Birthers”. He repeatedly expressed doubts over whether President Obama was born in the US and continued to do so even after the president released his birth certificate. PHOTO: EPA

Despite some last minute attempts to derail the nomination at the Republican convention in July this year, Mr Trump became the first political outsider in 70 years to be the presidential nominee of a major party. PHOTO: DONALD TRUMP/FACEBOOK