The Transformation Of Meghan McCain From Baby To 36 Years Old

Political pundit and talk show co-host Meghan McCain is perhaps best known as the daughter of the late United States Senator and one time presidential hopeful John McCain, but make no mistake about it: McCain definitely marches to the beat of her own drum. "I'm an Independent. Socially liberal, economically conservative," she famously declared to GQ during a 2008 interview. 

Still, even McCain knows the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree. During an interview with The New York Times, McCain admitted that she and her dear old dad really did share lot of things in common. "We're both very strong-willed and ambitious, and I think we have a similar sense of humor," she confessed. "I think we both live our lives kind of fearlessly and without apologizing." 

But just how much has the famous daughter transformed and come into her own during her life in the spotlight? Keep reading after the jump to find out!

It may come as no surprise that Meghan McCain spent most of her formative years on the campaign trail. 

During a sentimental Instagram post, McCain posted a barrage of old photos of herself and her family — including a photo of a 15-day-old baby Meghan McCain making the political rounds with her father, John McCain. "No one should wonder why I ended up interested in politics when my Dad was taking me to the polls at 15 days old!"

Perhaps the proud papa was just excited to show his new daughter off... or maybe he was hoping she would pick up some of his campaigning skills through the process of osmosis. Either way, it appeared to work to his advantage! As her mother, Cindy McCain, famously told the Washington Post, "We used to joke when Meghan was a little girl that she was John McCain in a dress because she is just like him."

Most would describe Meghan McCain's career as "successful," but there's still one misstep that she'd probably rather forget: getting the axe from her dad's campaign.

Recent college grad McCain was riding high when she joined her father's campaign on his 2008 quest for the White House. McCain's mission was simple: to give others (but namely young millennials) a behind the scenes peek into the goings-on of her father's campaign via her blog "McCainBlogette." Alas, her intentions fell flat. As reported by the New York Times after only a year into the gig she was swiftly given the boot by her father's campaign manager, Steve Schmidt, for being "too controversial" of a figure. 

"I was so honest and beautifully naïve to many things," she explained about that particularly difficult period in her life. "I just thought I was doing a fun thing, and that everyone would want to get in on it," she continued. "I felt 100 years older," she confessed after getting "banished," from the campaign.

Perhaps one of Meghan McCain's greatest career-driven accomplishments to date was authoring her very own book, "Dirty Sexy Politics" in 2010. 

In what McCain has formerly described as a "coming-of-age story," wherein her mission was to "inspire people who feel disconnected from the political process," she admitted that the actual journey of writing the book took its toll on her. "It was really cathartic," she explained to the The New York Times about the writing process. "Some parts were hard, like when I wrote the election night chapter. It's not something I wanted to relive, but I felt like it was important." 

The book received mixed reviews and even McCain had no qualms admitting that it takes a very specific audience to appreciate the political memoir. "I know what kind of books I read on vacation and it is not necessarily 'Diplomacy' by Henry Kissinger," she said. "No disrespect to that book, I have read that book. But not on spring break," she joked, while confessing that she hoped her book was of a more relatable nature. 

Due to her unwillingness to shy away from any topic and her penchant for voicing her opinions loud and proud for all the world to hear, Meghan McCain has quickly become a lightning rod both in the political sphere and on "The View," ABC's popular talk show she co-hosts alongside Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Sara Haines, Sunny Hostin, and Ana Navarro.

"I didn't take the offer seriously, because, no shade to the show, it just wasn't the show that I wanted to work on. A carousel of people getting on and off; it didn't seem to have a lot of direction," McCain revealed to Elle in 2019 about her decision to join the popular talk show in 2017. "And it was my dad who talked me into it. He said, 'You can't ever give up an opportunity to work on a network with Whoopi Goldberg," she confessed.

Still, her decision to step into the spotlight hasn't been met without her fair share of doubt over the years. While she admits the constant barrage of backlash regarding her ideals requires constant self pep talks, she is, however, quick to remind herself and everyone else that she's strong enough to handle the criticism. "It's fine. It comes with the territory. I'm a big girl. I can take it," she told Elle.

It's no secret that Meghan McCain suffered a tragic loss when her famous politician father, John McCain, died in August of 2018 after a tumultuous stint with glioblastoma. Fortunately, however, she was given another shot at happiness in September of 2020 with the birth of her daughter, Liberty.

"It's incredible," McCain dished to OK! magazine about parenthood with her husband Ben Domenach. "It's like seeing your heart outside your body and it's this totally paradigm-shifting experience and, you know, it's been amazing." And it appears baby Liberty couldn't have come at a better time. "We're in such a dark, unhappy time," Meghan said referring to ongoing coronavirus pandemic, "and [Liberty] wakes up every morning so excited and so happy — and it's wonderful," she gushed.

Still, it doesn't appear that McCain has any plans of slowing down anytime soon. "Something must happen to your body chemically ... there must be something primitive that kicks in," she told People, "because I don't feel as tired anymore. I get like four hours of sleep and I'm like, 'Oh my God, that was like four hours of sleep.'"

We wish Meghan all of the best during her new adventure of motherhood, while fans will undoubtedly continue to keep up with her on "The View" and social media.