FACTBOX: The life of McCain VP pick Sarah Palin

(Reuters) - Here are some facts about Sarah Palin, who rose quickly from small-town mayor to one of the most popular governors in Alaskan history before her surprise selection as Republican John McCain's vice presidential running mate.

* Born in Sandpoint, Idaho, on February 11, 1964, she moved to Alaska with her parents as an infant. As a star on the state champion Wasilla High School girls' basketball team, she was known as "Sarah Barracuda" for her aggressive play. She graduated in 1987 from the University of Idaho, where she studied journalism. She worked as a sports reporter at an Anchorage television station in 1988.

* She entered politics in 1992 by running for the city council in Wasilla, a town outside Anchorage that then had about 5,000 residents. She was re-elected to a second term in 1995, and became Wasilla's mayor in 1996.

* She gained statewide fame as a whistle-blower calling attention to ethical violations by high-ranking Republican officials in Alaska, including the chairman of the state Republican party and was sworn in as the state's youngest and first woman governor in December 2006.

* As governor, Palin has spoken out against corruption, battled for funding from major oil producers and convinced the legislature to give a $1,200 "energy rebate" to nearly every Alaskan. Her approval rating in the state stands at 80 percent.

* Palin is under investigation by Alaska's state legislature to determine whether she fired a public safety commissioner after he declined to fire a state trooper who had divorced Palin's sister. Palin has hired a private lawyer in the probe.

* Palin married her high school sweetheart, Todd Palin, in 1988. A champion snowmachine racer, Todd Palin is a commercial fisherman who has worked for BP and has been a production operator in oil fields on Alaska's North Slope.

* Palin, who has five children including a son born in April with Down Syndrome and an unmarried 17-year-old who is pregnant, is favored by social conservatives because of her opposition to abortion, devout Christianity and lifetime membership in the National Rifle Association.

* In 1984, Palin won the Miss Wasilla pageant, and finished second in the Miss Alaska pageant, at which she was named "Miss Congeniality.

(Compiled by Patricia Zengerle; editing by Jackie Frank)