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Then & Now: Mary Bono
 Mary Bono was elected California's 45th district representative for a fourth term in 2004. SPECIAL REPORTYOUR E-MAIL ALERTS(CNN) -- In 1998, Mary Bono was thrust into the political spotlight after she filled the congressional seat of her husband, Sonny Bono, the singer and television entertainer turned Republican congressman who died in a skiing accident. Now, Mary Bono is serving her fourth consecutive term in Congress, with her own agenda and victories. "I never in my wildest dreams, when I was young, imagined a career in politics," the 44-year-old mother of two told CNN. But two weeks after the death of her husband, Mary Bono decided to run for his California congressional seat. "It was almost like a mosh pit that I was in," she said. "People were just lifting me along in this direction, and so many people were encouraging me to run ... so it sort of became a natural direction for me to go and Sonny did have a number of legislative issues that were important to him that were still on the table. "People were saying, 'Mary, carry on his legacy,' and 'We need your help with these things that Sonny had started.' I think first and foremost I wanted to continue with his legacy, but I knew once ... his issues were either solved or we decided they were unsolvable, I needed to have my own agenda, my own abilities." The world of politics was a universe away from the place Mary Bono thought she would be when she was growing up in South Pasadena, California. As a young girl, Bono had dreams of competing in the Olympic Games as a gymnast. "I think every little girl aspired to go to the Olympics one day and ... I aspired to do great things. I looked up to Olga Korbut (four-time Olympic gold medalist in gymnastics) as a role model, and that's what I wanted to be. If there were a wall I would do a cartwheel on it; if there were a lawn I would tumble on it. I was pretty possessed by gymnastics for about eight years of my life," Bono said. Bono never made it to the Olympic Games as a competitor. Instead, the smart young woman focused on school and in 1984 graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in art history. Mary was celebrating her graduation with friends at a restaurant when she met the owner, Sonny Bono, and the two hit it off. Sonny had been a well-known television entertainer and half of the famous singing duo, Sonny and Cher, who was at one time his wife. In 1986, Mary and Sonny married. His accidental death in 1998 shocked family and friends, and Mary had to stay strong for their two children, Chesare Elan and Chianna Maria. "So many people got us through the loss," Mary Bono said. "Certainly beginning with family on all sides, tremendous friends, Sonny's congressional friends -- they really held me up in a huge way. I had a handful of members of Congress at my house everyday after Sonny died for about a week. They were there with me. But mostly, I think my children ... the big thing that my kids needed ... to know was that they lost their dad and they needed (to know) mom was strong and mom would go on." A year after winning her husband's congressional seat, George magazine named Mary Bono one of the 20 most fascinating women in politics. Energized by her successes, Bono became active in issues surrounding health care, the environment and the economy. In 2000, she passed legislation that established the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto National Monument in the Palm Springs region. Bono also helped end the longest ongoing litigation in the 9th Circuit Court of California when she lobbied for and moved legislation to compensate the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indian Tribe for land lost in 1908. Currently, she is working on an anti-spyware bill. She is married again, this time to businessman Glen Baxley, and Rep. Bono is confident she'll stay in politics for the time being. An autobiography may not be too far off either. "I see myself as such a citizen politician. I don't see myself as the career, helmet-haired politician, and that might cost me one day," she said. "I have a fantastic community who I truly love. ... I hope to continue to represent them in a good way as long as they'll have me for some time to come." 
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