New faces with familiar names

A recent crop of political daughters seems at ease with this name-tagging. Emboldened by social media,theyre using their lineage and the Internet to parlay daughter-of status into media fame.

MEGHAN McCAIN

WHAT GOT HER NOTICED:

The 29-year-old Columbia graduate,garnered attention during her fathers 2008 presidential bid when she blogged about her experiences on the campaign trail. The campaign saw they could use me to attract voters of my generation, she says. McCain was later given a platform at The Daily Beast,where an early article about how the campaign ruined her dating life went viral. She was soon a pundit on MSNBC,a position she held until this year.

WHERE SHE IS NOW: Raising McCain,her talk show on Pivot,began in September. Sample segment: I like wearing makeup and a push-up bra and I sometimes like to dress slutty on Halloween. Do I get to be a feminist anymore? These are honest questions I really have, she says. I absolutely would not be where I am without social media, she says. I worship at the altar of Twitter.

UPON REFLECTION: Of her decision to embrace her daughter-of status,McCain says,It would be there no matter what I did. If I cured cancer,Id be John McCains daughter who cured cancer.

ABBY HUNTSMAN

WHAT GOT HER NOTICED:

Huntsman,27,first came into the public eye when her father,Jon Huntsman Jr,sought the 2012 Republican nomination. She and her sisters posted parody videos on YouTube. We thought it could help the campaign by showing a more accessible side, she says. The ensuing attention led Huntsman,a former intern at Good Morning America,to commentator roles at ABC and CNN and a hosting spot at The Huffington Posts streaming network,HuffPost Live.

WHERE SHE IS NOW: A co-host of the MSNBC talk show The Cycle,she brings what she described as a dose of moderate,rational conservatism to the show. During a recent critique of the Tea Partys influence on the Republican Party,Huntsman said,My dad tried to speak up in the 2012 GOP debates.

UPON REFLECTION: Huntsman,who is married,uses her maiden name. I am proud to be my fathers daughter, she says. Theres no getting around that,and Im not sure Id ever want to.

KATHERINE SCHWARZENEGGER

WHAT GOT HER NOTICED:

As the eldest child of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver,Katherine Schwarzenegger,23,is both a political and media daughter.

Since graduating from the University of Southern California Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism last year,Schwarzenegger had a stint as a co-host on The View and appeared as a guest correspondent on Katie Courics daytime show.

WHERE SHE IS NOW: She has started katherineschwarzenegger.com,a lifestyle website. Its kind of like Goop, Katherine says,referring to Gwyneth Paltrows style site,but I dont sell things. And Im not that high end.

UPON REFLECTION: Youre always going to be the daughter-of, she says. But it helps to have a mother who was the daughter of politician with a high-profile media career. My mom gives great advice, she says. Ive talked to her a lot about having to prove things to people. In her day it was Which Kennedy are you?. How has she handled being the daughter of a politician whose marriage imploded in a very public scandal? I get that people are curious, she says.