The Hill's 50 Most Beautiful People

Age: 52
Hometown: Mount Kisco, N.Y.
Political party: Republican
Relationship status: Married

Rep. Nan Hayworth (R-N.Y.) learned to sleep on demand when she was an ophthalmological intern at New York Hospital. She now counts on that skill to get the most out of the two naps per week that she allows herself — during the trips from her district to Washington and back.

“I kind of plan it out — ‘I’m so sleeping for these 45 minutes,’ ” she says. “I’m running on four, five, six hours [of sleep] a night. If it’s a six-hour night, it’s like, ‘Whoa, what did I do to deserve this?’ ”

Yet Hayworth has few complaints about her life as a lawmaker. The freshman member of Congress used the words “blessed,” “lucky” and “grateful” no fewer than 10 times in a conversation with The Hill, referencing her family, friends, staff and almost every other aspect of her world.

Luck might not have much to do with her optimistic disposition. Hayworth, one of two female doctors in Congress, calls herself a nurturer and says she aspires to live out a mantra her mother instilled in her: “Cast your bread upon the waters; you pass this way but once.”

Evidence of that philosophy — which she summarizes as “Do good things” — lies in both the eye advice Hayworth offers to anyone in need and the oversized bag she lugs nearly everywhere she goes. It’s a running joke, she says, but the bag’s varied contents have come to the rescue on many occasions.

“Somebody had a splinter; I had tweezers,” she says.

Between that bag and her dedication to walking the stairs, Hayworth works in her exercise throughout the day. And she balances out her soft spot for chocolate — “It’s like the rebar in my food pyramid” — with daily doses of omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants and a multivitamin.

— Kris Kitto

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