“A serious make-up artist is trying to rescue my face for a photo in Reader’s Digest. Good luck to her,” Chow posted on Twitter as Laurie Deraps groomed her. She later turned her thoughts to the grooming of her fellow MPs and mused about convincing Stephen Harper to sport a “Movember” moustache.
Photo: Chantal Levesque
Photographer Jocelyn Michel found Chow to be grounded yet positive, the same qualities that many of her political supporters admire in her.
Photo: Chantal Levesque
Chow’s solemn face became a symbol of grief and dignity when she was widowed by cancer at the age of 54. A cancer survivor herself, Chow battled a thyroid tumour in 2004. She has said that during her hospital stay, Jack Layton would aim a light beam into her room’s window. In turn, she saw him through his illness until the end.
Photo: Chantal Levesque