• Martha Custis Washington

    Martha Washington

    FIRST LADY TO GEORGE WASHINGTON // #1

    WEALTHY WIDOW

    UNUSUALLY POWERFUL, AS HER FIRST HUSBAND, FATHER-IN-LAW, AND BROTHER-IN-LAW HAD DIED

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  • Abigail Adams

    Abigail Adams

    FIRST LADY TO JOHN ADAMS // #2

    MOTHER TO JOHN QUINCY ADAMS // #6, WHO THOUGHT HE WOULD “BE DOOMED TO PERPETUAL CELIBACY” BECAUSE OF HER IMPOSSIBLE “REQUISITES” FOR ANYONE HE WOULD MARRY

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  • Martha Jefferson

    Martha Jefferson

    WIFE OF THOMAS JEFFERSON // #3

    SHE WAS FIRST LADY OF VIRGINIA

    BUT DIED NEARLY 20 YEARS BEFORE JEFFERSON’S PRESIDENCY

    JEFFERSON WAS HER SECOND HUSBAND

    SHE MADE HIM PROMISE NOT TO REMARRY

    HE BEGAN CARRYING ON WITH HER HALF-SISTER, SALLY HEMMINGS

    AND BY “CARRYING ON”, I MEAN IT PROBABLY WASN’T CONSENTUAL

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  • Dolley Madison

    Dolley Madison

    FIRST LADY TO JAMES MADISON // #4

    HER FIRST HUSBAND AND INFANT DIED ON THE SAME DAY

    WAS THE FIRST TO PERFORM “FIRST LADY” TYPE DUTIES — THOUGH THE TERM HADN’T BEEN COINED YET

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  • Elizabeth Monroe

    Elizabeth Monroe

    FIRST LADY TO JAMES MONROE // #5

    ELIZABETH WAS STYLISH AF, BUT JAMES STILL ROCKED THE FOUNDER LOOK (KNEE BREECHES, HOSE, AND BUCKLED SHOES) WHEN OTHER MEN HAD MOVED TO PANTS

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  • Louisa Adams

    Louisa Adams

    FIRST LADY TO JOHN QUINCY ADAMS // #6

    ONE OF ONLY TWO FOREIGN-BORN FIRST LADIES

    ONE OF ONLY TWO WEDDINGS OUTSIDE THE COUNTRY…? IF I’M WRONG ABOUT THAT, CORRECT ME

  • Rachel Jackson

    Rachel Jackson

    WIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON // #7

    TRAGICALLY DIED LESS THAN A MONTH AFTER HE WAS ELECTED AND A COUPLE OF MONTHS BEFORE HE TOOK OFFICE

    JACKSON BLAMED JQA’S PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN

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  • Hannah Van Buren

    Hannah Van Buren

    WIFE OF MARTIN VAN BUREN // #8

    LIKE VAN BUREN, HER FIRST LANGUAGE WAS DUTCH

    DIED NEARLY TWO DECADES BEFORE HIS PRESIDENCY

    HE DIDN’T MENTION HER IN HIS AUTOBIOGRAPHY

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  • Anna Harrison

    Anna Harrison

    FIRST LADY TO WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON // #9 AND GRANDMOTHER TO #23, BENJAMIN HARRISON

    MARRIED BEHIND HER FATHER’S BACK. AS HE DISAPPROVED

    NEVER LIVED IN THE WHITE HOUSE (HARRISON DIED ONE MONTH INTO OFFICE; SHE HADN’T MADE IT TO WASHINGTON YET)

    ALSO OUTLIVED 9/10 OF THEIR KIDS

  • Letitia Taylor

    Letitia Tyler

    FIRST FIRST LADY TO JOHN TYLER // #10

    AGE APPROPRIATE! JUST ONE YEAR YOUNGER THAN HER HUSBAND

    MARRIED FOR NEARLY THREE DECADES

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  • Julia Tyler

    SECOND FIRST LADY TO JOHN TYLER // #10

    THEY BEGAN FLIRTING ON THE TRAGIC U.S.S. PRINCETON VOYAGE THAT KILLED HER FATHER (AND OTHERS)

    22-YEAR-OLD JULIA MARRIED THE PRESIDENT (MORE THAN THREE DECADES HER SENIOR) A FEW MONTHS LATER

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  • Sarah Polk

    FIRST LADY TO JAMES K. POLK // #11

    DANCING AND HARD LIQUOR WERE OFF-LIMITS DURING HER TIME AT THE WHITE HOUSE

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  • Margaret Taylor

    Margaret Taylor

    FIRST LADY TO ZACHARY TAYLOR // #12

    DIDN’T WANT TAYLOR TO GO INTO POLITICS; PRAYED FOR HIS DEFEAT

    THEIR DAUGHTER, BETTY, HANDLED FIRST LADY DUTIES

  • Abigail Fillmore

    FIRST LADY TO MILLARD FILLMORE // #13

    WAS FILLMORE’S TEACHER

    ONLY PRE-20TH CENTURY FIRST LADY TO CONTINUE TO WORK AFTER GETTING MARRIED

    GOT SICK AT PIERCE’S INAUGURATION AND DIED LESS THAN A MONTH AFTER LEAVING OFFICE

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  • Caroline McIntosh Fillmore

    SECOND WIFE OF MILLARD FILLMORE // #13

    WEALTHY WIDOW

    THEY MARRIED AT HER HOME, SCHUYLER MANSION IN THE SAME ROOM WHERE ALEXANDER HAMILTON MARRIED ELIZABETH SCHUYLER

    (GUESS WHERE I LEARNED THAT?! IN THE ROOM WHERE IT HAPPENED!)

    FILLMORE SIGNED A PRE-NUP

  • Jane Pierce

    Jane Pierce

    FIRST LADY TO FRANKLIN PIERCE // #14

    DIDN’T WANT PIERCE TO GET INTO POLITICS

    WHEN THEIR ONLY SURVIVING CHILD WAS KILLED IN A HORRIFIC TRAIN ACCIDENT, SHE TOOK IT AS A SIGN FROM GOD

    STAUNCH ABOLITIONIST

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  • * See below

    JAMES BUCHANAN // #15

    ONLY PRESIDENT TO NEVER MARRY

    SCROLL ALL THE WAY DOWN TO SEE HIS NIECE, WHO PERFORMED FIRST LADY DUTIES

  • Mary Todd Lincoln

    Mary Todd Lincoln

    FIRST LADY TO ABRAHAM LINCOLN // #16

    ABE AND HIS STAFF SOMETIMES CALLED HER “MRS. PRESIDENT”

    … WHICH IS A HUGE DEPARTURE FROM WHAT HER STEPMOM CALLED HER:

    “LIMB OF SATAN”

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  • Eliza Johnson

    Eliza Johnson

    FIRST LADY TO ANDREW JOHNSON // #17

    SHE TAUGHT JOHNSON HOW TO READ, WRITE, ETC.

    MARRIED AT 16, MAKING HER THE YOUNGEST TO MARRY A FUTURE PRESIDENT

    MARRIED BY ABE LINCOLN’S UNCLE

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  • Julia Grant

    Julia Grant

    FIRST LADY TO ULYSSES S. GRANT // #18

    ENGAGED FOR FOUR YEARS, SEEING EACH OTHER ONCE FOR THAT STRETCH

    THEIR DADS WEREN’T ON BOARD WITH THEIR MARRIAGE

    GRANT’S PARENTS DIDN’T APPROVE THAT HER FAMILY ENSLAVED PEOPLE

    AFTER GRANT’S DEATH, SHE BECAME FRIENDS WITH JEFFERSON DAVIS’ WIFE

  • Lucy Hayes

    Lucy Hayes

    FIRST LADY TO RUTHERFORD B. HAYES // #19

    WHEN SHE WAS TWO, HER ABOLITIONIST FATHER DIED TRAVELING TO FREE THE ENSLAVED PEOPLE HE’D INHERITED

    FIRST FIRST LADY WITH A COLLEGE DEGREE

    STARTED THE WHITE HOUSE EASTER EGG ROLL TRADITION

  • Lucretia Garfield

    Lucretia Garfield

    FIRST LADY TO JAMES GARFIELD // #20

    THEIR EARLY MARRIAGE WAS KINDA LOVELESS

    JAMES HAD A FEW AFFAIRS; HE EVENTUALLY CAME CLEAN BLAH BLAH BLAH

    EVENTUALLY SHE AND GARFIELD ACTUALLY FELL IN LOVE

    FOR REAL

  • Nell Arthur

    Nell Arthur

    WIFE OF CHESTER ARTHUR // #21

    WHEN SHE WAS A CHILD, SHE BEFRIENDED FORMER FIRST LADY DOLLEY MADISON (SEVEN DECADES HER SENIOR)

    CHET CALLED HER “MY LITTLE REBEL WIFE” (HE WAS AN ABOLITIONIST AND SHE WAS FROM A SLAVEHOLDING FAMILY)

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  • Frances Cleveland

    Frances Cleveland

    FIRST LADY TO GROVER CLEVELAND // #22 & 24

    ASKED THE WHITE HOUSE STAFF TO KEEP THINGS IN GOOD SHAPE BECAUSE THEY’D BE BACK

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  • Caroline Harrison

    Caroline Harrison

    FIRST LADY TO BENJAMIN HARRISON // #23

    TAUGHT MUSIC

    ARRANGED TO INSTALL ELECTRICTY IN THE WHITE HOUSE, BUT WAS TOO AFRAID TO TOUCH THE LIGHT SWITCHES HERSELF

    DIED TWO WEEKS BEFORE HER HUSBAND LOST HIS REELECTION

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  • Mary Harrison

    Mary Harrison

    SECOND WIFE OF BENJAMIN HARRISON // #23

    SHE WAS HIS FIRST WIFE’S NIECE AND MOVED INTO THE WHITE HOUSE AFTER HER HUSBAND DIED

    GROSSING OUT HARRISON’S GROWN KIDS, THEY FELL IN LOVE AFTER CAROLINE DIED AND GOT MARRIED

    THE KIDS SKIPPED THE WEDDING

    SHE OUTLIVED HIM BY ABOUT FIFTY YEARS

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  • Ida McKinley

    Ida McKinley

    FIRST LADY TO WILLIAM McKINLEY // #25

    MISCHIEVOUS, LIVELY, CHARMING, AND BEAUTIFUL

    McKINLEY WAS MORE DRAWN TO HER “SOMEWHAT UNLADYLIKE ZEST, IN DEVOURING HER CHICKEN ON WAFFLES”

    DRIVEN AND OUTGOING

    ENDURED A SERIES OF HEARTBREAKS THAT LEFT HER INJURED AND TRANSFORMED HER LIFE

  • Alice Roosevelt

    Alice Roosevelt

    FIRST WIFE OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT // #26

    DIED AFTER CHILDBIRTH

    ROOSEVELT RARELY SPOKE OF HER AGAIN

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  • Edith Roosevelt

    Edith Roosevelt

    FIRST LADY TO THEODORE ROOSEVELT // #26

    THEODORE DIDN’T BELIEVE IN SECOND MARRIAGES AND SURPRISED HIMSELF BY WANTING TO MARRY AGAIN

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  • Nellie Taft

    Nellie Taft

    FIRST LADY TO WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT // #27

    SPENT TIME IN THE WHITE HOUSE AS A TEENAGER AND IT WAS LIFE-CHANGING

    DETERMINED TO ONLY MARRY SOMEONE “DESTINED TO BE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES”

    TAFT WANTED HER TO BE HIS “SENIOR PARTNER”

    SUFFERED A TERRIBLE STROKE A COUPLE OF MONTHS INTO HIS TERM; HAD TO TAKE A YEAR OFF FROM FIRST LADY DUTIES

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  • Ellen Wilson

    Ellen Wilson

    FIRST FIRST LADY TO WOODROW WILSON // #28

    THEY FIRST MET WHEN HE WAS 6 YEARS OLD (ELLEN WAS JUST A BABY)

    GIFTED ARTIST

  • Edith Wilson

    Edith Wilson

    SECOND FIRST LADY TO WOODROW WILSON // #28

    NEWLY WIDOWED WILSON FELL HARD FOR EDITH (HERSELF A WIDOW) QUICKLY

    RECEIVED THE FIRST DRIVER’S LICENSE ISSUED TO A WOMAN IN WASHINGTON, D.C.

    WAS BASICALLY PRESIDENT SECRETLY FOR A BIT AFTER WILSON’S SECRET HEALTH ISSUES
    (“GOVERNMENT BY PETTICOAT”)

    HELD SÉANCES AFTER WILSON DIED TO TRY TO COMMUNICATE WITH HIM

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  • Florence Harding

    Florence Harding

    FIRST LADY TO WARREN G. HARDING // #29

    FROM ONE OF MARION, OHIO’S RICHEST FAMILIES

    REBELLED AGAINST HER OVERBEARING DAD, AND GOT PREGNANT WITH THE TOWN DRUNK

    ENDED UP DESTITUTE

    TAUGHT HARDING’S SISTER PIANO

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  • Grace Coolidge

    Grace Coolidge

    FIRST LADY TO CALVIN COOLIDGE // #30

    WHEN HER MOM SUGGESTED SHE DELAY HER WEDDING UNTIL SHE’D HAD A YEAR OF WORK EXPERIENCE OR KNEW HOW TO BAKE BREAD, COOLIDGE SNAPPED “WE WILL BUY BREAD!

    LOVED ANIMALS, MUSIC, AND CHILDREN

    HAD A PET RACCOON NAMED REBECCA

  • Lou Hoover

    FIRST LADY TO HERBERT HOOVER // #31

    LOU WAS BAD ASS

    WELL-READ, ADVENTUROUS, AND BRILLIANT

    GRADUATED WITH THE SAME GEOLOGY DEGREE AS HER HUSBAND, BUT WITH HIGHER HONORS

    SPOKE TO HOOVER IN CHINESE WHEN THEY WANTED TO TALK WITHOUT ANYONE LISTENING IN

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  • Eleanor Roosevelt

    Eleanor Roosevelt

    FIRST LADY TO FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT // #32

    HER UNCLE, THEODORE ROOSEVELT, WALKED HER DOWN THE AISLE

    DURING THE DEPRESSION, SHE WAS QUOTED IN AN ARTICLE TITLED “HOW TO SAVE IN BIG HOMES”… MUCH TO HER AND FDR’S EMBARRASSMENT.

    (THE QUOTE AND HIS RESPONSE ARE PRICELESS. I’LL NEED TO SHARE THIS IN THE FUTURE.)

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  • Bess Truman

    Bess Truman

    FIRST LADY TO HARRY S TRUMAN // #33

    LONGEST LIVING FIRST LADY; DIED AT 97

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  • Mamie Eisenhower

    Mamie Eisenhower

    FIRST LADY TO DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER // #34

  • Jackie Kennedy

    Jackie Kennedy

    FIRST LADY TO JOHN F. KENNEDY // #35

    WOULD GIVE A “PBO’ WHEN SHE DIDN’T WANT TO DO SOMETHING — “POLITE BRUSH-OFF”

    ASKED LBJ TO NAME THE SPACE CENTER AFTER JFK

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  • Lady Bird Johnson

    Lady Bird Johnson

    FIRST LADY TO LYNDON B. JOHNSON // #36

    EARNED A DOUBLE-DEGREE - HISTORY AND JOURNALISM

  • Pat Nixon

    Pat Nixon

    FIRST LADY TO RICHARD NIXON // #37

    USED TO BOBSLED WITH THE TUBERCULOSIS PATIENTS WHERE SHE WORKED

    NIXON PROPOSED THE DAY THEY MET

    IT TOOK HIM A WHILE TO GET HER TO AGREE; IN THE MEANTIME, HE DROVE HER TO DATES WITH OTHER GUYS

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  • First Lady Betty Ford

    Betty Ford

    FIRST LADY TO GERALD FORD // #38

    HELPED REDUCE THE STIGMA OF BOTH BREAST CANCER AND ADDICTION

    CHRONICALLY TARDY, THE STAFF REFERRED TO HER AS “THE LATE BETTY FORD”

    HER APPROVAL RATING WAS HIGHER THAN HIS; CAMPAIGN BUTTONS SAID “BETTY’S HUSBAND FOR PRESIDENT IN ‘76”

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  • Rosalynn Carter

    Rosalynn Carter

    FIRST LADY TO JIMMY CARTER // #39

    THEY WERE NEIGHBORS WHEN SHE WAS A BABY

    LONGEST PRESIDENTIAL MARRIAGE

    BELIEVED MENTAL HEALTH WAS AS IMPORTANT AS PHYSICAL HEALTH

    WORKED HER BUTT OFF TO GET A BILL PASSED INTO LAW ABOUT IT. THREE MONTHS LATER, REAGAN TOOK OVER AND STRIPPED AWAY THE FUNDING

  • Jane Wyman

    Jane Wyman

    FIRST WIFE OF RONALD REAGAN // #40

    (HE WAS HER THIRD OF FOUR HUSBANDS; SHE WAS MARRIED FIVE TIMES)

    SHE AND REAGAN MARRIED IN “WEE KIRK O’ THE HEATHER”, A MEMORIAL PARK

    ACTRESS

    THEY BEGAN TO DRIFT APART…. THEN IN THE SAME MONTH, HE NEARLY DIED OF VIRAL PNEUMONIA AND SHE GAVE BIRTH TO A PREMATURE DAUGHTER WHO ONLY LIVED 9 HOURS

    THEY SPLIT SOON AFTER

  • Nancy Reagan

    Nancy Reagan

    FIRST LADY TO RONALD REAGAN // #40

    AFTER RONNIE NEARLY DIED FROM AN ATTEMPTED ASSASSINATION, NANCY BEGAN CONSULTING THE STARS AND PLANNING HIS SCHEDULE AROUND ASTROLOGY

  • Barbara Bush

    FIRST LADY TO GEORGE H. W. BUSH // #41

    MOTHER TO GEORGE W. BUSH // #43

  • Laura Bush

    Laura Bush

    FIRST LADY TO GEORGE W. BUSH // #43

    ONLY FIRST LADY WITH TWINS

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  • Michelle Obama

    Michelle Obama

    FIRST LADY TO BARACK OBAMA // #44

    THEY MET AT WORK: HE FELL FOR HER QUICKLY; SHE WAS SKEPTICAL

    SHE TURNED HIM DOWN MULTIPLE TIMES BECAUSE SHE WAS HIS BOSS

    AMONG MY FAVORITE FIRST LADIES

  • Ivana Trump

    FIRST WIFE OF DONALD TRUMP // #45

    MARRIED TO ONE OF TWO PRESIDENTS WITH FOREIGN-BORN WIVES (IN THIS CASE, TWO FOREIGN-BORN WIVES)

    FIRST EX-WIFE OF A PRESIDENT TO PREDECEASE HER EX

  • Marla Maples

    SECOND WIFE OF DONALD TRUMP // #45

  • Melania Trump

    FIRST LADY TO DONALD TRUMP // #45

  • Neilia Biden

    Neilia Biden

    FIRST WIFE OF JOE BIDEN // #46

  • Jill Biden

    Jill Biden

    FIRST LADY TO JOE BIDEN // #46

*Women who performed First Lady duties … but never married presidents