By her second birthday, however, she was living in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the city she always considered her home. The Golden Girls star, who passed away on Dec. 31 at age 99, died due to a cerebrovascular accident, according to her death certificate obtained by PEOPLE on Monday. [7][38][37], In 1975, when Time named the "American women" as its "Person of the Year",[39] the magazine profiled Ford as one of eleven women selected to represent "American women". "In terms of the White House atmosphere, there's no doubt that Mrs. Ford wanted to, in her own words, let open the windows," said Richard Norton Smith, a presidential historian and one of the eulogists at the funeral for President Ford. In this statement, she also praised the reputation of the hospital's addiction treatment program, and declared her pleasure to have the opportunity to attend the treatment. She would be given prescription medication, including Valium. [19] Ford's abortion position differed from the political platform of the Republican Party. [84], In 1987, Ford underwent quadruple coronary bypass surgery and recovered without complications. [9][10] He died the day before his 60th birthday. The American public ranked Ford as the eighth-greatest among these first ladies. From a young age, she had a passion for dancing. During and after her years in the White House, 1974 to 1977, Mrs. Ford won . "[21][24] The Fords had planned to make a diplomatic trip to European nations after the midterm elections. [3], On March 12, 1974, the Fords hosted a state dinner for King Hussein of Jordan after president Nixon, with a week's notice, asked Vice President Ford to take over for him in hosting the already-scheduled state dinner. [3] Ford received support from her family and managed to resume a busy lifestyle. Ill health prevented Ford from attending the funeral of former First Lady Lady Bird Johnson's in July 2007, and her daughter Susan Ford Bales instead represented her at the funeral service. Afterwards, Ford stated she was impressed with the conduct of the refugees. [84] In 1991, Ford was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George H. W. Bush[3][97] She and President Ford jointly received a Congressional Gold Medal in 1999. [3][21] Her candor on this trip received a positive reception by the news media..[21] Among those she met on the two-day trip was Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn Carter. She continued to strongly advocate and lobby politicians and state legislatures for passage of the ERA. She visited states, including Illinois, where ratification was believed to have the most realistic chance of passing. After leaving. She studied dance under Martha Graham in New York, working as a fashion model to finance her studies. First Lady Betty Ford held her first official press conference in the State Dining Room on September 4, 1974. [32], Repeatedly speaking out on women's issues, Ford was a leader in the changing status of women in American society. [47] Kennerly has touted the image as both capturing Ford's personality and being a symbolic image showing the feminist first lady posing in what had conventionally been a room occupied predominantly by white men. [107][108] In the 2014 Siena Research Institute survey, historians ranked Ford 3rd-highest among 20th and 21st century First Ladies in the greatness of post-White House service, 3rd-highest in advancement of women's issues, and 4th-highest in creating a lasting legacy. She also was completely unpretentious. [19] Ford said, during her husband's failed 1976 presidential campaign, "I would give my life to have Jerry have my poll numbers. CNN . [84], Ford published her first memoir in 1978, The Times of My Life, in which she discussed her battle with addiction. During her time in the White House, she also admitted to taking Valium. [19] The use of Ford in such a manner to promote her husband's candidacy was not the work of the campaign itself, but rather, produced by supporters outside of the campaign organization. Betty Ford. [3] At one point, Ford disclosed to the public that her husband had previously promised her that he would retire from the House of Representatives in 1976 in order to return to private legal practice and dedicate more time to his family. [36], During her time as first lady, Ford was an outspoken advocate of women's rights and was a prominent force in the Women's Movement of the 1970s. [7] Weeks later, when the Fords moved from their Virginia residence into the White House[3] their king size bed was photographed being moved into the White House, which prompted Betty to quip that they had been outed for breaking the tradition of first couples keeping separate bedrooms in the White House. [79] In September of that year, Ford traveled to Moscow for a television program taping and to serve as hostess for The Nutcracker. She was a remarkable political spouse, whose courageous candor helped forge a new era of openness after the divisiveness of the Vietnam War and Watergate. [105] In the 2014 Siena Research Institute survey survey, Ford and her husband were ranked the 19th-highest out of 39 first couples in terms of being a "power couple". [53] The poll gauges Americans' most admired men and women without providing respondents any pre-arranged list of names. The Betty Ford Center, which already has helped change the lives of thousands of people, will be her lasting legacy of care and concern. In contrast, there was tremendous organic excitement for Betty Ford among supporters of the campaign. [5] Warren was an alcoholic and diabetic, and was in poor health. [3], During the primaries, Ford recorded radio advertisements on behalf of the campaign that were broadcast in New Hampshire. Betty Ford, who died yesterday at the age of ninety-three, got married the year she turned twenty-four, to a furniture salesman who did not become the President of the United States. [25][26] At the first state dinner that she arranged as first lady, Ford revived dancing as an activity of White House state dinners. [24] The Carters would, ultimately be the Fords successors as president and first lady after Carter defeated Ford in the 1976 United States presidential election. [68], As First Lady, Ford was an advocate of the arts. You see, Betty (played on The First Lady by Michelle Pfeiffer and Kristine Froseth) was married to William before she wed former President Gerald Ford (Aaron Eckhart). As Betty Ford recounted at the time, the wedding was delayed until shortly before the election because, "Jerry was running for Congress and wasn't sure how voters might feel about his marrying a divorced ex-dancer.". [37][33] In January 1976, the editors of the New York News Service wrote that Ford was, "one of the most charming and popular First Ladies ever to occupy the White House". She died peacefully, surrounded by her family, at Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, California. [19] In her 1987 memoir she reflected on these addictions, writing, "I liked alcohol, it made me feel warm. [3] Ford also broke from the administration in giving her support to federally-funded child daycare, which the Nixon administration opposed. Ford also, in a television interview with Barbara Walters, expressed her support for the United States Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision ruling abortion as constitutionally protected. [34] Ford's popularity often was higher than her husband's. As first lady, Betty Ford was active in social policy and shattered precedents as a politically active presidential wife (Time considered her "the most since Eleanor [Roosevelt . Surveys of historians conducted by the Siena College Research Institute have shown that historians regard Ford to be among the best and most courageous American first ladies. She was also involved in her husband's political career by fulfilling the commitments expected of congressional spouses to help elevate her husband's regard among his House colleagues. Ford was the most prominent national supporter of the project. A month after Betty Ford died, the Sun admonished the center in a strongly worded editorial headlined "Betty Ford Center, family must heal to heal others." The paper questioned the. [84] After they left the White House, her addictions became more evident to her family and appeared life-threatening. When did Betty Ford die? In another instance, she commented, "it's just impossible for me to lie and look someone in the eyes and talk to them. Betty Ford wanted to be a professional dancer [61][33] Ford utilized phone calls, letter-writing, and telegrams as means of lobbying in support of the ERA. Later that day, President Ford was caught momentarily patting Betty's buttocks before the press gathered outside of their Virginia residence. She continued to serve as Chairman-Emeritus of the Betty Ford Center and enjoyed her role as grandmother and great-grandmother to her still-growing family. [3], Between Labor Day and election day, for the general election campaign, Ford conducted multi-stop speaking tours, during which she visited western states (including California, Colorado, Texas, and Utah) as well was northern midwest states including Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin. On December 26, 2006, Gerald Ford, the 38th president of the United States, died at home in Rancho Mirage, California at 6:45 p.m. local time (02:45, December 27, UTC). Betty Ford is awarded the nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, by President George H. W. Bush, 1991. [3], The heavy campaigning placed a strain on Ford's health. She joined Graham's auxiliary troupe and eventually performed with the company at Carnegie Hall in New York City. She was working in a fashion job in Grand Rapids where Gerald lived. [91], In 1978, the deadline for ratification of the ERA was extended from 1979 to 1982, resulting largely from a march of a hundred thousand people on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington. As First Lady of the United States from 1974-1977, Betty Ford was known for her candor. [19], In March 1977, Ford signed with NBC News to appear in two news specials within the following two years along with contributing to Today,[77] and jointly signed with her husband to write their memoirs. You may not think that creating a humane, healing environment for people with addiction is a remarkable concept. [66], According to Tasha N. Dubriwny, the massive media coverage of Ford's mastectomy was constrained by stereotypical gender roles, particularly the need for breast cancer patients to maintain their femininity. Ford had declared that she would be accompanying her husband at campaign functions, "when he wants me to. [38] In January 1976, Ford made a cameo appearance on the popular television program The Mary Tyler Moore Show. At this point in her life, she was married to her first husband, businessman William Warren. Gerald and Betty Ford on their wedding day, October 15, 1948 In 1947 a friend introduced her to Gerald R. Ford, Jr., a young lawyer who had served as Navy lieutenant during World War II. [95], Ford tackled the stigmatized issue of HIV/AIDS during the HIV/AIDS crisis. Betty underwent a radical mastectomy at Bethesda Naval Hospital and inadvertently destigmatized breast cancer by addressing her illness publicly during a White House press conference. Thats the way I feel. "First Ladies and the Cultural Everywoman Ideal: Gender Performance and Representation. [33], Ford was also unapologetically pro-abortion rights. Seated (lr): Lady Bird Johnson, Pat Nixon, Rosalynn Carter, Ford; Standing (lr): Nancy Reagan, Barbara Bush, President Bill Clinton speaks with the Fords at the White House ceremony awarding the at a 1999 Presidential Medal of Freedom ceremony, Ford with other U.S. First Ladies at the 1994 National Garden Gala, which was themed "A Tribune to America's First Ladies". "I'm not out to rescue anybody who doesn't want to be rescued," she once said. She instead attended the Bennington School of Dance in Bennington, Vermont, for two summers, where she studied under director Martha Hill with choreographers Martha Graham and Hanya Holm. Elizabeth Bloomer, who was known from childhood as Betty, was born in 1918 in Chicago and grew up in Michigan. Gerald R. Ford, the nation's 38th president, died on this day in 2006. A mutual friend, Peg Neuman, suggested to Gerald that he should ask her out, so he called her. [67] The spike in women self-examining after Ford went public with the diagnosis led to an increase in reported cases of breast cancer, a phenomenon known as the "Betty Ford blip". [7], Ford supported numerous charities as first lady. She became well known for her openness. Betty Ford, the outspoken and much-admired wife of President Gerald R. Ford who overcame alcoholism and an addiction to pills and helped found one of the best-known rehabilitation centers in. Much of this progress began in the 1970s through the voice and advocacy of Betty Ford. That is why I loved this stuff so much. I think its time to bring abortion out of the backwoods and put it in the hospitals, where it belongs. Disregarding criticism to her stance, Ford would remark, Maybe I shouldnt have said it, but I couldnt lie. One day in 1934, when she was 16, Betty came home and her father, a traveling salesman who had recently lost his job, had. 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