Photos of this moment were published widely in the American press, resulting in Betty Ford somewhat upstaging President Ford in the press. By the time Betty Ford became first lady in August 1974the month her husband, Gerald Ford, succeeded Richard Nixon the former dancer had already been taking prescription pills for years to. [3], Spiro Agnew resigned as vice president on October 10, 1973. ", Tasha N. Dubriwny, "Constructing breast cancer in the news: Betty Ford and the evolution of the breast cancer patient.". "Ford. [31] Active in social policy, Ford broke new ground as a politically active presidential spouse. [87] She served as chair of the board of directors. YouTube. [84], Funeral services were held in Palm Desert, California, on July 12, 2011, with more than 800 people in attendance, including former president George W. Bush, then-First Lady Michelle Obama, then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, herself a former First Lady, former First Ladies Rosalynn Carter, who gave a eulogy,[76] and Nancy Reagan. Ford made the decision that year to erect a tent in the White House Rose Garden to host dinners outside. Ford succeeded in getting sober. Betty Ford, the first lady of the United States from 1974 to 1977, died at the age of 93. We were proud to call her a friend.". And I loved pills. "Competing conceptions of the first ladyship: Public responses to Betty Ford's 60 Minutes interview. [50] In 1974, Ford placed second in the poll. [45][48], Ford was popular with the American public. Penn State World Campus (2013). His wife, Betty, was the first lady during this time period. The Fords' children often also attended the dinners they hosted. She was working in a fashion job in Grand Rapids where Gerald lived. One of the major strengths of authentic leadership is that it fulfills and expressed need for trustworthy leadership in society. "[28] Ford ultimately became a popular and impactful first lady. By not being the "political wife" of self-sacrificing legend, she both reflected and advanced public views about women in politics. During her brief turn as first lady in the height of the "Swinging . [99] On May 8, 2003, Ford received the Woodrow Wilson Award in Los Angeles for her public service, awarded by the Woodrow Wilson Center of the Smithsonian Institution. [69], Among the most notable state dinners the Fords hosted was a July 7, 1976 state dinner honoring Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. She became an advocate for breast cancer research and early detection. During and after her years in the White House, 1974 to 1977, Mrs. Ford won . You may not think that creating a humane, healing environment for people with addiction is a remarkable concept. Neither was shy about their mutual love and equal respect, and they were known to have a strong personal and political partnership. President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also cited Ford's dedication to woman's rights and substance abuse issues, and recalled honoring her during her lifetime. Reagan had contrasting views on issues such as drug experimentation by teenagers and the Equal Rights Amendment (which she opposed passing). Betty Ford saw her role in the White House as official hostess and a goodwill ambassador. When did Betty Ford die? [24] However, by the spring of 1974, Ford was seen as embracing her position as second lady, becoming less reclusive and more active. The union did not last, and they divorced amicably several years later. Betty Ford, the former First Lady of the United States who died on July 8 aged 93, exemplified the American virtue of positive thinking to overcome illness and addiction, and used her . [3][12] With her husband assuming the office of vice president, Ford became the second lady of the United States. [5] After he recovered, they were divorced on September 22, 1947. Ford, who died Friday at age 93, was not intimidated by the public spotlight, and used her position to passionately promote causes important to her. The official cause of death was listed as carbon monoxide poisoning despite the garage door being open, but Betty acknowledged later in her life that her father very likely died by suicide. Showtime's "The First Lady" flips the camera's focus to the women who brought about transformational change from the East Wing of the White House. Shortly after becoming president in 1974, Ford said, "I am indebted to no man and to only one woman, my dear wife.". JAKE TAPPER, KATIE HINMAN and MARTHA RADDATZ, founder of the Betty Ford Center for substance abuse and addiction. [45] A Ford family friend said that he "about fell off his chair" when he saw the photo for the first time. What many don't know is that she was also a talented modern dancer. In addition to founding the Betty Ford Center, she remained active in women's issues, taking on numerous speaking engagements and lending her name to charities for fundraising. YouTube Betty White showing off her aquarium. "I just think it's important to say how easy it is to slip into a dependency on pills or alcohol, and how hard it is to admit that dependency.". Betty Ford Biography Betty Ford, the United States' first lady, was born on April 8, 1918. John Robert Greene. [15] This open affection was evident from the beginning of Gerald Ford's presidency. [7] Due to conservative backlash from Ford's comments on premarital sex, marijuana use, and abortion in a 1975 60 Minutes interview, President Ford initially quipped to her that her comments had lost him a large number of votes. [105] In terms of cumulative assessment, Ford has been ranked: The 2008 Siena Research Institute survey ranked Ford the 5th-highest of the twenty 20th and 21st century First Ladies. Most of all we wanted the state dinners to express the very best about America, particularly during the bicentennial year. Betty had a history of taking opioid painkillers for a pinched nerve since the 1960s (which is also alluded to in episode 1 of 'The First Lady'). As our nation's first lady, she was a powerful advocate for women's health and women's rights. Following her White House years, she continued to lobby for the ERA and remained active in the feminist movement. She was 93 years old when she died. Her overall approval rating was, at times, as high as 75%. The former, then in her 90s, sent the latter a letter in 2009, shortly after Barack Obama's presidential inauguration. Because she suffered, there will be more healing. This is my problem". In public, she was one of the most visible and outspoken first ladies in history. She supported the equal rights amendment and the legalization of abortion. In this statement, Ford disclosed, "I have found I am not only addicted to the medication I have been taking for my arthritis but also to alcohol". We were proud to know her. Throughout her husband's term in office, she maintained high approval ratings and was considered to be an influential first lady. She was also awarded the Congressional Gold Medal as a co-recipient with President Ford in 1998. LOS ANGELES (AP) Betty White, whose saucy, up-for-anything charm made her a television mainstay for more than 60 years, whether as a man-crazy TV hostess on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" or the loopy housemate on "The Golden Girls," has died. After recovering, she founded and served as the first chair of the board of directors of the Betty Ford Center for substance abuse and addiction. Betty Ford was known as a vivacious activist for women's rights. "When other women have this same operation, it doesn't make any headlines," she told Time. She decided to establish the Betty Ford Center with gender specific treatment for men and women (Northouse, 2013) Northouse, P. G. (2013). [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. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Betty_Ford&oldid=1133654245, Dubriwny, Tasha N. "Constructing breast cancer in the news: Betty Ford and the evolution of the breast cancer patient. As a supporter of abortion rights and a leader in the women's rights movement, she gained fame as one of the most candid first ladies in history, commenting on the hot-button issues of the time, such as feminism, equal pay, the Equal Rights Amendment, sex, drugs, abortion, and gun control. [18], Ford served as a parent-teacher association member, Sunday school teacher at Immanuel Church-on-the-Hill, and a Cub Scout "den mother". [3][5], In 1942, Elizabeth Bloomer married William G. Warren,[5][4] whom she had known since she was 12. She made countless contributions to our country, and we especially appreciate her courage in calling attention to breast cancer and substance abuse. Best known for her leadership in the founding of the Betty Ford Clinic in California to treat addiction. [117], Second Lady of the United States (19731974), First Lady of the United States (19741977), Ranking in Gallup's annual poll of "Most Admired Women", Recovery from alcoholism and prescription drug addiction, Steinhauer, Jennifer (December 31, 2006). Fellow first lady Nancy Reagan also was "deeply saddened" by the news. In 1982, she co-founded the Betty Ford Center in California. Hazelden . It was something the couple neither expected or wanted, Betty Ford recalled in her memoirs. Among the nations that Ford accompanied her husband to were China, Poland, Romania, and Yugoslavia. "[66] Her openness about her cancer and treatment raised the visibility of a disease that Americans had previously been reluctant to talk about. [98] That same year, a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars was dedicated to her and her husband. Ford's failure to conduct a solo trip is not all that extraordinary, however. [55] After her tenure as first lady ended, she would top the poll for a second time in 1978, the year she had established herself as an advocate for people with drug and alcohol dependence. [25] The first of these came only a week into Ford's presidency, hosting King Hussein of Jordan on August 16, 1974. 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. She explained that, while her husband had attended two sessions with a psychiatric doctor, those sessions were for her care, and not care of his own. [34] Ford's popularity often was higher than her husband's. She was raised by her parents William and Hortense Bloomer. 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. She recalled that the first time she heard someone call her father an alcoholic was at his funeral. [33], Ford was also unapologetically pro-abortion rights. [19] Ford's abortion position differed from the political platform of the Republican Party. ABC News' David Reiter and Michael S. James contributed to this report. [3], In 2013, Ford was posthumously inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame. [65] Ford decided to be open about her illness because "There had been so much cover-up during Watergate that we wanted to be sure there would be no cover-up in the Ford administration. [84], In 1987, Ford underwent quadruple coronary bypass surgery and recovered without complications. [3][97] In 1999, she and President Ford were jointly awarded Congressional Gold Medals. Much of this progress began in the 1970s through the voice and advocacy of Betty Ford. 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. Betty's two older brothers were Robert (d. 1971) and William Jr. After the family lived briefly in Denver, Colorado, she grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where she graduated from Central High School. develop an addiction to prescription medication, 1974 United States House of Representatives election, 1972 United States House of Representatives elections, joint session of the United States Congress, Ford filmed an interview with the television news program, National Commission on the Observance of International Women's Year, secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Prime Minister of the Republic of Vietnam, List of state dinners in the United States, wine from the Fords' home state of Michigan, discrimination in the United States military, List of breast cancer patients according to occupation, List of first ladies of the United States, Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum, "Betty Ford Dies at Age 93; A Look Back on the Former First Lady", "Betty Ford, Again Putting On a Brave Face", "Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum", "The 38th First Lady: not a robot at all", "Betty Ford, Former First Lady, Dies at 93", "Betty's life changed dramatically once she became", "Friends Asking: 'Is There A New Betty Ford? [103], Only a part of Betty Ford's legacy will be that of her role as first lady. But the main point was, it was best for the country.". July 8, 2011 -- Betty Ford, wife of former President Gerald Ford and the founder of the Betty Ford Center for substance abuse and addiction, has died at age 93. [33] Ford took personal credit for the appointment of Carla Anderson Hills as secretary of Housing and Urban Development. For more, click here: http://abcn.ws/BettyFordRIP As First Lady of the United States from 1974-1977, Betty Ford was known for her candor. [3] After the interview aired, a number of Ford's remarks in this interview on hot-button issues generated particularly immense media attention. "This is not a lack of willpower, this is a disease," she said at the time. In private, she triumphed over serious personal adversity. This led her to seek psychiatric assistance. After her initial anger over the intrusion in her life, Betty remained. AP. TMZ was the first to report the news.. A cerebrovascular accident, commonly known as a stroke, is a loss of blood flow to part of the brain, which damages brain tissue. [3] Ford also broke from the administration in giving her support to federally-funded child daycare, which the Nixon administration opposed. In another instance, she commented, "it's just impossible for me to lie and look someone in the eyes and talk to them. Though I told myself I would just use once. This experience has been credited with further cementing Ford's understanding of gender-based income inequalities between individuals doing the same work. Become a member and. Her mother remarried, to family friend and neighbor Arthur Meigs Godwin, and Bloomer lived with them. The November 12, 1974 state dinner for Austrian Chancellor Bruno Kreisky saw the first instance in which a wine from the Fords' home state of Michigan was served at a White House state dinner, with wine from the Tabor Hill Winery being served. [78] In June 1977, Ford was a speaker at the Arthritis Association Convention. "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. As first lady, she was active in social policy and set a precedent as a politically active presidential spouse. Betty Ford "became known for her openness and candor" (Northouse, 2013) and remained true to herself, she did not change who she was, or her core values because of her new position as First Lady. He died of a heart attack just four years after leaving office. She served as the honorary president of the National Lupus Foundation, regarding lupus as a disease which impacted women, yet received minimal public attention. In April 1974, she made her first official solo trip as second lady when she spent two-days visiting the states of Georgia and Tennessee to help in publicizing the "ARTRAIN", which was a traveling exhibit of art, visual displays, and performance pieces housed in six railway cars, and which was to travel through small towns across the southern United States. White whose full . [3], Ford had an extremely busy schedule by July 1974. [14] The Fords would ultimately be married for the next 58 years, until Gerald Ford's death. [53], In Good Housekeeping's annual readers' poll of most admired women, Ford placed second in 1974[60] and first in 1975. Her acceptance speech spoke hopefully of the prospect that attitudes towards HIV/AIDS would shift, being de-stigmatized as cancer and alcoholism had (in part due to her contribution). [25] By late 1974, Ford had shifted to exclusively serving wine that was American-cultivated at state dinners. That same year, People named Ford one of the three most intriguing people in America. Watch the video to find out if Betty White died in her sleep.#BettyWhite #RIP #CelebNewsRead Full Article: https://www.nickiswift.com/722297/did-betty-white-. Dance developed into a passion for her, and she decided she wanted to seek a career in it. Thus, Michelle Obama did, in fact, receive a letter from Betty Ford soon after she moved into the White House. Gerald Ford was in the middle of his campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives. [75], During the Fords' 1976 trip to mainland China, when being shown an exhibition by a Chinese arts college dance group, Ford decided to join the dancers. In his remarks at his inauguration, Gerald Ford remarked, "I am indebted to no man and only one woman, my dear wife, Betty, as I begin this very difficult job. Betty Ford was a former First Lady of the United States (August 9th, 1974 - January 20th, 1977). She wrote about it in her book, "A Glad Awakening." After leaving. "[3][13] For their honeymoon, the two briefly traveled to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where they attended a college football game between the Michigan Wolverines and the Northwestern Wildcats, before driving to Owosso, Michigan, to attend a campaign rally for Republican presidential nominee Thomas Dewey. Mrs. Betty Ford. Ford was also observed as upgrading her wardrobe, adding designer clothing. Betty Ford was 93 years old when she died; therefore, she can be said to have died from old age. Married and divorced in her 20s, in 1947 her life changed forever when she met Gerald R. Ford. Elizabeth Anne Ford (ne Bloomer; formerly Warren;[2] April 8, 1918 July 8, 2011) was the first lady of the United States from 1974 to 1977, as the wife of President Gerald Ford. During his testimony, Gerald Ford was questioned about attending psychiatric care. ", President George W. Bush said he and his wife Laura "admired her as a first lady and valued her as a friend. After this, Betty Ford was transparent with the news media that she had received psychiatric care. [3] The broadcast of the interview saw strong interest from the public. 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. Ford had believed it to be of great importance for the administration to show an expression of direct concern pertaining to the assassination, while Nixon's staff disagreed with her. 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