Six first ladies at the dedication of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in 1991. Oftentimes, first ladies take on a public project or cause: Jackie Kennedy, for instance, championed historic preservation, while Claudia “Lady Bird” Johnson established a center dedicated to wildflowers and native plants. Initially envisioned as a hostess, with first ladies welcoming visitors to the White House and presiding over social events, the position has “evolved over time to … an adviser to the president,” says Katherine Jellison, a scholar of first ladies at Ohio University.
“There is no job description for the first lady,” and the titleholder receives no salary. The first lady is a role “that does not exist in the Constitution, in any written-down way,” says Graddy.
Here’s what you need to know about the true history behind “The First Lady”-and the office it explores-ahead of its premiere on Sunday, April 17. The showrunner adds, “inding that living in that house turned out to be a benefit to themselves, to their families, to their country, ultimately, was a really interesting unifier.”Įach episode features moments in the three women’s lives and explores how they thematically intersect. And Michelle was absolutely terrified for the lives of herself and her family.” “And Betty went into the White House kicking and screaming. She didn’t want to be there as first lady,” Schulman says. “Eleanor wanted to be there, but only if she could be president. Despite their many differences, executive producer Cathy Schulman tells Variety that the trio shared a key conviction: “one of them wanted to be there.” The ten-episode first season follows the women from their youth to their courtships with their future husbands to the campaign trail and beyond. “ The First Lady,” a new Showtime series created by Aaron Cooley, dramatizes the challenges faced by three first wives: Eleanor Roosevelt (portrayed by Gillian Anderson), Betty Ford (Michelle Pfeiffer) and Michelle Obama (Viola Davis). And it doesn’t come with political aspects, but you’re treated as if it did.” “You have all of the public aspects of the job. “When people are going to criticize everything from the causes you support to the china that you pick to the clothing that you wear, how do you navigate that?” asks Lisa Kathleen Graddy, curator of the first ladies collection at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. From Louisa Adams to Melania Trump, numerous first ladies have proven reluctant to take on the role. Shortly after Martha Washington became the inaugural first lady of the United States, she described her life in a letter to her niece as “more like a state prisoner than anything else.” Though Washington eventually adjusted to her status as a presidential spouse, her initial reaction to the unofficial position proved prescient for generations of first ladies.
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