Whether we like it or not, our childhoods shape who we become as adults. And the adults who end up in powerful positions shape our country and the lives of its citizens. Now, plenty has been said about the formative years of America’s presidents. But what about the First Ladies?
Whether the wives of our presidents took an active role in politics or stayed behind the scenes, America’s First Ladies have changed the fabric of this nation. And their childhoods made them into who they became.
So, who were America’s First Ladies? Where did they come from? Who were their parents? Were they all as wealthy and educated as we imagine them?
From the tobacco plantations of Old Virginia and the country clubs of 20th-century Texas to the log cabins of North Carolina and Great Depression Georgia, here are where the US’s First Ladies came from.
Martha Washington (1731-1802)
President: George Washington
Birthplace: Chestnut Grove, Virginia (British America)
Maiden Name: Martha Dandridge
Martha Washington was born on June 2, 1731, on the Chestnut Grove tobacco plantation in New Kent County, Colony of Virginia. Martha was the oldest of eight children and was a maternal figure for her siblings. Although her family was not particularly wealthy, Martha received a quality education for women at the time and was raised to act as an upper-class woman.
Abigail Adams (1744-1818)
President: John Adams
Birthplace: Weymouth, Massachusetts Bay (British America)
Maiden Name: Abigail Smith
Abigail was born at the North Parish Congregational Church in Norfolk County, Massachusetts Bay Colony. Her father was a Congregational minister who focused on morality and reason. Abigail did not receive a formal education as she was a sickly child. However, she studied English and French literature from her family’s libraries.
Martha Jefferson Randolph(1772-1836)
President: Thomas Jefferson (father)
Birthplace: Monticello, Virginia (British America)
Martha “Patsy” Jefferson was born on her father’s Charlottesville, Virginia estate, Monticello, in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Her father’s political career affected her childhood, and she lived for a time in Williamsburg, Richmond, Philadelphia, and Paris. As her father’s eldest daughter, she received an exemplary education, trained in French, Latin, dancing, drawing, music, arithmetic, geography, and world history.
Dolley Madison (1768-1849)
President: James Madison
Birthplace: New Garden, Guilford County, North Carolina (British America)
Maiden Name: Dolley Payne
Dolley Madison was born in a log cabin in what is now Greensboro, North Carolina. Her parents were from prominent Virginia families and moved back to Virginia in 1769 when Dolley was a baby, settling in Hanover County. Dolley spent her childhood working on her family’s farm and receiving a strict Quaker education.
Elizabeth Monroe (1768-1830)
President: James Monroe
Birthplace: New York City, New York (British America)
Maiden Name: Elizabeth Kortright
Elizabeth Monroe was born in New York City to a wealthy merchant who helped found the New York Chamber of Commerce. However, wealth couldn’t save young Elizabeth from misery, losing her mother and a sibling at just nine years old and surviving a fire that nearly destroyed her family home. She met James Monroe as a teenager, and the pair married in New York when Elizabeth was 17.
Louisa Adams (1775-1852)
President: James Monroe
Birthplace: London, England
Maiden Name: Louisa Catherine Johnson
Although one of only two First Ladies born outside America, Louisa Adams’ family was involved in American politics, with her father’s brother, Thomas Johnson, being a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Louisa was also the only First Lady born out of wedlock; her American father and British mother married when Louisa was about ten. Despite attracting some contempt, the family lived in a French mansion called “The Temple of Taste,” where Louisa studied French, Greek, and Latin.
Emily Donelson (1807-1836)
President: Andrew Jackson (uncle-in-law)
Birthplace: Donelson, Tennessee
Emily Donelson was born in Donelson, Tennessee, a town 6 miles from Nashville, named for Emily’s family. Emily was raised in rural Tennessee, where she attended a log house school and had little exposure to politics or city life. Despite this, she agreed to become the acting First Lady to her husband’s uncle, President Andrew Jackson, at just 21 years old.
Sarah Jackson (1803-1887)
President: Andrew Jackson (father-in-law)
Birthplace: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Maiden Name: Sarah Yorke
Born into a wealthy Quaker family in Philadelphia, Sarah Jackson lost both her parents before the age of 16 and went to live with her aunts. Little else is known about Sarah’s early life. In 1831, at age 26, Sarah married President Andrew Jackson’s adopted son, Andrew Jackson Jr. The couple lived at Jackson’s plantation, The Hermitage, in Davidson County, Tennessee. Here, Sarah became close with the president, becoming the White House hostess in 1834.
Sarah Angelica Van Buren (1818-1877)
President: Martin Van Buren (father-in-law)
Birthplace: Wedgefield, South Carolina
Maiden Name: Sarah Angelica Singleton
Sarah Angelica Van Buren was born in Sumter County, South Carolina, a rural county in the middle of the state. She received an exemplary education, attending the famed Madame Grelaud’s French School in Philadelphia. Sarah was introduced to her future husband, Martin Van Buren’s son Abraham, by Dolley Madison, and they married in 1838.
Anna Harrison (1775-1864)
President: William Henry Harrison
Birthplace: Morristown, New Jersey (British America)
Maiden Name: Anna Tuthill Symmes
Anna Harrison’s life started out with a bang. After her mother died in 1776, her father, a colonel in the Continental Army, dressed as a British soldier to go behind enemy lines and deliver his daughter to her grandparents in Long Island. As her father was busy serving on the New Jersey Supreme Court and in the Continental Congress, Anna was raised primarily by her grandparents. With them, she received a religious Presbyterian education. Anna reunited with her father in 1794 when she moved to North Bend, Ohio, the town he founded.
Jane Harrison (1804-1847)
President: William Henry Harrison (father-in-law)
Birthplace: Mercersburg, Pennsylvania
Maiden Name: Jane Irwin
One of twelve children, Jane Harrison was born in a mansion in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, to a successful miller. While visiting her aunt in North Bend, Ohio, she met William Henry Harrison’s son, whom she married in 1824, just before her 20th birthday. The marriage was rocky as William Henry Harrison Jr. preferred alcohol and gambling to his family. However, Jane did get two sons from the marriage and went on to become First Lady after her husband’s death.
Letitia Tyler (1790-1842)
President: John Tyler
Birthplace: Providence Forge, Virginia
Maiden Name: Letitia Christian
Letitia Tyler was born in New Kent County, Virginia, to a politically connected father who knew George Washington. Although she did not receive a formal education, she was raised as a devout Episcopalian and lauded for her piety and chastity. Letitia met John Tyler in 1808, and they courted for five years. In keeping with Letitia’s strict religious beliefs, they kept their courtship formal, with Tyler only giving one short kiss on the hand before their wedding.
Priscilla Tyler (1816-1889)
President: John Tyler (father-in-law)
Birthplace: New York City, New York
Maiden Name: Elizabeth Priscilla Cooper
Priscilla Tyler was born to a socialite mother and an actor and producer father. The difference in social class caused quite an uproar in early 19th-century New York City. However, Priscilla seems to have taken more after her father, acting with him at age 17 in the 1820 tragedy Virginius. She met John Tyler’s son, Robert, when he became enamored with her after seeing her play Desdemona in a Richmond production of Othello.
Julia Tyler (1820-1889)
President: John Tyler
Birthplace: Gardiner’s Island, New York
Maiden Name: Julia Gardiner
Julia Gardiner was born on tiny Gardiner’s Island. (Near Long Island, Gardiner is a 5.2 square mile stretch of land purchased by her ancestor Lion Gardiner in 1639 from a Montaukett chief). Julia attended Chagaray Institute in New York, where she studied music, ancient history, composition, French literature, and arithmetic. Her parents also taught her to be a polite socialite. However, she became embroiled in a scandal at age 20 when she appeared alongside an unknown man in a department store ad. Her family took her on a European tour until talk died down.
Sarah Polk (1803-1891)
President: James K. Polk
Birthplace: Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Maiden Name: Sarah Childress
Sarah Polk was born in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, about 30 miles southeast of Nashville. She received a top education for a woman of her time, attending Salem Academy in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, a girl’s school founded on the idea that women should receive an equal education to men. Sarah met her future husband, James K. Polk, when she was 12 years old, and they were married eight years later. Allegedly, Andrew Jackson urged Polk to marry Sarah, calling her “wealthy, pretty, ambitious, and intelligent”.
Margaret “Peggy” Taylor (1788-1852)
President: Zachary Taylor
Birthplace: Calvert County, Maryland
Maiden Name: Margaret Mackall Smith
Peggy Taylor was born in Maryland to a veteran officer of the American Revolution. Her education focused on subjects that would make her a desired wife, including music, embroidery, horseback riding, and dancing. She also attended a finishing school in New York City. After her father died in 1804, Peggy moved to Louisville, Kentucky, to be with her sister. Here, she met Lieutenant Zachary Taylor, marrying him in her sister’s log cabin in 1809.
Abigail Fillmore (1798-1853)
President: Millard Fillmore
Birthplace: Stillwater, New York
Maiden Name: Abigail Powers
Abigail Fillmore was born in Saratoga County, New York. Her father was a Baptist minister, and her mother was a schoolteacher. After her father died in 1800, her mother took control of her education, schooling her in government, history, philosophy, geography, and math. At 16, Abigail became a teacher in Sempronius, New York, making her the first First Lady to have had a career before becoming the White House hostess.
Jane Pierce (1806-1863)
President: Franklin Pierce
Birthplace: Hampton, New Hampshire
Maiden Name: Jane Means Appleton
Jane Pierce was born on the Atlantic coast in Hampton, New Hampshire. Her father was a devoted Congregationalist minister—so devout, in fact, that his fasting led to his death in 1819. Young Jane was also pious, abandoning her love of literature and music to focus on Bible study.
Harriet Lane (1830-1903)
President: James Buchanan (uncle)
Birthplace: Franklin County, Pennsylvania
Born in south-central Pennsylvania in 1830, Harriet Lane lost both her parents by age 11. When asked who she wished to care for her, she requested her favorite uncle, Pennsylvania senator and future President James Buchanan. Buchanan agreed and sent her to a boarding school in Charles Town, Virginia. Later, he paid for her to attend Georgetown Visitation Monastery in Georgetown, Washington, DC. In 1854, Harriet followed her dear uncle to London, where she met Queen Victoria and other court members.
Mary Todd Lincoln (1818-1882)
President: Abraham Lincoln
Birthplace: Lexington, Kentucky
Birth Name: Mary Ann Todd
Mary Todd Lincoln was born in Lexington, Kentucky, one of the wealthiest cities west of the Allegheny Mountains. She started her education early, becoming fluent in French and studying music, dance, and drama. She was well-versed in politics, eventually marrying a fellow Whig, Abraham Lincoln, at age 23.
Eliza Johnson (1810-1876)
President: Andrew Johnson
Birthplace: Telford, Tennessee
Birth Name: Eliza McCardle
Eliza Johnson was born in east Tennessee in the Appalachian foothills. She grew up in a modest home; her father was a cobbler and innkeeper. After his death, her mother supported the family by weaving. In Greeneville, Eliza met and married a tailor’s apprentice, the future President Andrew Johnson, and she provided him with much of his formal education.
Julia Grant (1826-1902)
President: Ulysses S. Grant
Birthplace: St. Louis, Missouri
Birth Name: Julia Boggs Dent
Julia Grant was born on the 850-acre White Haven estate near St. Louis, Missouri. As a plantation, the land was worked by about 30 enslaved people. Coming from a wealthy family, Julia had many opportunities and became an excellent horseback rider, a skilled pianist, and enjoyed reading novels. In the mid-1840s, Julia’s brother introduced her to a fellow West Point student, Ulysses S. Grant, who gave her his class ring as a sign of his affection. Despite uncertainty from their parents, Ulysses and Julia married in 1848 after his return from the Mexican-American War.
Lucy Hayes (1831-1889)
President: Rutherford B. Hayes
Birthplace: Chillicothe, Ohio
Birth Name: Lucy Ware Webb
Lucy Hayes was born into a Methodist family in Ross County, Ohio. In 1844, her family moved to Delaware, Ohio, where her two brothers enrolled in Ohio Wesleyan University to become medical doctors. Lucy, who wished to study with them, entered the school’s college prep program. Later, she graduated from Cincinnati Wesleyan Female College with a BA. While there, she wrote about social and religious issues, as well as women’s equality.
Lucretia Garfield (1832-1918)
President: James A. Garfield
Birthplace: Garrettsville, Ohio
Birth Name: Lucretia Rudolph
Lucretia Garfield was born in the Allegheny Plateau region of Northeast Ohio in April 1832. As a sickly child, she spent a lot of time in bed, where she developed a love of reading. At 18, she began attending Hiram College in Portage County, Ohio, where she studied literature and contributed to the school’s magazine. She also picked up feminist beliefs, such as the right to equal pay. However, she later abandoned these ideas.
Mary McElroy (1841-1917)
President: Chester A. Arthur (brother)
Birthplace: Greenwich, New York
Birth Name: Mary Arthur
Mary Arthur McElroy was the youngest of nine children born to a Vermonter mother and an Irish father. She attended the progressive Emma Willard School Seminary in Troy, New York. While there, she studied geography, science, and history. With her superior education, she began teaching at a school in Edgecombe County, North Carolina. In 1861, she married John Edward McElroy, an insurance salesman and reverend, and moved to Albany, New York.
Rose Cleveland (1846-1918)
President: Grover Cleveland (brother)
Birthplace: Fayetteville, New York
Rose Cleveland did not let being a female in 19th-century America hold her back. As a child, she preferred spending time outdoors to more traditional ‘girl’ activities. Rose also received a top-of-the-line education paid for by her brother and future president, Grover Cleveland. Later, she became a teacher of literature, Latin, and math, leading classes in Indiana, Pennsylvania, and New York.
Frances Cleveland (1864-1947)
President: Grover Cleveland
Birthplace: Buffalo, New York
Birth Name: Frances Clara Folsom
Frances Cleveland was born into a comfortable family in Buffalo, New York. As a child, her father was in a law partnership with her future husband, Grover Cleveland. However, her father’s gambling addiction ultimately led to financial ruin. When her father died in 1875, Grover took charge of his estate and became Frances’ unofficial guardian. After leaving high school at 17, Cleveland used his authority as the mayor of Buffalo to provide her with a certificate of completion so she could attend college.
Caroline Harrison (1832-1892)
President: Benjamin Harrison
Birthplace: Oxford, Ohio
Birth Name: Caroline Lavinia Scott
Caroline Harrison was born into a Presbyterian and abolitionist family active in the Underground Railroad. As progressives, they believed in women’s education, and Caroline attended a girl’s school founded by her father. While at school, she began a courtship with one of her father’s students, Benjamin Harrison. They would sneak off for buggy rides and dance parties before marrying in 1853.
Mary Harrison McKee (1858-1930)
President: Benjamin Harrison (father)
Birthplace: Indianapolis, Indiana
Birth Name: Mary Scott Harrison
Mary Harrison McKee was an artistic child, learning the piano and art from her mother. She also took an interest in dance, but her father (President Benjamin Harrison) forbade it on religious grounds. When her father was elected to the Senate in 1881, Mary moved with her family to Washington, DC. But she hated the city and moved back to Indiana. She returned to DC after her father became president, a campaign she helped run.
Ida McKinley (1847-1907)
President: William McKinley
Birthplace: Canton, Ohio
Birth Name: Ida Saxton
Even before she was First Lady, Ida McKinley led an eventful life. As a child, she learned accounting, finance, linguistics, and music, and teachers described her as brilliant. She also performed at Schaefer’s Opera House in 1868 and afterward managed her father’s bank in his absence. In 1869, she toured Europe, where she met Pope Pius IX and hiked in the Swiss Alps.
Edith Roosevelt (1861-1948)
President: Theodore Roosevelt
Birthplace: Norwich, Connecticut
Birth Name: Edith Kermit Carow
Edith Roosevelt was born to a gambling addict and unsuccessful businessman father and a hypochondriac mother. To distract herself from her unstable parents, she spent time with her best friend, Corinne Roosevelt, with whom she watched Abraham Lincoln’s funeral procession. Edith became close with Corinne’s brother, Theodore, bonding over their shared love of literature. Edith and Theodore grew close but suffered a falling out in 1878 that left them estranged for six years before rekindling their attraction.
Helen “Nellie” Taft (1861-1943)
President: William Howard Taft
Birthplace: Cincinnati, Ohio
Birth Name: Helen Louise Herron
Born into a well-connected family, Nellie Taft took an interest in politics from a young age. However, issues with her family and a longing for independence pushed her to take up smoking, drinking, and gambling. She rebounded quickly, though, studying at Miami University and the University of Cincinnati. She also started teaching after graduation. Later, she founded a salon to discuss intellectual topics. Here, she became close with her future husband, William Howard Taft.
Ellen Wilson (1860-1914)
President: Woodrow Wilson
Birthplace: Savannah, Georgia
Birth Name: Ellen Louise Axson
Ellen Wilson grew up in Georgia, where she studied art, music, and literature at the Rome Female College in Georgia. Gifted at drawing, one of her pictures earned a bronze medal at the Paris International Exposition. Ellen met Woodrow Wilson in Rome (GA) at 22 years old, and they were engaged five months later. However, the wedding was postponed so the pair could continue their education. He studied at Johns Hopkins University while she attended the Art Students League of New York.
Margaret Wilson (1886-1944)
President: Woodrow Wilson (father)
Birthplace: Gainesville, Georgia
Margaret Wilson was born in Gainesville, Georgia to Woodrow and Ellen Wilson. Growing up, Margaret lived surrounded by academics, as her father taught at Bryn Mawr College, Wesleyan University, and then Princeton University. Margaret attended Groucher College in Baltimore and the Peabody Institute. Margaret was only the second first lady to support women’s suffrage, after Helen Taft.
Edith Wilson (1872-1961)
President: Woodrow Wilson
Birthplace: Wytheville, Virginia
Birth Name: Edith Bolling
Edith Wilson was born into one of the oldest and most well-connected Virginia families. She was related through blood or marriage to Pocahontas, Thomas Jefferson, and Martha Washington. Yet, though the Bollings had a prestigious name, they lost a large amount of wealth after their enslaved people were freed following emancipation. As part of a falling family, Edith obtained little formal schooling. She was taught mainly by her disabled grandmother from her bed. Despite this, Edith received a well-rounded education with instruction in French, dressmaking, English literature, music, and religion.
Florence Harding (1860-1924)
President: Warren G. Harding
Birthplace: Marion, Ohio
Birth Name: Florence Mabel Kling
Florence Harding was born above her father’s hardware store in Marion, Ohio, in August 1860. She received an unusual education for a woman of her time, trained in classics, banking, farm management, and real estate. Her ‘masculine’ education possibly came because her father wanted a son instead. At age 19, Florence eloped with a warehouse worker named Henry Atherton De Wolfe. The marriage ended in divorce six years later due to Henry’s drinking and his attempt to rob a train.
Grace Coolidge
President: Calvin Coolidge
Birthplace: Burlington, Vermont
Birth Name: Grace Anna Goodhue
Grace Coolidge was born an only child in Burlington, Vermont, in January 1879. She attended school in Burlington and later enrolled at the University of Vermont. There, Grace acted in Shakespeare productions and joined the Glee Club. After completing her undergrad degree, she studied lip reading and taught at the Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech.
Lou Hoover
President: Herbert Hoover
Birthplace: Waterloo, Iowa
Birth Name: Lou Henry
Although born in Iowa, Lou Hoover grew up in Whittier and Monterey, California. In this environment, she discovered her love of the outdoors. Breaking the gender norms of the time, Lou played basketball and baseball and enjoyed camping, riding horses, and archery. She later attended Stanford University and became one of the first women in the nation to receive a bachelor’s degree in geology.
Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962)
President: Franklin D. Roosevelt
Birthplace: New York City, New York
Birth Name: Anna Eleanor Roosevelt (Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelt were fifth cousins)
Eleanor Roosevelt was born into an affluent New York family, yet her childhood was steeped in turmoil. Her mother and brother died of diphtheria when she was 8. Her father, meanwhile, was an alcoholic who expired from a seizure after jumping from a window. She was also involved in a ship accident at age 2. The event gave her a lifelong fear of boat travel and the ocean.
Bess Truman (1885-1982)
President: Harry S. Truman
Birthplace: Independence, Missouri
Birth Name: Elizabeth Virginia Wallace
Born in western Missouri in 1885, Bess Truman was a sporty child who enjoyed basketball, baseball, dancing, tennis, golf, and horseback riding. The major turning point of Bess’ young life was her father’s suicide in 1903 when she was 18. The taking of his own life led to ridicule, causing her mother to become a recluse. The family then moved to Colorado Springs, where Bess cared for her three younger brothers.
Mamie Eisenhower (1896-1979)
President: Dwight D. Eisenhower
Birthplace: Boone, Iowa
Birth Name: Mary Geneva Doud
Mamie Eisenhower was born in central Iowa but also lived in Cedar Rapids, Pueblo (Colorado), San Antonio, Denver, and Colorado Springs. Her father was a meatpacking executive who amassed a sizeable fortune, allowing Mamie and her sisters to be cared for by servants. Despite the family’s wealth, Mamie received limited schooling, although her father taught her finance.
Jacqueline “Jackie” Kennedy Onassis (1929-1994)
President: John F. Kennedy
Birthplace: Southampton, New York
Birth Name: Jacqueline Lee Bouvier
Jacqueline Kennedy spent her early years in Manhattan and Long Island until her parents’ divorce, when she moved into her stepfather’s estate in McLean, Virginia. As a child, Jacqueline was bright but often misbehaved. Her mother attributed her deviance to boredom with the standard curriculum. As an adult, Jacqueline followed her love of reading and graduated from George Washington University with a BA in French literature.
Lady Bird Johnson (1912-2007)
President: Lyndon B. Johnson
Birthplace: Karnack, Texas
Birth Name: Claudia Alta Taylor
Lady Bird Johnson grew up in eastern Texas, near the Louisiana border. But after her mother’s death, she spent a lot of time with her aunt in Autauga County, Alabama. Lady Bird was a reserved child, preferring to play by herself in the creek rather than with other children. While attending college at the University of Texas – where she double majored in history and journalism – her friends claimed she became more outgoing and self-confident.
Thelma “Pat” Nixon (1912-1993)
President: Richard Nixon
Birthplace: Ely, Nevada
Birth Name: Thelma Catherine Nixon
Pat Nixon was born in a mining town in Nevada, but her family moved to Los Angeles County when she was an infant. As a child and young woman, Pat took on many jobs to support her family and college education, working for a time as a janitor, bookkeeper, telephone operator, typist, radiographer, pharmacy manager, driver, sales clerk, teacher, and actress. She later told Gloria Steinem about her early years, “I never had time to think about things like… who I wanted to be, or who I admired, or to have ideas. I never had time to dream about being anyone else. I had to work”.
Betty Ford (1918-2011)
President: Gerald Ford
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois
Birth Name: Elizabeth Anne Bloomer
Betty Ford was born in Chicago in the final months of WWI but later lived in Denver and Grand Rapids, Michigan. As a youth, she enjoyed dance and fashion, even starting her own dance school while still in high school. Betty also liked engaging with people with disabilities, working at the Mary Free Bed Home for Crippled Children, and teaching ballroom dancing to blind and deaf kids.
Rosalynn Carter (1927-2023)
President: Jimmy Carter
Birthplace: Plains, Georgia
Birth Name: Eleanor Rosalynn Smith
Rosalynn Carter came from an impoverished family. Her father worked as a mechanic and farmer, and her mother was a postal worker, dressmaker, and teacher. Despite the scarcity, Rosalynn said she never felt poor because the other families around her weren’t well-off either. As a child, Rosalynn dreamed of being an architect and had an interest in airplanes. However, she canceled her college plans after marrying Jimmy Carter just before her 19th birthday.
Nancy Reagan (1921-2016)
President: Ronald Reagan
Birthplace: New York City, New York
Birth Name: Anne Frances Robbins
Nancy Reagan spent her infancy in Flushing, Queens, until her parents’ separation shortly after her birth. She then went to live with her aunt in Bethesda, Maryland, as her mother traveled the country looking for acting work. Her mother remarried in 1929, settling down with her new husband in Chicago. Nancy described her step-father as “a man of great integrity who exemplified old-fashioned values.” He adopted her in 1938.
Barbara Bush (1925-2018)
President: George H. W. Bush
Birthplace: New York City, New York
Birth Name: Barbara Pierce
Born to successful businessman Marvin Pierce, Barbara Bush grew up with servants attending to her needs. Yet, despite the family’s well-to-do lifestyle, Barbara felt largely unhappy. She often argued with her mother, whom she saw as neglectful and pessimistic. Barbara met George H. W. Bush at a Christmas dance at the Greenwich Country Club, and after his WWII service, they married in January 1945.
Hillary Clinton (1947-Present)
President: Bill Clinton
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois
Birth Name: Hillary Diane Rodham
Hillary Clinton was born in Chicago’s Edgewater Hospital in 1947. She spent her childhood in Cook County, where she participated in swimming, softball, and Girl Scouts. Hillary also dreamed of being an astronaut and, as a teenager, wrote a letter to NASA asking for career advice. She was disappointed when they told her they didn’t allow women in the program. In 1965, Hillary enrolled at Wellesley College, where she became president of the Wellesley Young Republicans. However, her political views became more liberal as she took an interest in the Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War.
Laura Bush (1946-Present)
President: George W. Bush
Birthplace: Midland, Texas
Birth Name: Laura Lane Welch
Laura Bush grew up in West Texas, where her mother taught her to appreciate literature. In particular, she cites Little Women and Little House on the Prairie as favorites. She attended schools in Midland, Texas, where teachers helped cultivate her love of learning. This passion eventually led to a BS in education in 1968 from Dallas’ Southern Methodist University. Yet, despite what seems to have been a happy childhood, tragedy befell Laura when she ran a stop sign at age 17, killing a friend and classmate. She would later state that this event caused her to lose her faith for many years.
Michelle Obama (1964-Present)
President: Barack Obama
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois
Birth Name: Michelle LaVaughn Robinson
Michelle Obama was born in Chicago to a city water plant employee and a homemaker. Her father had multiple sclerosis, a debilitating disease that Michelle later said had a profound effect on her. After graduating from high school as a salutatorian, she entered Princeton University. While there, she majored in sociology and minored in African American studies. Her senior thesis was a 99-page work entitled “Princeton Educated Blacks and the Black Community.”
Melania Trump (1970-Present)
President: Donald Trump
Birthplace: Novo Mesto, SR Slovenia, Yugoslavia
Birth Name: Melanija Knavs
Melania Trump was born in what is today Slovenia. Her father sold car parts for a state-owned auto producer, and her mother was a patternmaker for a children’s clothing manufacturer. Her father was involved in one of Yugoslavia’s communist parties, but despite outwardly supporting state atheism, he had his daughters baptized as Catholic. Growing up in the textile town of Sevnica, Melania became interested in fashion. She later attended the Secondary School for Design and Photography in Ljubljana.
Jill Biden (1951-Present)
President: Joe Biden
Birthplace: Hammonton, New Jersey
Birth Name: Jill Tracy Jacobs
Jill Biden grew up in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, moving around because of her father’s banking career. Though her parents described themselves as ‘agnostic realists,’ Jill attended Presbyterian services with her grandmother. She would have herself confirmed in the Presbyterian faith at age 16. As an adult, Jill followed her love of English studies and graduated from the University of Delaware with a BA in English in 1975.
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