"A position where I can do the most good..." - Eleanor RooseveltAt lest 57 women have held the role of First Lady of the United States. However, not all those who have served as a first lady were spouses to the presidents. If the president was a bachelor or widower, or if his wife was unable or unwilling to perform the role, other female relatives or friends were called upon to carry out the first lady's official duties; thus, there have been more first ladies than presidents. For more information and biographies on each of the first ladies, visit the National First Ladies Library. 
Our First LadiesMartha WashingtonWife to President George Washington 1789-1797 
Daughter to President Thomas Jefferson 1801-1809 
Wife to President James Monroe 1817-1825 
Late Wife to President Andrew Jackson 1828 
Niece to President Andrew Jackson 1829-1834 
Daughter-in-law to President Andrew Jackson 1834-1837 
Daughter-in-law to President Martin Van Buren 1838-1841 
Wife to President William Henry Harrison 1841 
Daughter-in-law to President William Henry Harrison 1841 
Wife to President John Tyler 1841-1842 
Daughter-in-law to President John Tyler 1842-1844 
Second wife to President John Tyler 1844-1845 
Wife to President James Polk 1845-1849 
Wife to President Zachary Taylor 1849-1850 
Daughter to President Zachary Taylor 1849-1850 
Wife to President Millard Fillmore 1850-1853 
Wife to President Franklin Pierce 1853-1857 
Niece to President James Buchanan 1857-1861 
Wife to President Andrew Johnson 1865-1869 
Daughter to President Andrew Johnson 1865-1869 
Wife to President Rutherford B. Hayes 1877-1881 
Late Wife to President Chester Arthur 1880 
Sister to President Chester Arthur 1881-1885 |
Sister to President Grover Cleveland 1885-1886 
Wife to President Grover Cleveland 1886-1889 1893-1897 
Wife to President Benjamin Harrison 1889-1893 
Daughter to President Benjamin Harrison 1892-1893 
Wife to President William McKinley 1897-1901 
Wife to President Woodrow Wilson 1913-1914 
Daughter to President Woodrow Wilson 1913-1914 
Second wife to President Woodrow Wilson 1914-1921 
Wife to Warren G. Harding 1921-1923 
Wife to President Calvin Coolidge 1923-1929 
Wife to President Harry S. Truman 1945-1953 
Wife to President John F. Kennedy 1961-1963 
Wife to President Lyndon B. Johnson 1963-1969 
Wife to President Richard Nixon 1969-1974 
Wife to President Gerald Ford 1974-1977 
Wife to President Ronald Reagan 1981-1989 
Wife to President George H.W. Bush 1989-1993 
Wife to President Bill Clinton 1993-2001 
Wife to President George W. Bush 2001-2009 
Wife to President Barack Obama 2009-2017 
All images courtesy of the National Archives. Wife to President Joe Biden 2021-2025 |
Last updated: January 23, 2025