Photo Gallery

Betty Bloomer as a toddler. Ca. 1920. Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum Identifier 0424-D-057

Betty Bloomer dancing at Camp Bryn Afon in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, where she worked as a dance instructor. Ca. 1940. Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum Identifier 0424-D-611

Gerald and Betty Ford walk out of Grace Episcopal Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, following their wedding. October 15, 1948. Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum Identifier H0013-01, National Archives Identifier 186888

Congressman Gerald Ford, wife Betty and their children Mike, Jack, Susan, and Steve sit in the dining room of their home at 514 Crown View Drive, Alexandria, Virginia. 1958. Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum Identifier H0042-03, National Archives Identifier 187004​

Betty Ford, the ship’s sponsor, christens the USS Dace (SSN 607) at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi. August 18, 1962. Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum Identifier 0424-C-0757​

President Ford visits First Lady Betty Ford in the President's Suite at Bethesda Naval Hospital following her breast cancer surgery. October 2, 1974. Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum Identifier A1170-35, National Archives Identifier 186774

First Lady Betty Ford visits with children at the Hospital for Sick Children in Washington, DC. March 5, 1975. Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum Identifier A3548-24A​

First Lady Betty Ford fulfills a lifelong dream of dancing with Fred Astaire at a state dinner honoring the Shah of Iran. May 15, 1975. Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum Identifier A4590-04A,National Archives Identifier 7518984

CBS correspondent Morley Safer interviews First Lady Betty Ford for a 60 Minutes segment in the White House Solarium. She candidly shared her opinions on such provocative issues as abortion rights, premarital sex, and marijuana use. July 21, 1975. Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum Identifier A5611-34A, National Archives Identifier 12007118.

First Lady Betty Ford reads President Gerald R. Ford’s concession statement to the media following Jimmy Carter’s victory in the 1976 election. November 3, 1976. Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum Identifier B2193-08A, National Archives Identifier 5730760

Rosalynn Carter and Betty Ford at a rally for the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). November 19, 1977. Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives Identifier 176940​

Eleanor Seagraves, Rosalynn Carter, Betty Ford, Luci Johnson Turpin, Lynda Johnson Robb, and Susan Ford Vance during a panel session during the Modern First Ladies: Private Lives and Public Duties conference at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum. April 20, 1984. Photo by David Hume Kennerly. Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum Identifier AV95-4-289-01

​Betty Ford, stands outside the Betty Ford Center, a treatment center for alcohol and drug dependency in Rancho Mirage, California that she co-founded in 1982. 1990. Image courtesy of Betty Ford Center. Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum Identifier 2008-NLF-019

Betty Ford receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George H. W. Bush and First Lady Barbara Bush. The citation honored her for providing “selfless, strong, and refreshing leadership on a number of issues.” November 18, 1991. Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum Identifier 0424-B-036-003​