Betty Ford: Former First Lady and Founder of the Betty Ford Center Dies

Betty Ford was First Lady of the United States from 1974 to 1977. Born Elizabeth Anne Bloomer on April 8, 1918, in Chicago, she trained as a dancer with Martha Graham.

She became First Lady when Gerald Ford succeeded Richard Nixon. She spoke openly about her breast cancer diagnosis in 1974, encouraging women to get screened, and supported the Equal Rights Amendment. In 1982 she founded the Betty Ford Center for addiction treatment after her own recovery.

She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal. Ford died of natural causes at Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, California, on July 8, 2011, at age 93.

Achievements: Presidential Medal of Freedom (1991), Congressional Gold Medal (1999).

Birth: April 8, 1918 - Chicago, Illinois.

Profession: First Lady and advocate.

Interesting Facts: She opened the Betty Ford Center in 1982.