<P> Elizabeth Anne Ford (née Bloomer; April 8, 1918--July 8, 2011) was the First Lady of the United States from 1974 to 1977, as the wife of the 38th President of the United States, Gerald Ford . As First Lady, she was active in social policy and created precedents as a politically active presidential wife . Ford also served as the Second Lady of the United States from 1973 to 1974 . </P> <P> Throughout her husband's term in office, she maintained high approval ratings despite opposition from some conservative Republicans who objected to her more moderate and liberal positions on social issues . Ford was noted for raising breast cancer awareness following her 1974 mastectomy . In addition, she was a passionate supporter of, and activist for, the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). Pro-choice on abortion and a leader in the Women's Movement, she gained fame as one of the most candid first ladies in history, commenting on every hot - button issue of the time, including feminism, equal pay, the Equal Rights Amendment, sex, drugs, abortion, and gun control . She also raised awareness of addiction when in the 1970s, she announced her long - running battle with alcoholism and substance abuse, being the first First Lady to do so . </P> <P> Following her White House years, she continued to lobby for the ERA and remained active in the feminist movement . She was the founder, and served as the first chair of the board of directors, of the Betty Ford Center for substance abuse and addiction . She was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal (co-presentation with her husband on October 21, 1998) and the Presidential Medal of Freedom (presented 1991 by George H.W. Bush). </P> <P> Ford was born Elizabeth Anne Bloomer in 1918 in Chicago, Illinois, the third child and only daughter of Hortense (née Neahr; 1884--1948) and William Stephenson Bloomer, Sr. (1874--1934), who was a traveling salesman for Royal Rubber Co . She was called Betty as a child . </P>

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