Eleanor Rosalynn Carter (née Smith)

Rosalynn Carter (1927–2023) transformed the role of First Lady into an active, influential working partnership. During Jimmy Carter's presidency, she attended cabinet meetings, advised on major policy matters, and represented the administration on critical diplomatic missions across Latin America.

Her enduring life passion was destigmatizing mental illness and expanding access to mental health care, serving as honorary chair of the President's Commission on Mental Health, which resulted in the landmark Mental Health Systems Act of 1980.

After leaving the White House, she and Jimmy co-founded The Carter Center in 1982, dedicating four decades to eradicating Guinea worm disease, monitoring democratic elections worldwide, building homes with Habitat for Humanity, and championing family caregivers. Her compassionate grace and tenacious resolve earned her the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1999.