Vanity Fair Reports the Passing of Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter at Age 96

Written by Mimi Swartz

Recalling the past with a tone of nostalgia may sometimes shadow the vivid persona of Rosalynn Carter, the spouse of the 39th US President, Jimmy Carter. Often graced with charm and grace, but never lacking in firmness, her persona is somewhat underrated when compared to the resilient Hillary Clinton or the assertive Michelle Obama.

The geographical bias accompanying Rosalynn's identity has also contributed to this false narrative. Hailing from a small town in Georgia, similar to her husband, they were carelessly labeled as rednecks upon their move to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Their unique southern accent, previous experience running a peanut farm, and Rosalynn's preference for the same dress she wore at her husband's 1971 gubernatorial ball only enhanced these misconceptions. The Carters were also known for their consistent devout faith and their refusal to serve hard liquor at their dinners, decisions based on personal choices and not religion, which might have earned them the unfair label of fuddy-duddys that lingers today.

Nevertheless, despite this reputation, Rosalynn was nothing short of exceptional. In 1977 and 1979, a Gallup poll named her the most admired lady in the world among Americans, a title she shared with Mother Teresa in 1980. As per multiple biographies, Rosalynn Carter represented the perfect balance between a partner and an individual, a model example of an almost autonomous woman. She served as a precursor to the powerful couples like Bill and Hillary Clinton.

Born among humble circumstances in Plains, Georgia, Eleanor Rosalynn Smith was a diligent student who always strived for excellence, a trait encouraged by her father who died of leukemia when she was 13. She found her path to larger prospects through James Earl Carter Jr., a US Naval Academy student. Their love story was a textbook romantic tale, starting from their first meeting when Carter was three years old. Despite the minor hiccup when Jimmy decided to give up his Naval career to manage his family farm, their collective efforts contributed significantly to Jimmy’s political career. In fact, Rosalynn played a crucial role in the farm business. It was this collaboration that paved Jimmy's way into the Georgia State Senate, then the governor’s mansion, and eventually to election as the US president.

Rosalynn Carter and her spouse, Jimmy Carter, made invaluable contributions to the nation.

That kind of alliance was relatively new in the 1970s. Rosalynn was willing to take on the traditional First Lady duties, like picking a noble cause and promoting it. (Hers was mental health.) She managed the lives of the four Carter children—some of whom moved into the White House, with spouses—and established a precedent by requesting that the press leave her youngest child, Amy, then nine, out of the news. (A lot of grousing ensued at the time.)

Simultaneously, Rosalynn served as a true partner in her husband’s presidency. She applied herself like the A student she had been in high school, studying briefings, sitting in on cabinet meetings, taking notes, serving as an all-purpose adviser, rewriting dry speeches, heading diplomatic trips, and sharing her opinion during pillow talks. She was the first First Lady to have her own office in the East Wing and was not happy with media accounts that suggested she didn’t know how to throw a proper dinner party. (After all, she had been First Lady of Georgia.)

Then there were her diplomatic duties. President Carter was famously thin-skinned, and grew more so as his political capital declined—it went from a high of  75% in 1977 to a 28% low in 1979. Aides came to learn that Rosalynn was the lone confidant who truly had his ear. “She was the only person who could talk to Jimmy with total frankness because he knew she had his back,” the author Lawrence Wright, who has written extensively about the Carters, told me. “People who worked for him talked about how prickly and how stern he was, but she just went right past that.”

Still, Rosalynn got testy herself when her husband referred to her in The New York Times as “a perfect extension of myself.” She wasn’t interested in being an extension of anyone. “You can make the First Lady’s job whatever you want it to be,” she said at the time. “To some women, the job is more involved with the entertaining. They feel at home doing the things at home. I’ve always worked. I can’t stay at home and do Cokes and teas, although I think that for those people who want to do that, then that’s surely important to them.” (Rosalynn’s qualifier probably saved her from the drubbing Hillary Clinton got for saying nearly the same thing in 1992.)  Rosalynn worked hard with former First Lady Betty Ford to back the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment, and its failure to be enacted was one of the biggest disappointments of her White House years.

If Jimmy Carter became known for redefining a former president’s post-presidential years as one of activism and good works, Rosalynn deserves equal credit. Their teamwork continued with the creation of the Carter Center, the goal of which is to advance human rights and improve health, and the couple traveled the world monitoring elections, helping to eradicate disease, and supporting the growth of democratic institutions. In the US, they supported Habitat for Humanity, building homes in underserved areas. The only thing they didn’t share was the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, which went to her husband alone, an indication that even the closest partnerships can only go so far.

Undaunted, Rosalynn kept at her good works. She continued to be an advocate for mental health, establishing, among other things, the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregivers. Perhaps more importantly, she successfully fought for insurance coverage of mental illnesses, which passed Congress in 2008.

The Carters celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary in 2021 with a big bash back in Plains, when she was 93 and Jimmy 96. He attributed the success of their marriage to mutual interests that included bird watching and shared Bible reading. I attribute it to a woman who found a balance between being a loyal wife and being loyal to herself.

As the end came closer, they seemed to be going their separate ways. Jimmy opted for hospice care at home after a series of health crises, while Rosalynn slipped into dementia. Then, by this November, she too became a residential hospice patient. They had put away their twin StairMasters and settled into twin recliners, waiting for one of the few things they couldn’t pursue together.