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![Michelle Pfeiffer stars as Betty Ford, Viola Davis as Michelle Obama and Gillian Anderson as Eleanor Roosevelt in the Showtime series The First Lady Michelle Pfeiffer stars as Betty Ford, Viola Davis as Michelle Obama and Gillian Anderson as Eleanor Roosevelt in the Showtime series The First Lady](https://cdn.aarp.net/content/dam/aarpe/en/home/entertainment/television/info-2022/best-first-ladies-in-tv-shows-movies/_jcr_content/root/container_main/container_body_main/container_body1/container_body_cf/container_image/articlecontentfragment/cfimage.coreimg.50.932.jpeg/content/dam/aarp/entertainment/television/2022/04/1140-the-first-lady.jpg)
For too long, history has been told from the point of view of “great men,” but a new Showtime series is shining a light on the women behind those men. Premiering on April 17, The First Lady will explore the backstories, family lives and political accomplishments of Michelle Obama (Viola Davis, 56), Betty Ford (Michelle Pfeiffer, 63) and Eleanor Roosevelt (Gillian Anderson, 53). See how the trio stacks up against some of our other favorite actresses who have played FLOTUS on the big and small screens.
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The first lady: Edie Falco as Hillary Clinton
The series: Impeachment: American Crime Story (2021)
As Carmela Soprano, four-time Emmy winner Edie Falco, now 58, had practice playing a wife who looked the other way as her husband misbehaved. And in this latest installment of the Ryan Murphy (56) anthology series, she brought real pathos to the role of Hillary as she dealt with the public humiliation of finding out about the affair between Bill (Clive Owen, 57) and Monica Lewinsky (Beanie Feldstein). For much of the series, she waits in the wings, as the narrative focuses on other figures from the scandal. But she’s given a chance to truly shine in the eighth episode, “Stand by Your Man,” which traces such events as her Today show appearance (in which she details a “vast right-wing conspiracy”) and Bill’s fraught birthday party on Martha’s Vineyard.
See also: Jan Hooks/Ana Gasteyer/Amy Poehler/Kate McKinnon on Saturday Night Live
Watch it: Impeachment: American Crime Story on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Hulu, YouTube
The first lady: Tika Sumpter as Michelle Obama
The film: Southside With You (2016)
This sweet indie romance follows the first “non-date” (she insists!) of two young Chicago lawyers named Michelle and Barack (Parker Sawyers) — years before the political ambitions and the presidency. He’s a Harvard Law School student and summer associate, she’s his young supervisor, and they plan an outing that could double beautifully as a tourism ad for Chicago. They go to an art gallery to see paintings by Ernie Barnes, talk about their childhoods while strolling through a park, see a screening of Do the Right Thing and attend a community event, where Barack gives a rousing speech that hints at things to come. Oh, and they share their first kiss in front of an ice cream parlor.
See also: Maya Rudolph/Kerry Washington/Sasheer Zamata/Leslie Jones on Saturday Night Live
Watch it: Southside With You on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, YouTube
![Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney star in the HBO miniseries John Adams Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney star in the HBO miniseries John Adams](https://cdn.aarp.net/content/dam/aarpe/en/home/entertainment/television/info-2022/best-first-ladies-in-tv-shows-movies/_jcr_content/root/container_main/container_body_main/container_body1/container_body_cf/body_one_cf_one/par12/articlecontentfragme/cfimage.coreimg.50.932.jpeg/content/dam/aarp/entertainment/television/2022/04/1140-john-adams.jpg)
The first lady: Laura Linney as Abigail Adams
The miniseries: John Adams (2008)
Future Ozark star Laura Linney, 58, picked up an Emmy, a Golden Globe and a SAG Award for her portrayal of the second first lady, Abigail Adams — opposite Paul Giamatti, 54, as John — in this HBO miniseries based on the acclaimed David McCullough biography. In her review for The New York Times, Alessandra Stanley wrote: “Abigail, the woman who stayed home in wartime, managing the farm and raising four children, is the moral center of the miniseries: hardworking, uncomplaining, thoughtful and devoted to her husband and the cause of freedom—women’s as well as men’s.” Indeed, she’s warm and witty, constantly keeping John’s ego in check and espousing proto-feminist thinking, and you can’t help but feel that, with the right composer, “Nabby” could really benefit from the Hamilton treatment.
See also: Virginia Vestoff in 1776
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