Frances Folsom Cleveland America's First Celebrity First Lady

 

Frances Folsom Cleveland (Colorized image from Munsey's Magazine. 1896)

If Taylor Swift married the President tomorrow, the internet would probably melt down.

 

That’s what happened to Frances Folsom Cleveland when she married President Grover Cleveland in 1886; Americans couldn’t get enough of her. Newspapers followed her every move. People collected her pictures. Companies slapped her face on advertisements. She couldn’t walk into a room without becoming the story.

 

Part of the fascination was that she was only 21. Grover Cleveland was pushing 50. He’d known Frances since she was a child, which raised plenty of eyebrows. It felt like something ripped from the headlines of the National Enquirer.

 

The funny thing is Frances was completely comfortable with the attention. She was smart, charming, and knew how to handle a crowd.

 

She also pulled off something no other First Lady has ever done. She moved out of the White House after Cleveland lost his second term run, then moved back in four years later when he won again. Most people don’t get a second lease on the White House.

 

More than a century later, Grover Cleveland is mostly remembered by history buffs. Frances Cleveland is still remembered because she became something much bigger than a First Lady. She became a celebrity.