First Lady of Virginia

First Spouse of Virginia
Seal of the Commonwealth of Virginia
Incumbent Suzanne Youngkin since January 15, 2022
Residence	Executive Mansion
Inaugural holder	Dorothea Dandridge Henry
Formation	July 5, 1776;249 years ago (1776-07-05)
Website	Official website

The spouse of the Governor of Virginia is given an honorary position, styled as First Lady or First Gentleman of the Commonwealth of Virginia. ^[1] As of 2025, there have been no female governors of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and all first spouses have been first ladies. ^[2] The election of Abigail Spanberger in 2025 will result in her husband, Adam Spanberger, becoming the First Gentleman of Virginia when she takes office in January 2026.

The current first lady of Virginia is Suzanne Youngkin, the wife of incumbent Governor Glenn Youngkin, who assumed office in 2022. ^[3]

Role

The position of the first lady is not an elected one, carries no official duties, and receives no salary. However, the first lady holds a highly visible position in state government. Since 1813, the role of the first lady includes serving as the host of the Executive Mansion. ^[4] She organizes and attends official ceremonies and functions of state either along with, or in place of, the governor. It is common for the governor's spouse to select specific, non-political, causes to promote.

List

	Picture	Name	Took office	Left office	Spouse of	Notes
1		Dorothea Dandridge Henry	1777	1779	Patrick Henry	1st and 6th First Lady of Virginia
2		Martha Jefferson	1779	1781	Thomas Jefferson	Died at age 33, twenty years before husband's election as U.S. President
3		Anne Christian Fleming	1781	1781	William Fleming
4		Lucy Grymes Nelson	1781	1781	Thomas Nelson Jr.
5		Elizabeth Bassett Harrison	1781	1784	Benjamin Harrison V
6		Dorothea Dandridge Henry	1784	1786	Patrick Henry
7		Elizabeth Nichols Randolph	1786	1788	Edmund Randolph
8		Martha Cocke Randolph	1788	1791	Beverley Randolph
9		Anne Hill Carter Lee	1793	1794	Henry Lee III	Mother of general-in-chief of the Confederate States of America, Robert E. Lee
10		Mary Ritchie Hopper Brooke	1794	1796	Robert Brooke
11		Jean Moncure Wood	1796	1799	James Wood
12		Elizabeth Monroe	1799	1802	James Monroe	12th and 15th First Lady of Virginia, served as First Lady of the United States (1817–1825)
13		Margaret Lowther Page	1802	1805	John Page
14		Agnes Sarah Bell Cabell	1805	1808	William H. Cabell
		None	1808	1811	John Tyler Sr.	Tyler was a widower
15		Elizabeth Monroe	1811	1811	James Monroe
16		Jane Reade Smith	1811	1811	George William Smith
17		Lucy Johnson Barbour	1812	1814	James Barbour
18		Margaret Smith Nicholas	1814	1816	Wilson Cary Nicholas
19		Ann Barraud Taylor Preston	1816	1819	James Patton Preston
20		Martha Jefferson Randolph	1819	1822	Thomas Mann Randolph Jr.	Daughter of 3rd U.S. President Thomas Jefferson, served as Acting First Lady of the United States for father (1801–1809)
21		Susanna Lawson Pleasants	1822	1825	James Pleasants
22		Letitia Christian Tyler	1825	1827	John Tyler	Served as Second Lady (1841) and First Lady of the United States (1841–1842)
23		Frances Ann Gwynn Giles	1827	1830	William Branch Giles
24		Letitia Preston Floyd	1830	1834	John Floyd
25		Anne Stratton Tazewell	1834	1836	Littleton Waller Tazewell
26		Maria Hamilton Campbell	1837	1840	David Campbell
27		Anne Baker Gilmer	1840	1841	Thomas Walker Gilmer
28		Susanna Smith Preston McDowell	1843	1846	James McDowell
29		Elizabeth Bell Smith	1846	1849	William Smith
30		Sally Buchanan Preston Floyd	1849	1852	John B. Floyd
31		Sarah Johnson	1852	1855	Joseph Johnson
32		Mary Elizabeth Lyons Wise	1856	1860	Henry A. Wise
33		Susan Holt Letcher	1860	1861	John Letcher
34		Julia Augusta Robertson Pierpont	1861	1868	Francis Harrison Pierpont	Early founder and adopter of "Decoration Day" (now known as Memorial Day) in the United States
35		Olive E. Evans	1869	1874	Gilbert Carlton Walker
		None	1874	1878	James L. Kemper	Kemper was a widower
		None	1878	1882	Frederick Holliday	Holliday was a widower
36		Louisa Cameron	1882	1886	William E. Cameron
37		Ellen Bernard Fowle Lee	1886	1890	Fitzhugh Lee
38		Annie Clay McKinney	1890	1894	Philip W. McKinney
39		Jennie Wickliff Knight O'Ferrall	1894	1898	Charles Triplett O'Ferrall
40		Sue Hammet Tyler	1898	1902	James Hoge Tyler
41		Elizabeth Lyne Hoskins Montague	1902	1906	Andrew Jackson Montague
42		Elizabeth Deane Lyons Swanson	1906	1910	Claude A. Swanson	Official hostess of the Jamestown Exposition
43		Etta Edloe Donnan Mann	1910	1914	William Hodges Mann
44		Margaret Bruce Carter Stuart	1914	1918	Henry Carter Stuart
45		Marguerite Inman Davis	1918	1922	Westmoreland Davis	Served as a nurse during the 1918 influenza epidemic in Richmond, for which she was featured in The New York Times. President of the Women's Munition Reserve during World War I.
46		Helen Ball Sexton Trinkle	1922	1926	Elbert Lee Trinkle
47		Anne Douglas Beverley Byrd	1926	1930	Harry F. Byrd
48		Grace Phillips Pollard	1930	1932	John Garland Pollard	Died in 1932 during husband's term
49		Violet E. MacDougall	1933	1934
50		Nancy Bane Gillespie Peery	1934	1938	George C. Peery
51		Lillian Martin Price	1938	1942	James Hubert Price
52		Constance Simons Du Pont Darden	1942	1946	Colgate Darden
53		Eva Ellis Lovelace Dillard Tuck	1946	1950	William M. Tuck
54		Janie Lipscombe Battle	1950	1954	John S. Battle
55		Anne Bassett Stanley	1954	1958	Thomas B. Stanley
56		Josephine Katherine Minter Almond	1958	1962	J. Lindsay Almond
57		Lacey Barkley Harrison	1962	1966	Albertis Harrison
58		Katherine Godwin	1966	1970	Mills Godwin	58th and 60th First Lady of Virginia
59		Jinks Holton	1970	1974	Linwood Holton	Mother of 67th First Lady of Virginia, Anne Holton
60		Katherine Godwin	1974	1978	Mills Godwin
61		Edwina P. Dalton	1978	1982	John N. Dalton	Served as a member of the Virginia Senate from the 12th district (1988–1992), Republican nominee for Lieutenant Governor in 1989
62		Lynda Bird Johnson Robb	1982	1986	Chuck Robb	Daughter of 36th U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson, served as chairwoman of President's Advisory Committee for Women
63		Jeannie Baliles	1986	1990	Gerald Baliles	Founder of the Virginia Literacy Foundation
		None	1990	1994	Douglas Wilder	Wilder was divorced
64		Susan Brown Allen	1994	1998	George Allen
65		Roxane Gilmore	1998	2002	Jim Gilmore	Gilmore, a classics professor at Randolph-Macon College, was the first woman to actively maintain her own, independent job and career while serving as first lady. [5] [6]
66		Lisa Collis	2002	2006	Mark Warner	First woman to continue using her maiden name as First Lady
67		Anne Holton	2006	2010	Tim Kaine	Daughter of Governor Linwood Holton and First Lady Jinks Holton, served as 17th Virginia Secretary of Education and acting president of George Mason University
68		Maureen McDonnell	2010	2014	Bob McDonnell	Sentenced to 12 months in prison after a federal corruption trial. The conviction was overturned and charges dismissed after a Supreme Court decision. [7]
69		Dorothy McAuliffe	2014	2018	Terry McAuliffe	Appointed as the U.S. State Department Special Representative for Global Partnerships by President Joe Biden
70		Pamela Northam	2018	2022	Ralph Northam
71		Suzanne Youngkin	2022	serving	Glenn Youngkin

	Picture	Name	Took office	Left office	Spouse of	Notes
72		Adam Spanberger	2026	will assume in 2026	Abigail Spanberger	First gentleman of Virginia

See also

• List of governors of Virginia

References

1. "First Lady of Virginia - Suzanne S. Youngkin". www.firstlady.virginia.gov. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
2. "Virginia". National Governors Association. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
3. "Suzanne Youngkin". National Governors Association. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
4. "Executive Mansion - Virginia's Executive Mansion". www.executivemansion.virginia.gov. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
5. Weeks, Lindon (July 16, 1998). "A Life of History". Washington Post . Archived from the original on April 10, 2017. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
6. Stone, Gavin (August 8, 2024). "Former Virginia First Lady Roxane Gilmore has died, family says". The Virginia Pilot . Archived from the original on August 29, 2024. Retrieved September 2, 2024.
7. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-moves-dismiss-mcdonnell-charges