Far more than the power behind the throne, or the chair in the Oval Office, First Ladies Eleanor Roosevelt, Betty Ford and Michelle Obama were powers unto themselves. Yet while they were as independent, intelligent and accomplished as the men they married, they were more interested in forging change than basking in the spotlight. Those dynamics, and a primer on modern American history, are on glorious display in The First Lady, premiering on Showtime Sunday, April 17.
Viola Davis, Michelle Pfeiffer and Gillian Anderson on Portraying Formidable Women in Showtime's "The First Lady"
![Viola Davis, Michelle Pfeiffer and Gillian Anderson on Portraying Formidable Women in Showtime's "The First Lady"](/media/articles/TheFirstLady_S1_PR_Group_R.jpg.550x380_q85_box-0%2C124%2C640%2C568_crop.jpg.webp)