FIRST LADIES WHO WERE ACTUALLY REALLY WEIRD PEOPLE

The first lady has a complex job. She isn't paid and isn't even really an official position, but she has to always look perfect, represent her country well, and champion her own causes. We expect a lot from a person who only got there because someone she married happened to win an election.

But not all first ladies toed the line. Some of them found ways of being themselves in a manner that was a little un-first lady-like. Some of them were just outright weird.

JULIA TYLER WAS THE KARDASHIAN OF HER DAY


Julia wasn't John Tyler's first wife or first first lady, but when her predecessor died and she married into the job she decided she was going to use it to make herself famous. In her heart, Julia Tyler was a Kardashian, before they even existed.
According to the National First Ladies' Library, shortly after her marriage Julia had a flattering etching made of herself wearing expensive jewels and a fancy dress. She posed doing an extreme head tilt (above), which must have been the "duck lips" of the day. She had it labeled "The President's Bride." Sure, that's a nice reminder of your wedding day, but that wasn't Julia's plan. She had them mass-produced and available for sale so everyone could have the joy of looking at her.

Julia was the first known first lady to try and get her name in the papers on her own merit. She befriended reporters and made sure there were constant descriptions of events she went to, although the articles usually talked more about her clothes and glowing skin than whatever actually happened at the event. There's some evidence she may have handed these out like press releases rather than just waiting and hoping a reporter would cover her.

She became so famous that people would write to her directly about possible pardons or federal job opportunities. Through her own hard work, she became the first celebrity first lady, just like she wanted.
FLORENCE HARDING WAS INTO QUACKS

DOLLEY MADISON WAS A PARTY ANIMAL


NANCY REAGAN TOOK ASTROLOGY TO THE NEXT LEVEL

Mrs. Reagan came from Hollywood, so it makes sense she had some weird habits. But instead of following fad diets or signing on to ad campaigns, she picked up astrology. And she picked it up hard.

What had been a mere pastime became an absolute obsession after her husband was shot. According to the LA Times, she called her astrologer Joan Quigley and said she was worried about him every time he left the house. That, after an assassination attempt, is a normal way of feeling. What was perhaps not so normal was hiring Quigley to plan virtually every event in the president's life in order to keep him safe.
ELEANOR ROOSEVELT WAS A COMMERCIAL STAR

MARY TODD LINCOLN WAS BIG INTO SPIRITUALISM

BESS TRUMAN REFUSED TO USE WASHINGTON LAUNDRIES

BETTY FORD WAS A '70S CHICK

LOUISA ADAMS WROTE BITING PLAYS

RACHEL JACKSON WAS AN ACCIDENTAL BIGAMIST

JACKIE KENNEDY STOLE HER SISTER'S BOYFRIEND

LADY BIRD JOHNSON WENT ALL 'SINGLE WHITE FEMALE'


MELANIA TRUMP CAN TROLL AS WELL AS ANYONE


PAT NIXON WAS WAY TOO GOOD FOR RICHARD NIXON



The weirdest thing about Pat Nixon was that she was married to Richard Nixon. He was an angry, rude, standoffish individual, whereas everyone seemed to think Pat was the greatest woman who had ever lived. As soon as she came on the world stage when her husband became vice president in 1953, organizations threw awards at her for being just the best.

According to Parade, Pat was named Outstanding Homemaker of the Year in 1953, Mother of the Year in 1955, and the "nation's ideal wife" by the Homemakers Forum in 1957. Of course, she wasn't your average homemaker or wife because during this time she had accompanied Richard on a dangerous trip to South America where she met with lepers and narrowly escaped an attack on their motorcade by an angry mob.