Susan Elizabeth Ford Bales (born July 6, 1957) is an American author,

photojournalist Photojournalism is journalism that uses images to tell a news story. It usually only refers to still images, but can also refer to video used in broadcast journalism. Photojournalism is distinguished from other close branches of photography (suc ...

, and former chair of the board of the

Betty Ford Center The Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is an addiction treatment and advocacy organization that was created in 2014 with the merger of the Minnesota-based Hazelden Foundation and the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, California, in the United State ...

for alcohol and drug abuse. She is the only daughter of

Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was the 38th president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Ford assumed the p ...

, the 38th president of the United States, and his wife

Betty Ford Elizabeth Anne Ford (; formerly Warren; April 8, 1918 – July 8, 2011) was First Lady of the United States from 1974 to 1977, as the wife of President Gerald Ford. As first lady, she was active in social policy, and set a precedent as a politi ...

(née Bloomer).

Biography

Youth

Ford is the youngest child, and only daughter, of former U.S. President

and former First Lady

. As a teenager attending the

Holton-Arms School Holton-Arms is an independent college-preparatory school for girls in grades 3–12, located in Bethesda, Maryland. As of the 2021–22 school year, there were 667 students and 94 faculty. Since 2023, Penny B. Evins has been Head of School. The ...

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. Located just northwest of Washington, D.C., it is a major business and government center of the Washington metropolitan region ...

, she held her

senior prom The Lockheed Senior Prom was a classified black project conducted by the United States Air Force in conjunction with the Lockheed Corporation's Skunk Works for the development and testing of a cruise missile using stealth technology. Based on t ...

, for the class of 1975, in the

East Room The East Room is an event and reception room in the Executive Residence of the White House complex, the home of the president of the United States. The East Room is the largest room in the Executive Residence; it is used for dances, receptions, p ...

of the White House. She served as official White House hostess when her mother was hospitalized for breast cancer. Ford enrolled in

Mount Vernon College for Women The Mount Vernon Seminary and College was a private women's college in Washington, D.C. It was purchased by George Washington University in 1999, and became the Mount Vernon Campus of The George Washington University. Founding of Mount Vernon Se ...

(now part of the

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

) in northwest Washington, D.C., in 1975 when her father was in the White House. She later briefly attended the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...

for the spring semester of 1977, but did not graduate.

Career

Bales trained as a

photographer A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who uses a camera to make photographs. Duties and types of photograp ...

and worked as a

for the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

, ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

'', ''

Money Magazine ''Money'' is an American brand and a personal finance website owned by Money Group. From its 1972 founding until 2018, it was a monthly magazine published by Time Inc. and subsequently by Meredith Corporation from 2018 to 2019. Its articles co ...

'', ''

Ladies Home Journal ''Ladies' Home Journal'' was an American magazine that ran until 2016 and was last published by the Meredith Corporation. It was first published on February 16, 1883, and eventually became one of the leading women's magazines of the 20th century ...

'', ''

The Topeka Capital-Journal ''The Topeka Capital-Journal'' is a daily newspaper in Topeka, Kansas, owned by Gannett. History The paper was formed following numerous name changes and mergers, including the merger of ''The Topeka Daily Capital'' and ''The Topeka State Jou ...

'', the ''

Omaha Sun The ''Omaha Sun'' was a weekly newspaper that published from December 27, 1951, to August 31, 1983. It was formerly owned by Berkshire Hathaway, a company headed by investor Warren Buffett. The staff of The Sun Newspapers of Omaha, Nebraska, was ...

'' and also freelanced. She was hired to shoot publicity stills for the film ''

Jaws 2 ''Jaws 2'' is a 1978 American horror thriller film directed by Jeannot Szwarc and co-written by Carl Gottlieb. It is the sequel to Steven Spielberg's '' Jaws'' (1975), and the second installment in the ''Jaws'' franchise. The film stars Roy ...

'', with many appearing in Ray Loynd's book ''Jaws 2 Log''. In 1992, she became a member of the board of the

and in 2005 became chair of the organization. She succeeded her mother, who remained a board member.

Writings

In 2002, Bales wrote, with Laura Hayden, a novel, ''Double Exposure: A First Daughter Mystery'', with a contemporary

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

setting; in 2005, a sequel, ''Sharp Focus,'' was published.

Public events

Bales attended the December 26, 2006 – January 3, 2007 state funeral services and ceremonies for her father with her mother, and over the course of several days greeted mourners while President Ford's casket lay in state on the Lincoln catafalque in the Capitol Rotunda and during the public repose at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She read a passage from the

Epistle of James The Epistle of James is a Catholic epistles, general epistle and one of the 21 epistles (didactic letters) in the New Testament. It was written originally in Koine Greek. The epistle aims to reach a wide Jewish audience. It survives in manusc ...

during the funeral service at the Washington National Cathedral, and her daughter Tyne Berlanga offered one of the prayers during the funeral service at Grace Episcopal Church in Grand Rapids. In addition, on January 1, she assisted her mother in receiving dignitaries and official visitors who had come to

Blair House Blair House, also known as The President's Guest House, is an official residence in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. The President's Guest House has been called "the world's most exclusive hotel" because it is primarily used ...

, the presidential guest house in Washington, to pay their respects. 131109-N-KK576-270

On January 16, 2007, Bales spoke at a naming ceremony at the Pentagon for the aircraft carrier CVN-78, which was officially named the ''Gerald R. Ford''. That same day, Secretary of the Navy Donald Winter announced that Bales had been named the carrier's ceremonial sponsor. On November 14, 2009, Bales participated in the keel laying for the ship. On June 11, 2007, she delivered remarks in Washington at the unveiling of the U.S. Postal Service's commemorative stamp honoring President Ford. In July 2007, Bales represented her mother at the funeral service of former First Lady

Lady Bird Johnson Claudia Alta "Lady Bird" Johnson (; December 22, 1912 – July 11, 2007) was First Lady of the United States from 1963 to 1969 as the wife of President Lyndon B. Johnson. She had previously been Second Lady of the United States from 1961 to 196 ...

; in the same month, she and her husband Vaden Bales represented Mrs. Ford and the Ford family at the naming of the Gerald R. Ford Post Office in

Vail, Colorado Vail is a Home rule in the United States, home rule municipality in Eagle County, Colorado, Eagle County, Colorado, United States. The population of the town was 4,835 in 2020. Home to Vail Ski Resort, the largest ski mountain in Colorado, the ...

. On November 9, 2013, she christened the ''Gerald R. Ford'' with a bottle of sparkling water. On April 8, 2016, during a change of command ceremony aboard USS Gerald R. Ford and in recognition of her "extraordinary service as CVN 78 Ship Sponsor", she was named an honorary naval aviator by Chief of Naval Operations Admiral John Richardson, thus becoming only the 31st person to receive this honor, and the first woman ever to be so honored. The ship was commissioned as ''USS Gerald R. Ford'' on July 22, 2017, with Bales in attendance to give the order, "Man our ship, and bring her to life." In 2018, Bales represented the Ford family at the funerals of President George H.W. and First Lady Barbara Bush.

Personal life

Susan E. Ford married Charles Vance, one of her father's former U.S. Secret Service agents, on February 10, 1979. For a time, they operated a private security company in Washington. They have two daughters, Tyne Mary Vance (born 1980) and Heather Elizabeth Vance (born 1983). Susan and Charles Vance were divorced in 1988. Susan married attorney Vaden Bales on July 25, 1989. They lived in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...

before moving to

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

in 1997, where they lived for nearly 12 years before returning to Tulsa in 2009. They divorced in 2018 and Bales relocated to

McKinney, Texas McKinney is a city in and the county seat of Collin County, Texas, United States. It is Collin County's third-largest city, after Plano, Texas, Plano and Frisco, Texas, Frisco. A suburb of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, McKinney is about ...

. In Betty Ford's ''Betty – A Glad Awakening'', her mother credits Susan with having orchestrated an intervention in 1982 after the Ford family became concerned with her drinking, addictions and behavior. In 1984, along with her mother, Bales helped launch

National Breast Cancer Awareness Month Breast Cancer Awareness Month (BCAM), also referred to in the United States as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM), is an annual international health campaign organized by major breast cancer charities every October to increase awaren ...

National Breast Cancer Awareness Month
/ref> with a joint appearance in an ad campaign. In 2010, at age 53, Bales went into sudden cardiac arrest while exercising on an elliptical machine. She had no prior knowledge that she had heart disease. Bales says she was "extremely lucky" that while she was in the gym, a surgeon was "walking up the steps" and "shocked" her back. She was revived with an automated external defibrillator. After her recovery, she was given a heart stent and pacemaker. She spoke of the experience on June 4, 2013, at the

American Heart Association The American Heart Association (AHA) is a nonprofit organization in the United States that funds cardiovascular medical research, educates consumers on healthy living and fosters appropriate Heart, cardiac care in an effort to reduce disability ...

's Heart Ball in Grand Rapids. Bales endorsed Democratic candidate

Kamala Harris Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 49th vice president of the United States from 2021 to 2025 under President Joe Biden. She is the first female, first African American, and ...

for President in the 2024 election.

Cultural depictions

Susan Ford had a significant role in the

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

television series '' The First Lady'', in which she is portrayed by

Dakota Fanning Hannah Dakota Fanning (born February 23, 1994) is an American actress. Fanning is known for her roles in blockbuster films and independent features, both as a child actor and as an adult. Her accolades include nominations for a Golden Globe A ...

Bibliography

*Degregorio, William A., ''The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents'' (5th edition), Barricade Books, Fort Lee, New Jersey, 2001. *Wead, Doug, ''All the President's Children'', Atria Books, New York, 2003,

References

External links

*
"You Give Back, You Don't Give Up"
''

PARADE A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually some variety ...

''
Just ask Chelsea, Jenna and Barbara: Escaping the glare of the spotlight isn't easy for kids whose dads work in the Oval Office
–

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...

Senior Prom at the White House
– brief account of Susan Ford's prom, held in the East Room of the White House {{DEFAULTSORT:Bales, Susan Ford 1957 births 20th-century American women artists 21st-century American women writers American photojournalists Artists from Albuquerque, New Mexico Photographers from Washington, D.C. Children of presidents of the United States Children of vice presidents of the United States George Washington University alumni Mount Vernon Seminary and College alumni Family of Gerald Ford Living people New Mexico Republicans Oklahoma Republicans University of Kansas alumni Writers from Albuquerque, New Mexico 21st-century American non-fiction writers American women photojournalists 21st-century American women photographers 21st-century American photographers