# First ladies and gentlemen of North Carolina

The spouse of the governor of North Carolina is given an honorary position, styled as First Lady or First Gentleman of the State of North Carolina. They are the official hosts at the North Carolina Executive Mansion in Raleigh and the Governor's Western Residence in Asheville. To date, there has been one woman governor of the State of North Carolina, Bev Perdue, and therefore her husband, Bob Eaves, was the state's first and only first gentleman. Two of the state's first ladies were daughters, not wives, of governors: Helen Whitaker Fowle served as first lady during the administration of her widowed father, Governor Daniel Gould Fowle, and Angelia Lawrance Morrison served as first lady during the term of her widowed father, Governor Cameron A. Morrison, until his marriage to Sara Virginia Ecker Watts on April 2, 1924.
Mary P. Easley, wife of Governor Mike Easley, was the state's first Catholic and first Greek American first lady.
The current first lady is Anna Harris Stein, wife of Governor Josh Stein.

## Lists
### Lists of colonial first ladies

The following are lists of the first ladies of North Carolina during the Colonial period under British rule.

#### Roanoke Colony

The following is a list of the wives of governors of the Roanoke Colony at Fort Raleigh.
| Name | Image | Term in office | Birth-Death | Governor | Notes |
| vacant | | 1585–1586 | | Sir Ralph Lane | Sir Ralph Lane never married |
| Tomasyn Cooper White | | 1587–1590 | | John White | |

#### Albemarle Settlements

The following is a list of the wives of governors of the Albemarle Settlements.
| Name | Term in office | Birth-Death | Governor | Notes |
| Sarah Prescott Drummond | 1664–1667 | | William Drummond | |
| Frances Culpeper Stephens | 1667–1669 | circa 1634 – circa 1690 | Samuel Stephens | |
| vacant | 1670–1672 | | Peter Carteret | no record of Carteret's marriage |
| Johanna Gerald Jenkins | 1672–1675 | | John Jenkins | husband's first term |
| Name unknown | 1675–1676 | | Thomas Eastchurch | Name left off records |
| Johanna Gerald Jenkins | 1676–1677 | | John Jenkins | husband's second term |
| vacant | 1677 | | Thomas Miller | no record of Miller's marriage |
| Dorothy Tooke Harvey | 1679 | died 1682 | John Harvey | |
| Johanna Gerald Jenkins | 1680–1681 | | John Jenkins | husband's third term |
| Anna Willix Riscoe Blount Sothel | 1682–1689 | died before May 1695 | Seth Sothel |

#### Province of Carolina

The following is a list of the wives of governors and deputy governors of the Province of Carolina.
| Name | Term in office | Birth-Death | Governor | Notes |
| Frances Culpeper Stephens Berkeley Ludwell | 1689–1691 | circa 1634 – circa 1690 | Philip Ludwell | her second marriage to a NC governor |
| Name unknown | 1691–1694 | | Thomas Jarvis | |
| Ann Dobson Archdale | 1694–1696 | | John Archdale | |
| Sarah Catherine Laker Harvey | 1696–1699 | died circa 1730 | Thomas Harvey | |
| Ann Lillington Walker | 1699–1704 | 1679–1732 | Henderson Walker | |
| Martha Wainwright Daniel | 1704–1705 | | Robert Daniell | |
| Name unknown | 1705–1708 | | Thomas Cary | |
| Mary Davis Glover | 1706–1706 | died before 1707 | William Glover | died in office |
| Catherine "Catalina" Atwood Glover | 1706–1708 | | William Glover | Glover's second wife, married in office |
| Name unknown | 1708–1711 | | Thomas Cary | husband's second term |
| Catherine Rigby Hyde | 1711–1712 | died 1738 | Edward Hyde | |

#### Province of North Carolina

The following is a list of the wives of governors of the Province of North Carolina. The last three provincial governors and their wives resided at Tryon Palace in New Bern.
| Name | Term in office | Birth-Death | Governor | Notes |
| Esther Wilkinson Pollock | 1712–1714 | died 1716 | Thomas Pollock | |
| Penelope Golland Eden | 1714–1716 | 1677–1716 | Charles Eden | died in office |
| vacant | 1722 | | Thomas Pollock | second term, widowed |
| Jane Reed | 1722–1724 | | William Reed | |
| Name unknown | 1724–1725 | | George Burrington | |
| Susannah Kidder Everard, Lady Everard | 1725–1731 | 1683–1739 | Sir Richard Everard, 4th Baronet |
| Name unknown | 1731–1734 | | George Burrington | |
| Mary Bursey Rice | 1734 | | Nathaniel Rice | |
| Penelope Golland Maule Lovick Phenney Johnston | 1734–1741 | died 1741 | Gabriel Johnston | died in office |
| Frances Button Johnston | 1741–1752 | died 1768 | Gabriel Johnston | Johnston's second wife |
| Mary Bursey Rice | 1752–1753 | died 1753 | Nathaniel Rice | husband's second term |
| Elizabeth Rowan Rowan | 1753–1754 | | Matthew Rowan | |
| Justina Davis Dobbs | 1754–1765 | 1745–1771 | Arthur Dobbs | |
| Margaret Wake Tryon | 1764–1771 | c.1732 – 1819 | William Tryon | |
| no record | 1771 | | James Hasell | |
| Elizabeth Martin Martin | 1771–1776 | 1732–1778 | Josiah Martin | went into exile during the American Revolution |

### List of First Ladies and Gentlemen of the State of North Carolina

The following is a list of first ladies and gentlemen of the U.S. state of North Carolina.
| Name | Term in office | Birth-Death | Governor | Notes |
| Sarah Heritage Caswell | 1776–1780 | 1740–1794 | Richard Caswell | |
| Mary Whiting Jones Nash | 1780–1781 | 1754–1800 | Abner Nash | |
| Mary Freeman Burke | 1781–1782 | | Thomas Burke | |
| vacant | 1782–1785 | | Alexander Martin | |
| Sarah Heritage Caswell | 1785–1787 | 1740–1794 | Richard Caswell | husband's second term |
| Frances Cathcart Johnston | 1787–1789 | 1751–1801 | Samuel Johnston | |
| vacant | 1789–1792 | | Alexander Martin | |
| Mary Jones Leech Spaight | 1792–1795 | 1765–1810 | Richard Dobbs Spaight | |
| Elizabeth Jones Merrick Ashe | 1795–1798 | 1735–1815 | Samuel Ashe | |
| Sarah Jones Davie | 1798–1799 | 1762–1802 | William Richardson Davie | |
| Elizabeth Chauncey Jones Williams | 1799–1802 | 1762–1817 | Benjamin Williams | |
| Elizabeth Montfort Ashe | 1802 | | John Baptista Ashe | husband died before taking office |
| Ann Cochran Turner | 1802–1805 | died 1806 | James Turner | |
| Margaret Polk Alexander | 1805–1807 | circa 1764–1806 | Nathaniel Alexander | |
| Elizabeth Chauncey Jones Williams | 1807–1808 | 1762–1817 | Benjamin Williams | husband's second term |
| Hannah Turner Stone | 1808–1810 | 1776–1816 | David Stone | |
| Sarah Rhett Dry Smith | 1810–1811 | circa 1762–1821 | Benjamin Smith | |
| Ann Swepson Boyd Hawkins | 1811–1814 | | William Hawkins | |
| Lydia Anna Evans Miller | 1814–1817 | died 1818 | William Miller | |
| Elizabeth Foort Branch | 1817–1820 | 1787–1851 | John Branch | |
| Maria Perkins Franklin | 1820–1821 | 1765–1834 | Jesse Franklin | |
| Mary Smith Hunter Holmes | 1821–1824 | died 1838 | Gabriel Holmes | |
| Sarah Wales Jones Burton | 1824–1827 | | Hutchins Gordon Burton | |
| Frances Johnston Treadwell Iredell | 1827–1828 | 1797–1865 | James Iredell Jr. | |
| Lucy Ann Brown Owen | 1828–1830 | 1793–1853 | John Owen | |
| Rachel Montgomery Stokes | 1830–1832 | (1776–1862) | Montfort Stokes | |
| Eleanor White Swain | 1832–1835 | 1800–1883 | David L. Swain | |
| vacant | 1835–1836 | | Richard Dobbs Spaight Jr. | never married |
| Elizabeth Henry Haywood Dudley | 1836–1840 | 1796–1840 | Edward Bishop Dudley | died in office |
| Ann Eliza Lindsay Morehead | 1841–1845 | (1804–1868) | John Motley Morehead | |
| Susannah Sarah Washington Graham | 1845–1849 | 1816–1890 | William Alexander Graham | |
| Charity Hare Haywood Manly | 1849–1851 | 1799–1881 | Charles Manly | |
| Henrietta Williams Settle Reid | 1851–1854 | 1824–1913 | David Settle Reid | |
| vacant | 1854–1855 | | Warren Winslow | widower |
| Isabella Cuthbert Bragg | 1855–1859 | 1820–1877 | Thomas Bragg | |
| Mary McKinley Daves Ellis | 1859–1861 | 1835–1916 | John Willis Ellis | North Carolina secedes from the Union and joines the Confederate States of America |
| Mary Weeks Parker Hargrave Clark | 1861–1862 | 1822–1896 | Henry Toole Clark | Confederate States of America |
| Harriett Newell Espy Vance | 1862–1865 | 1832–1878 | Zebulon Vance | Confederate States of America |
| vacant | May 13, 1865 – May 29, 1865 | | vacant | Office vacated after the American Civil War |
| Louisa Virginia Harrison Holden | 1865 | 1830–1900 | William Woods Holden | provisional appointment by President Woodrow Wilson |
| Martitia Daniel Worth | 1865–1868 | 1808–1874 | Jonathan Worth | |
| Louisa Virginia Harrison Holden | 1868–1871 | 1830–1900 | William Woods Holden | husband's second term |
| Minerva Ruffin Cain Caldwell | 1871–1874 | 1820–1890 | Tod Robinson Caldwell | |
| vacant | 1874–1877 | | Curtis Hooks Brogden | never married |
| Harriett Newell Espy Vance | 1877–1879 | 1832–1878 | Zebulon Vance | husband's second term |
| Mary Woodson Jarvis | 1879–1885 | 1842–1924 | Thomas J. Jarvis | |
| Catherine Bullock Henderson Scales | 1885–1889 | 1845–1930 | Alfred Moore Scales | |
| Helen Whitaker Fowle | 1889–1891 | 1869–1948 | Daniel Gould Fowle | daughter of Governor Fowle |
| Louisa Moore Holt | 1891–1893 | 1833–1899 | Thomas Michael Holt | |
| Eleanor Kearny Carr | 1893–1897 | 1840–1912 | Elias Carr | |
| Sarah Amanda Sanders Russell | 1897–1901 | 1844–1913 | Daniel Lindsay Russell | |
| Cora Lily Woodard Aycock | 1901–1905 | 1868–1952 | Charles Brantley Aycock | |
| Cornelia Deaderick Glenn | 1905–1909 | 1854–1926 | Robert Broadnax Glenn | |
| Musette Satterfield Kitchin | 1909–1913 | 1874–1956 | William Walton Kitchin |
| Annie Burgin Craig | 1913–1917 | 1873–1955 | Locke Craig | |
| Fanny Neal Yarborough Bickett | 1917–1921 | 1870–1941 | Thomas Walter Bickett | |
| Angelia Lawrance Morrison Harris | 1921–1924 | 1912–1983 | Cameron A. Morrison | daughter of Governor Morrison |
| Sara Virginia Ecker Watts Morrison | 1924-1925 | 1868–1950 | Cameron A. Morrison | married in office |
| Margaret French McLean | 1925–1929 | 1879–1959 | Angus Wilton McLean | |
| Fay Webb-Gardner | 1929–1933 | 1885–1969 | Oliver Max Gardner | |
| Tillie Ehringhaus | 1933–1937 | 1890–1980 | John C. B. Ehringhaus | |
| Margaret Gardner Hoey | 1937–1941 | 1875–1942 | Clyde R. Hoey | |
| Alice Willson Broughton | 1941–1945 | 1889–1890 | J. Melville Broughton | |
| Mildred Stafford Cherry | 1945–1949 | 1894–1971 | R. Gregg Cherry | |
| Mary White Scott | 1949–1953 | 1897–1972 | W. Kerr Scott | |
| Merle Davis Umstead | 1953–1954 | 1901–1988 | William B. Umstead | husband died in office |
| Martha Blakeney Hodges | 1954–1961 | 1897–1969 | Luther H. Hodges | |
| Margaret Rose Sanford | 1961–1965 | 1918–2006 | Terry Sanford | |
| Jeanelle Coulter Moore | 1965–1969 | 1911–1999 | Dan K. Moore | |
| Jessie Rae Scott | 1969–1973 | 1929–2010 | Robert W. Scott | |
| Patricia Hollingsworth Holshouser | 1973–1977 | 1939–2006 | James Holshouser | |
| Carolyn Hunt | 1977–1985 | born 1937 | Jim Hunt | |
| Dottie Martin | 1985–1993 | born 1937 | James G. Martin | |
| Carolyn Hunt | 1993–2001 | born 1937 | Jim Hunt | husband's second term |
| Mary P. Easley | 2001–2009 | | Mike Easley | |
| Bob Eaves | 2009–2013 | | Bev Perdue | First Gentleman |
| Ann McCrory | 2013–2017 | born 1956 | Pat McCrory | |
| Kristin Cooper | 2017–2025 | born 1956 | Roy Cooper | |
| Anna Harris Stein | 2025–present | | Josh Stein | |