 thumb|right|helen gahagan, circa 1920s helen gahagan douglas (november 25, 1900 â june 28, 1980) was an american actress and politician. she was the third woman and first democratic woman elected to congress from california; her election made california one of the first two states (along with illinois) to elect female members to the house from both parties. ==early life and acting career== gahagan was born in boonton, new jersey, of scotch-irish descent. she was the daughter of lillian rose (mussen) and walter h. gahagan, an engineer who owned a construction business in brooklyn and a shipyard in arverne, queens; her mother had been a schoolteacher. she was reared episcopalian.denton, sally. the pink lady: the many lives of helen gahagan douglas, bloomsbury press (2009), p. 9. she graduated from the [[berkeley carroll 
1900_births 1980_deaths 20th-century_American_actresses American_actor-politicians American_film_actresses American_people_of_Irish_descent American_people_of_Scottish_descent American_stage_actresses Barnard_College_alumni California_Democrats Cancer_deaths_in_New_York Deaths_from_breast_cancer Deaths_from_lung_cancer Democratic_Party_members_of_the_United_States_House_of_Representatives Female_members_of_the_United_States_House_of_Representatives Members_of_the_United_States_House_of_Representatives_from_California People_from_Boonton,_New_Jersey Women_in_California_politics