Michelle Pfeiffer is said to have not known much about Betty Ford, the character she was going to play Showtime anthology series called “The First Lady.” “I only knew about, the Betty Ford Center, which is what I think she is the most famous for,” Pfeiffer announced at the show’s premiere on Thursday in Los Angeles.
“And I knew that she would come out and would be open and transparent about her issues with substance abuse and alcoholism, which was a taboo at the time. And the fact that she was discouraged from doing so. And then she came out and spoke candidly about her breast cancer and her mental illness.”
Pfeiffer’s admiration for Ford grew while she prepared for transforming into the presidential spouse, who became the first lady back in 1974 when Gerald Ford was elected as the president following Richard Nixon’s resignation during the scandal of Watergate.
“I think people seem to have trusted her and she was one of the most popular first ladies ever. And it was because of her, and her lifting the veil of shame on a lot of these taboo subjects, it allowed other people to talk about them too, and to come out and get the help that they had always needed but hesitated to ask for.”
Pfeiffer and her co-stars have also shared some of the most challenging works they faced for their portrayals.
“First Lady” is set to premiere on Showtime on Sunday, 17th of April.
