Marie-Thérèse Houphouët-Boigny (born 1931) was the First Lady

First Lady

First Lady or First Gentlemanis the unofficial title used in some countries for the spouse of an elected head of state.It is not normally used to refer to the spouse or partner of a prime minister; the husband or wife of the British Prime Minister is usually informally referred to as prime...

 of the Ivory Coast from 1960 to 1993. Her husband was Félix Houphouët-Boigny

Félix Houphouët-Boigny

Félix Houphouët-Boigny , affectionately called Papa Houphouët or Le Vieux, was the first President of Côte d'Ivoire. Originally a village chief, he worked as a doctor, an administrator of a plantation, and a union leader, before being elected to the French Parliament and serving in a number of...

, the first President of Côte d'Ivoire.

She was one of six children, and was educated and living in France where she met Félix Houphouët-Boigny, some 25 years older than she was and then married.

Houphouët-Boigny caught the eye of the media as a woman of beauty and grace after a 1962 visit to the Kennedy White House

John F. Kennedy

John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....

, and was dubbed "Africa's Jackie

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis

Jacqueline Lee Bouvier "Jackie" Kennedy Onassis was the wife of the 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, and served as First Lady of the United States during his presidency from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. Five years later she married Greek shipping magnate Aristotle...

" by a starstruck media.

In 1987, while still First Lady, she founded the N'Daya International Foundation, dedicated to improving the health, welfare, and education of children in Africa.