The First Lady of food

Artist Neysa McMein was the first to put Betty on canvas in 1936.

She might not look it, butBetty Crockeris pushing the century mark. She made her debut in 1921.

When she was not quite 25 years old, Betty was voted the second-most recognizable female in the United States, after U.S. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. Pretty good, beingBetty Crockeris essentially a portrait and a signature.

It all started when a female "personality" was created at General Mills to reply to questions that homemakers sent to General Mills.The questions were answered by company experts, but the name signed to responses wasBetty Crocker, the surname of a recently retired director, William G. Crocker.

In a way, "Betty" did social media before most anyone. Back when people wrote letters, homemakers contacted her thousands of times daily. The quest for help came in envelopes, not emails. But "she" answered nearly every one, either by written response or on her popular radio show.

Find out more atbettycrocker.com.

Mingling with Betty

The real deal

在50年代,我们家服务部门of Minneapolis found a realBetty Crocker.At left in the image, the real Miss Crocker hailed from Canada, and was invited to visit theBetty Crocker Kitchensin Toronto. Margaret Oliver, at right in the photo, was in charge of the kitchens.

A Mercedes in the office

She didn't arrive at General Mills until 1960, more than 40 years after theBetty Crockername was created. But Mercedes Bates is most often linked to Betty because of her instrumental role. Bates was the fifth director of theBetty Crocker Kitchens.In 1966, she became the first female vice president at General Mills.

Kitchen Debate

During the Cold War in 1959, U.S. Vice President Richard Nixon and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev had a heated exchange on capitalism at the American National Exhibition in Moscow. The "Kitchen Debate" occurred at aBetty Crockertemporary model kitchen, used to demonstrate America's convenient foods and lifestyle.

Betty's All-Americans

TheBetty CrockerSearch for the All-American Homemaker of Tomorrow was a unique scholarship program from 1955 to 1977. Its purpose? To focus national attention on the "forgotten career" of homemaking. A winner from each state was flown to Washington D.C., to compete for national honors.

The Golden Girl

In 2012, General Mills was asked to create a custom cake for the 90th birthday of actress Betty White. The TV special "Betty White's 90th Birthday: A Tribute to America's Golden Girl," honored one of everyone's favorite ladies. The three-tieredBetty Crockercreation reflected White's vibrant personality.