The first lady of the US, a title typically held by the wife of the president, has never been a fixed cultural figure. Instead, she has functioned as a screen on to which the nation projects its ideals, anxieties and evolving ideas about womanhood and power.

With the release of Amazon’s new Melania documentary, which details Melania Trump in the 20 days before her husband’s second presidential inauguration in January 2025, that long tradition of reinterpretation is once again visible. It reminds us that the first lady is as much a cultural symbol as a political presence.

The earliest first ladies largely framed themselves as extensions of domestic virtue. Martha Washington, who became the nation’s inaugural first lady in 1789, set the tone as what some people have called a hostess-in-chief. She established her role as one of duty and moral stability, not ambition, helping prove the US could have national leadership without monarchy.

Throughout the 19th century, first Ladies like Dolley Madison (wife of James Madison) expanded the role subtly. They used social gatherings and personal charm to shape public opinion and support presidential authority. Madison used social spaces like drawing rooms as informal diplomatic zones, making it socially acceptable – and even expected – for political rivals to mingle politely.

These first ladies achieved this while still being publicly understood as guardians of home and civility. Cultural representations – from portraits to newspaper sketches – emphasised grace, femininity and restraint. This........

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