Senator Elaine Schwartzenburg Edwards

Elaine Lucille Edwards (née Schwartzenburg; March 8, 1929 – May 14, 2018) was an American politician and businesswoman from Louisiana who briefly served as a United States Senator in 1972 and was the longest-serving First Lady of Louisiana. A member of the Democratic Party, she was appointed to the Senate by her husband, Governor Edwin W. Edwards, following the death of Senator Allen J. Ellender, and later became known for her work in fashion and for occasional acting roles in New York–based soap operas.

Edwards was born on March 8, 1929, in Marksville, the seat of Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana, to Errol Leo Schwartzenburg and Myrl Dupuy Schwartzenburg. She was baptized Catholic and raised in a Catholic household, and she had two brothers, Frank Schwartzenburg (1928–2013) and Ralph Schwartzenburg (born 1936). She grew up in Marksville and attended local schools there. Both she and her future husband, Edwin Edwards, graduated from Marksville High School, sharing a small-town upbringing that would shape their early lives and family values.

In 1949, Elaine Schwartzenburg married Edwin Washington Edwards, then a young lawyer and rising political figure. Her strong Catholic faith played a significant role in her husband’s personal life, serving as the impetus for his reversion to the Catholic Church. Throughout their marriage, she often expressed a preference for a private, domestic life rather than the public spotlight that came with politics, later recalling that “all I wanted to do was get married and have babies and keep house.” An observer once noted that she “wanted the opposite of what Edwin wanted. She hated the fishbowl of politics.” Despite these reservations, she supported her husband’s political career and assumed public roles as his responsibilities grew. The couple had four children together, two daughters and two sons.

Elaine Schwartzenburg Edwards’s service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history. On August 1, 1972, following the death of U.S. Senator Allen J. Ellender, Governor Edwin Edwards appointed her as a Democratic member of the United States Senate to fill the vacancy for the remaining months of Ellender’s term. She thus served as a Senator from Louisiana in the United States Congress from 1972 to 1972, contributing to the legislative process during one brief term in office. Upon accepting the appointment, she remarked, “This is a marvelous opportunity, and I accept it. But let’s have no misgivings. I’m not a United States senator,” reflecting both her sense of duty and her reluctance about public political life. She did not seek election to a full term in the November 7, 1972, general election. After J. Bennett Johnston was certified as the winner of that election, she resigned immediately so that he could assume office early and gain seniority over other new senators elected on the same date. During her short tenure, she participated in the democratic process and represented the interests of her Louisiana constituents at a time of ongoing national debate over civil rights, the Vietnam War, and domestic policy.

Beyond her brief Senate service, Edwards’s most sustained public role was as First Lady of Louisiana. She first assumed this position in 1972 when Edwin Edwards began his initial term as governor. She served as First Lady from 1972 to 1980 during his first two consecutive terms, and again from 1984 to 1988 during his third term, making her the state’s longest-serving First Lady with a total of twelve non-consecutive years in that role. As First Lady, she carried out the ceremonial and social duties associated with the governor’s office, hosting events and representing the state at official functions. During her husband’s third term, she chose not to live full-time in the Governor’s Mansion in Baton Rouge, instead spending most of her time at the family’s compound in southeastern Baton Rouge, which the family had purchased during the administration of Governor David C. Treen, Edwin Edwards’s predecessor and successor. Her political independence occasionally surfaced in public; during the 1976 presidential election campaign, she endorsed Republican President Gerald Ford over Democrat Jimmy Carter, while her husband first endorsed California Governor Jerry Brown and later supported Carter after Brown failed to secure the Democratic nomination.

After leaving the Senate, Elaine Edwards increasingly focused on private enterprise and personal interests while still fulfilling her responsibilities as First Lady during her husband’s later term. She owned and operated a small business producing custom-made dresses, a fashion enterprise she continued even while serving as First Lady in the 1980s. Her work in fashion allowed her to maintain a measure of independence from the political world she had long found intrusive. In 1983, Edwin Edwards was elected governor again, returning Elaine to the role of First Lady from 1984 to 1988, during which time she balanced her public duties with her business activities.

Elaine and Edwin Edwards divorced in 1989 after forty years of marriage, marking the end of one of Louisiana’s most prominent political partnerships. In the 1990s, seeking a quieter life and new opportunities away from Louisiana politics, she moved to New York City. There she pursued occasional work as a low-profile soap opera actress, appearing in minor roles while maintaining a largely private existence. This period reflected her long-standing desire to step out of the political “fishbowl” and engage in creative and entrepreneurial pursuits on her own terms.

Elaine Lucille Edwards died on May 14, 2018, at her daughter’s home in Denham Springs, Louisiana, while suffering from respiratory problems. She was interred at Resthaven Gardens of Memory in Baton Rouge, East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana. Her life encompassed an unusual combination of roles—small-town Catholic wife and mother, reluctant but dutiful United States senator, record-setting First Lady of Louisiana, fashion business owner, and occasional actress—set against the backdrop of a transformative era in both Louisiana and American political history.