United States First Lady. The daughter of a Presbyterian minister, she was the first wife of Thomas Woodrow Wilson, who became the governor of New Jersey and later the 28th US President. She received her primary education at The Sabbath School in Rome, Georgia and her high school education at the Rome Female College, also in Rome, graduating in 1876. She continued her education through self-study with a focus on art.

In November 1881, her mother, Margaret Jane Hoyt Axson, died while giving birth, and Ellen initially took care of the newborn and her other siblings. Her father, Reverend Samuel E. Axson, took his wife's death very hard and suffered a nervous breakdown. Within two years, he was hospitalized in a mental institution and died the following year. In 1884, Ellen applied and was accepted at the New York Art Students' League in New York City, where she pursued her passion for painting for a year.

After becoming reacquainted with Woodrow Wilson, who was visiting her father's church in April 1883, they developed a romantic relationship and became engaged later that year. Ellen nearly ended the engagement when her father died suddenly, but Wilson encouraged her to remain committed to their relationship. Wilson completed his graduate degree from Johns Hopkins before they were married at her paternal grandfather's home in Savannah, Georgia, on June 24, 1885. She then gave up her career ambition to become an artist and oversaw her husband's academic and political career and her children's primary education. They had three daughters within five years; Margaret born in 1886, Jessie born in 1887, and Eleanor born in 1889. Ellen's two younger brothers also lived with them.

When her husband was elected as the US President in 1912, she assumed the management of moving from Princeton, New Jersey, to Washington, DC, and taking occupancy of the White House. During her first three months as First Lady, she hosted over 40 White House receptions, with an average guest list of over 500 people. She often found escape from her social obligations by attending the theater or the new silent movies, which were beginning to be shown in public theaters, and also made visits to the local art galleries and museums.

She expanded the 3rd floor of the White House by putting in five new bedrooms, but probably her most enduring contribution to the Executive Mansion, though short-lived, was the creation of the Rose Garden. She also created a private art studio on the 3rd floor of the White House where she continued to paint landscapes and portraits She entered many arts shows under an assumed name and was well received by the art critics. She was an avid gardener and was a source of strength for her husband throughout his political career.

She planned the White House wedding of her daughter, Jessie, in the East Room that occurred on November 25, 1913, even though she was afflicted with a degenerative kidney disease known as Bright's Disease. Soon after, she took a fall, which worsened her kidney disease and confined her to bed. However, despite her declining health, which now included tuberculosis, Ellen's personal physician moved into the White House to provide constant medical care for her. At that time, Ellen undertook the planning of the wedding for another daughter, Nell, which occurred in the Blue Room on May 7, 1914.

Ellen was a champion for the causes of educational and healthcare issues for rural children, various women's issues, and the improvement of the working conditions of the Postal Service and Government Printing Office. She also worked for better conditions for poor Blacks living in Washington, D.C. She wanted to improve the housing conditions in D.C, and a bill promoting those changes, nicknamed after her, was passed by Congress on the day of her death, August 6, 1914. She was 54 years old when she died, becoming the 3rd presidential wife to die in the White House up to that time.