Former first lady Rosalynn Carter died at age 96.

Carter was first lady during the presidency of Jimmy Carter, from 1977 to 1981. Her death was announced in a statement from the Carter Center, which said that she passed away peacefully, surrounded by her family.

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“Rosalynn was my equal partner in everything I ever accomplished,” Jimmy Carter said. “She gave me wise guidance and encouragement when I needed it. As long as Rosalynn was in the world, I always knew somebody loved and supported me.”

Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter were married for 77 years, achieving the record for the longest-married presidential couple.

“Besides being a loving mother and extraordinary First Lady, my mother was a great humanitarian in her own right,” her son, Chip Carter, said in a statement. “Her life of service and compassion was an example for all Americans. She will be sorely missed not only by our family but by the many people who have better mental health care and access to resources for caregiving today.”

She leaves behind children Jack, Chip, Jeff, and Amy — along with 11 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.

Eleanor Rosalynn Smith was born in Plains, Georgia, the eldest of four children. Her father, a farmer and mechanic, died of leukemia when she was 13, which meant she spent the rest of her youth supporting her mother by looking after her younger siblings and helping with her dressmaking business.

Rosalynn Carter, along with her husband, returned to Plains, Georgia, and a modest, no-frills lifestyle. The former first lady was diagnosed with dementia in May, and the Carter Center announced on Nov. 17 that she had entered hospice care. Her husband, Jimmy Carter, has been in hospice care since earlier this year.

Rosalynn Carter married Jimmy Carter, who was the older brother of her best friend, when she was 18, ending her plans to study interior design at Georgia State College for Women.

They had four children together and returned to Georgia in 1953 when her husband discovered his father was dying. It began a political rise that took them first to the governor’s mansion in 1970 and then to the White House six years later.

As first lady of Georgia, Carter immersed herself in the field of mental health. She was appointed to the Governor's Commission to Improve Services for the Mentally and Emotionally Handicapped and embarked on a statewide tour of facilities, work that she continued in Washington and the years after leaving the White House.

She worked tirelessly for her husband’s 1976 presidential campaign, traveling to 41 states to deliver speeches on his behalf. It was a job she continued in office, frequently serving as a presidential envoy, most notably in Latin America.

Rosalynn Carter left her mark on the White House by establishing her own office in the East Wing, making her a powerful force in her husband Jimmy Carter’s administration. While other first ladies had worked from the residence, Carter established a formal "Office of the First Lady" in the East Wing, with four departments and a chief of staff.

While some worried she wielded undue influence over policy, she maintained the affection of the American public even as her husband’s approval ratings sank. She always shrugged off any suggestion that she was running the government and was open about her role.

"I enter into all of the discussions before and after the meetings about what we feel needs to be done because I know the issues … I pass notes to him, sometimes about issues,” she said in an interview years later. “'We didn't bring up this' and 'This is important.' 'Bring up so-and-so.' But sometimes it's, 'Don't push too hard.' Because he pushes.'”

She began attending Cabinet meetings almost as soon as the Carters arrived in the White House. In her 1984 memoir First Lady From Plains, she said the idea came from her husband after she quizzed him about a news story. If she were to represent her husband, she said, she would need to understand his policies.

Her husband summed it up by describing her as "a perfect extension of myself" and "a very equal partner."

But that unconventional approach brought criticism that an unelected figure was making a power grab. Time magazine dubbed her the "second most powerful person in the United States."

In an East Wing interview with People magazine, she said it was just the way they had always worked together.

“I might say what I think we can do to get our points across to people,” she said. “But I don’t advise him on policy. I am not Jimmy’s chief adviser or the second most important person in the United States.”

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Life in the White House ended in 1981 after questions about Carter’s leadership, the Iran hostage crisis, and lines at gas stations combined to deliver a landslide win to President Ronald Reagan.

She continued to work on causes close to her heart through the Carter Center, advocating early childhood immunization, human rights, and mental health awareness, among other causes. With her husband, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1999, the nation’s highest civilian honor, for her work in the fields of international peace, health, and the environment.