( CNN ) -- Betty Ford , the widow of late President Gerald Ford and a co-founder of an eponymous addiction center in California , has died at the age of 93 , according to the director of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum . Ford died Friday evening with family at her bedside , according to a family member . Elaine Didier , the director of the Grand Rapids , Michigan , museum , confirmed Ford 's death to CNN . No other details were immediately available . The family is expected to release a statement later Friday or Saturday , Didier said . Condolences began pouring in soon after news broke about her death -- including from celebrities who sought treatment at the Betty Ford Center . `` As far as I 'm concerned , Betty Ford saved my life , '' Fleetwood Mac singer Stevie Nicks said . Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler , who revealed in his recent autobiography that he was treated at the Betty Ford Center for drug addiction , also praised Ford 's work . `` Betty Ford took a risk at one of the worst times of her life and came forward to share a message of recovery in order to serve others , '' Tyler said . `` Her vision , passion and amazing heart led to the Betty Ford Center , the gold standard of treatment facilities . She will be missed , but her work in recovery will live on . '' President Barack Obama remembered the former first lady as a `` powerful advocate for women 's health and women 's rights '' and someone who `` helped reduce the social stigma surrounding addiction . '' His predecessor , George W. Bush , added that `` because of her leadership , many lives were saved . '' Some of the many others offering praise and sympathy included Nancy Reagan ( calling Ford `` an inspiration '' ) , and former presidents George H. W. Bush ( describing her as a `` wonderful wife and mother , a great friend and a courageous first lady ) and Jimmy Carter ( saying she was `` a close personal friend '' and `` a remarkable political spouse . '' ) Born Elizabeth Anne Bloomer in Chicago , she grew up in Grand Rapids . At the age of 21 , she moved to New York City to work as a dancer and model . She returned to the Midwest two years later . One year after divorcing William Warren after five years of marriage , she wed Gerald Ford -- a former star football player at the University of Michigan , decorated U.S. Navy veteran and budding Republican politician -- in 1948 . That year , the woman now known as Betty Ford campaigned with her new husband on his successful venture to become a U.S. congressman from Michigan . She gave birth to three sons and a daughter over the course of their 58-year marriage . The family moved to Washington , where Gerald Ford served in the Capitol for 25 years before being tapped in 1973 as then-President Richard Nixon 's vice president in place of Spiro T. Agnew . Just over 10 months later , Betty Ford became first lady when her husband was sworn in as the 38th president of the United States . Gerald Ford took office after Nixon resigned in the wake of his pending impeachment following the crisis and cover-up of the break-in at the Democratic National Committee 's headquarters at the Watergate complex in Washington . Betty Ford soon made headlines , holding press conferences and publicly discussing her diagnosis with breast cancer . The first lady talked about abortion , pre-marital sex and equal rights in an interview with CBS ' `` 60 Minutes '' in 1975 -- the same year Newsweek named her its `` Woman of the Year . '' According to the Ford library and museum 's website , her candidness initially drew some criticism , but in a short time , 75 % of Americans approved of her in public opinion polls . But in 1978 , just over one year after leaving the White House after her husband lost his campaign to remain president , Ford made headlines of a different kind . She entered the Long Beach Naval Hospital to seek treatment for alcohol and prescription painkiller abuse . That same year , she published the first of two autobiographies , entitled `` The Times of My Life . '' Ford would go on to become a high-profile example of someone who battled substance abuse issues and was a tireless advocate for drug- and alcohol-abuse treatment . `` My addiction was a combination of alcohol and the prescription drugs that ... both were a part of my life , but they did not become a problem until they overrode my common sense , '' Ford told CNN 's Larry King in 2003 . `` I did n't know what was happening , I just knew that I felt great and the pain was gone . '' Her work paid dividends in October 1982 when , along with Leonard Firestone , she opened the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage , California . To this day , the center remains one of the most well-known and respected places nationwide for treatment of alcoholism and other drug dependencies . Ford also fought to promote awareness and research on breast cancer , with the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation eventually naming an award in her honor . She earned numerous honors over her life , including a Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1991 and the Congressional Gold Medal eight years later . Gerald Ford died on December 26 , 2006 , at the couple 's home in Rancho Mirage . He was 93 . CNN 's Denise Quan contributed to this report .
NEW : Stevie Nicks : ` ` As far as I 'm concerned , Betty Ford saved my life . '' President Obama calls her `` a powerful advocate '' for health and women 's rights . Betty Ford was surrounded by family members , a relative says . She had no formal education but she knew how to use the power of words in order to get things done.'"