Amy Carter, Thrust Into the Public Eye at a Young Age, Has Since Receded

The moment lingers in the national memory: a 9-year-old girl, golden haired and slightly awkward, traipsing off to public school in the nation’s capital with the Secret Service in tow.

For Americans of a certain age, that image and others of Amy Carter — the youngest child of former President Jimmy Carter and the first young child to live in the White House since the days of President John F. Kennedy — defined for the public a new and very different president. Mr. Carter, a Baptist Sunday school teacher and onetime peanut farmer, was determined to live simply and modestly after the wrenching scandal and national upheaval of Watergate.

During Mr. Carter’s time in office, Amy roller-skated on the driveway near the White House South Lawn; had dinner with one of her favorite actors, John Travolta; and sat behind the historic Resolute desk, which had been returned to the Oval Office at her father’s request. Her cat, a Siamese named Misty Malarky Ying Yang, became famous.

Now, after decades of quiet living in the Atlanta area, Ms. Carter, 57, will once again be in the spotlight as her family prepares to lay her father to rest in a funeral that will draw dignitaries from around the world.

It is unclear how much of a public role she will take. When her mother, Rosalynn Carter, died in November 2023, a tearful Ms. Carter read a love letter her father had written to his wife 75 years earlier, when he was serving in the Navy and they were apart.

“My mom spent most of her life in love with my dad,” she said. “Their partnership and love story was a defining feature of her life. Because he isn’t able to speak to you today, I’m going to share some of his words about loving and missing her.”