(LEX 18) — After a long struggle with a blood disorder, former Miss America and Kentucky First Lady, Phyllis George has died at 70-years-old.
A family spokeswoman said George died Thursday at a Lexington hospital.
George was the first female co-host of an NFL pregame show, a sportscasting pioneer on CBS's "The NFL Today."
She paved the way for many women, including fellow former Miss America Heather French Henry.
Henry says she looked up to George as a girl growing up in Kentucky, but their friendship grew after she won the title of Miss America in 2000.
Henry tells LEX 18 George became a constant source of encouragement and support, "I think of the two things she said to me, one is never give up, and never take no for an answer. I hope I have embodied that, and taken it to heart, and I will always in the future. She's one of those people you think will never leave us, and in many ways, she never will," says Henry.
George had two children while her then-husband, former Governor John Brown, was in office.
Her son, Lincoln, is an entrepreneur, and daughter, Pamela, is now a CNN Senior White House Correspondent.
