In a public life that spanned several decades, Clare Boothe Luce was an accomplished congresswoman, ambassador, magazine editor, author, playwright, wartime correspondent, and spouse of magazine magnate Henry R. Luce of Time, Life, and Fortune. When she was named ambassador to Italy in 1953, Luce became the first American woman to represent her country to another major world power. In her later years, she served as a member of the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board and was active in Washington D.C.'s social scene until her death in 1987.