Betty Cantrell Roberts (February 5, 1923 – June 25, 2011) was an American politician and judge from the U.S. state of Oregon.

A native of Kansas and raised in Texas, Roberts had previously been elected to both chambers of the Oregon Legislative Assembly, but lost bids for the governor's office and the United States Senate, both in 1974.

She was married three times, including to Frank L. Roberts and Keith Skelton, both of whom she would serve with in the Oregon Legislative Assembly.

[2][3] She graduated from high school and then attended Texas Wesleyan College in Ft. Worth for one year starting in 1940.

[4] In 1942, during WWII, she married John Willard (Bill) Rice, a young soldier from Oregon who was stationed at Sheppard Field.

[2][3] After the war they moved to Oregon, where Bill was a banker, with the family living in Klamath Falls, Lakeview, Gresham, and La Grande.

[3] Roberts enrolled at Eastern Oregon College in La Grande for a single year in 1955.

[2][3] During this time she was still teaching high school and successfully ran for a seat in Oregon's House of Representatives.

[3] Elected in 1964 to the Oregon House as a Democrat from Multnomah County, Roberts won re-election in 1966.

[3][12] That same year she married fellow legislator Keith D. Skelton, but retained the Roberts surname.

[3] The next year the Oregon Conference of Seventh Day Adventists gave her their Liberty Award.

[16][19] She was appointed to replace the retiring Justice Thomas Tongue, becoming the first woman on the Supreme Court.

[27] After leaving the Oregon Supreme Court she was asked to help broker a settlement in a case by the Chief Justice, which led to a career in alternative dispute resolution, primarily as a mediator, but also as an arbitrator.

Representative Earl Blumenauer stated "She was one of a kind.... for over a quarter century, Betty Roberts had as much impact on the political process as anyone in Oregon.