The role of the spouse of the governor of California has never been codified or officially defined.

Governor Newton Booth wed after he retired from politics,[1] and Washington Bartlett was a lifelong bachelor.

[2] Jerry Brown was a bachelor throughout his initial gubernatorial service but was married when he once again became governor decades later.

[3] Prior to entering politics, Jane Stanford joined her husband Leland Stanford to help him run a mercantile business in San Francisco.

There are five living former first ladies: Gloria Deukmejian, widow of George Deukmejian; Gayle Wilson, wife of Pete Wilson; Sharon Davis, wife of Gray Davis; Maria Shriver, ex-wife of Arnold Schwarzenegger; and Anne Gust Brown, wife of Jerry Brown.