Michelle R. Paige Paterson (born April 1, 1961[1] in Fairfield, California[2]) was the First Lady of New York state.

Paige Paterson was the first African American First Lady in New York's history.

Michelle Paige Paterson spent her early years in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City before moving to Staten Island, another New York City borough[2] where she was raised by her mother, a Postal Service manager.

[3][4] Paige Paterson is director of the integrated-wellness program at the Health Insurance Plan of New York HMO, a program that assists individuals with chronic health problems to better manage their conditions by helping them to improve their life skills.

[7] Making these admissions was a strategy she supported in order to start David Paterson's governorship with full disclosure and to avoid "stoking the rumor mill".