Rita Gallagher (September 1, 1921 – (2004-02-02)February 2, 2004), a founding member of the Romance Writers of America, was a noted writing instructor of romance novels.
She was crowned Miss Michigan at age nineteen, and married a U.S. Air Force pilot, her second husband, in 1949.
She is the mother of the writer Rita Clay Estrada from her first marriage, and two sons, Jeffrey and Gregory, from her second.
Gallagher and her daughter, along with romance novelists Parris Afton Bonds, Sondra Stanford, and Peggy Cleaves created the Romance Writers of America (R.W.A.
In later life, she was a writing instructor for aspiring romance novelists, with numerous of her students becoming published authors.