Imelda Marcos Early Life

Imelda Romuáldez was born to Vicente Orestes Romuáldez and Remedios Trinidad and spent her early life as a beauty queen. Her father, Vicente Orestes, was the youngest brother of another figure in Philippine politics, Norberto Romuáldez Sr. who served in the Philippine Supreme Court during the American era. He was the Governor of Leyte for many years.

Imelda always wore long dresses because she had very thin legs. During Martial Law some pictures of her legs when she was a young girl were published in the local newspaper in Tacloban, Leyte. Several days later the Philippine Constabulary (national police) raided the newspaper and confiscated any and all materials about Imelda.

In 1950 she was voted "Muse of Manila." Her beauty caught the eye of politician Ferdinand Marcos, and the two married in 1954 after a well-publicized 11-day romance.

Imelda Romuáldez Marcos

Imelda Romuáldez Marcos (born July 2, 1929 in Manila City) is the former First Lady and a political figure in the Philippines. She moved to Palo, Leyte about 10 kilometers from Tacloban when she was 7. She is known as the "Steel Butterfly" and remains a very controversial figure in her home country. She is renowned -- or notorious -- for her excessively large collection of shoes.

The world reacted to the quantity and expense of the shoes but never realized the true irony. Many of the shoes she purchased in New York were made in factories less than 10 miles from the Presidential Palace. At the time the Philippines was the worlds second largest producer of shoes. She could have easily had her shoes custom made for very little cost or free.