Betty Thatcher Oros (born Elizabeth Anna Thatcher, April 18, 1917, Elyria, Ohio[1] August 19, 2001) was an American automobile designer.
Betty Thatcher Oros graduated from Elyria High School in 1935. She attended the Cleveland School of Arts, today’s Cleveland Institute of Art.[1] She majored in Industrial Design, graduating with honors.
Hudson Motor Company was among the first automotive companies to employ women designers full-time.[2] They wanted a woman to contribute a female point of view to automotive design, hired Oros as the first female American automotive designer[1] [3] in 1939.
Oros worked on some of the exterior trim for the 1939 Hudson Big Boy truck based on the Hudson Commodore sedan.[4] Her contributions to the 1941 Hudson included exterior trim with side lighting, interior instrument panel, interiors, and interior trim fabrics.[1] [5]
Oros designed for Hudson Motors from 1939 into 1941, when she and Joe Oros were married.[1] Because Joe Oros worked in the Cadillac Studio at General Motors, Betty resigned from Hudson to avoid a conflict of interest.
The Oroses had five children: Joe III, Christina, Janet, Mary, and John. She later served as a board member of the Santa Barbara Museum of Art and the Santa Barbara Symphony Orchestra. Betty Thatcher Oros died on August 19, 2001.