Betty Thatcher Oros

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.

• Oros, Joseph; Oros, Betty Thatcher (July 27, 2021). "Joseph Oros and Betty Thatcher Oros Interview Audio - Part 5 (April 17, 1985)". The Henry Ford. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
• la Vache, Louis (April 10, 2018). "Gear Head Tuesday – Automotive Designer Helene Rother". '56 Packard Man. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
• Schreiber, Ronnie (September 20, 2023). "Betty Thatcher Oros: Automotive Styling Pioneeress". Hagerty. Retrieved May 16, 2024.