Portrait of Norma McCorvey

Birthday profile

Norma McCorvey

Norma McCorvey, American activist (died 2017)

Born
September 22, 1947
Died
February 18, 2017
Zodiac sign
Virgo
Birth year
1947

About Norma McCorvey

Norma Leah Nelson McCorvey (née Nelson; September 22, 1947 – February 18, 2017), also known by the pseudonym Jane Roe, was the plaintiff in the landmark 1973 American legal case Roe v. Wade in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that individual state laws banning abortion were unconstitutional. Later in her life, McCorvey became an Evangelical Protestant and in her remaining years, a Catholic, and took part in the anti-abortion movement. McCorvey stated then that her involvement in Roe was "the biggest mistake of [her] life". However, in the Nick Sweeney documentary AKA Jane Roe, McCorvey said, in what she called her "deathbed confession", that "she never really supported the anti-abortion movement" and that she had been paid for her professed anti-abortion sentiments. In 1969, at the age of 21, Norma McCorvey became pregnant a third time and returned to Dallas. Thornton became aware that McCorvey was her birth mother in 1989, after a National Enquirer journalist tracked down Thornton, then a teenager, and told her about her prenatal history.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Norma McCorvey timeline

  1. In 1969, at the age of 21, Norma McCorvey became pregnant a third time and returned to Dallas.
  2. Thornton became aware that McCorvey was her birth mother in 1989, after a National Enquirer journalist tracked down Thornton, then a teenager, and told her about her prenatal history.

The world when Norma McCorvey was born

Norma McCorvey was born in 1947. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1947

  • #1 song"Near You" – Francis Craig
  • Top movieMiracle on 34th Street
  • Top TV showHowdy Doody
  • Best-selling bookThe Diary of a Young Girl – Anne Frank

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentJackie Robinson breaks baseball's color barrier
  • Top headlineJackie Robinson breaks Major League Baseball's color barrier
  • Technology milestoneTransistor invented at Bell Labs
  • Defining fadFlying saucer mania
  • Notable inventionPolaroid instant camera
  • World population2.47 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderHarry S. Truman
  • Sports championNew York Yankees (World Series)
  • Also wonPhiladelphia Warriors (BAA)
  • U.S. population144.1M

1947 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Norma McCorvey's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19472026
Gas$0.23$3.45/gal
Average home$7,800$435,000
Average income$4,700$67,500
Minimum wage$0.40$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.40$11.95
Postage stamp$0.03$0.73
Population144.1M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Library of Congress, Wikidata. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.