Ella T. Grasso (May 10, 1919 – February 5, 1981), a Democrat was an American politician, and the first woman elected governor of Connecticut. This was a historic election, making Grasso the first female to be elected governor of a US state "in her own right" (all three female governors preceding Grasso had been married to men who were governor of their states). Ella Rose Tambussi was born in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, to Italian immigrant parents Maria (née Oliva) and Giacomo Tambussi, a mill worker. After attending St. Mary's School, Windsor Locks, and the Chaffee School, Windsor, she attended Mount Holyoke College, in South Hadley, Massachusetts, where she earned her B.A. in 1940, and her M.A. two years later. She began her political carreer in 1952, when sh was elected to the Connecticut House of Representatives and served until 1957. She then went on to other offices leading to 2 term Govenor in 1975 . On December 31, 1980, Grasso resigned her office due to her ovarian cancer, and died several weeks later on February 5, 1981, aged 61.