Elizabeth Ray

Elizabeth Ray (born Betty Lou Ray on May 14, 1943, in Marshall, North Carolina ) was the central figure in a much publicized sex scandal in 1976 that ended the career of U.S. Rep. Wayne Hays (D-Ohio).

The Washington Post reported that Ray had been on the payroll of a committee run by Hays for two years as a clerk-secretary. During that time, she admitted, her actual job duties were providing Congressman Hays sexual favors: "I can't type, I can't file, I can't even answer the phone." Ray, who had won the title of Miss Virginia 1975 in a beauty contest, says she worked briefly as a stewardess, waitress and car rental clerk before beginning work on the Hill in the summer of 1972. After making unsuccessful attempts at being an actress and stand-up comedienne, Elizabeth Ray faded back into obscurity.

After the scandal broke, a book appeared in her name, entitled “The Washington Fringe Benefit”; she posed for Playboy several times, and tried acting and stand-up comedy.