High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Martha Layne (Hall) Collins (born December 7, 1936) is a politician from the US state of Kentucky. From 1983 to 1987 she was the 56th Governor of Kentucky, having served the previous four years as lieutenant governor. She was Kentucky`s first and only female governor to date. At the time of her election, she was the seventh woman to serve as governor of any state, and the third who was not the wife or widow of a past governor. She was considered as a possible running mate for Walter Mondale in the 1984 presidential election. The 1993 conviction of her husband, Dr. Bill Collins, in an influence-peddling scandal damaged her hopes for future political endeavors.