Janet Wood Reno (July 21, 1938 – November 7, 2016) was an American lawyer and public official who served as the 78th United States Attorney General from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton, becoming the first woman to hold the position and the second-longest-serving attorney general in U.S. history. Born in Miami, Florida to journalist parents Henry Olaf Reno, a Danish immigrant, and Jane Wood Reno, she grew up with her four siblings in a rural South Miami homestead built by her mother. Reno earned a Bachelor of Arts in chemistry from Cornell University in 1960 and a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 1963, where she was one of only 16 women in her class. After briefly working at a Miami law firm, she joined the Dade County State Attorney's Office in 1973, becoming the first female state attorney for the county in 1978 and serving until 1993. In this role, she focused on prosecuting drug trafficking, juvenile crime, and domestic violence, while implementing community-oriented reforms.

As Attorney General, Reno's tenure was marked by significant achievements in civil rights, environmental enforcement, and anti-terrorism efforts following the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. However, her time in office also involved major controversies, including authorizing the deadly 1993 FBI raid on the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas resulting in 76 deaths, overseeing the aftermath of Ruby Ridge, and approving the 2000 raid to return Elián González to Cuba. She also faced criticism regarding Democratic Party fundraising investigations and the raid on Dr. Barnett Slepian's clinic. After leaving office, she ran unsuccessfully for governor of Florida in 2002. Reno was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in the early 2000s and died at her Miami home in 2016 at the age of 78. She was widely praised for her integrity and trailblazing role as a female leader in law enforcement, though her legacy remains complex due to contentious decisions that influenced debates on federal power and civil liberties.