For millions of people, her photograph became one of the unforgettable images of September 11, 2001. Yet for years, many who saw it did not know her name.
She was Marcy Borders.
Borders was a 28-year-old Bank of America employee who had recently started working on the 81st floor of the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City.
On the morning of September 11, American Airlines Flight 11 struck the tower above where she worked.
Escaping the North Tower
Despite instructions inside the building that initially encouraged some workers to remain where they were, Borders made the decision to leave.
She descended dozens of floors and escaped the North Tower shortly before it collapsed.
Outside, Lower Manhattan was engulfed by an enormous cloud of dust and debris. Borders ran for shelter and was photographed by Stan Honda of Agence France-Presse as she stood completely covered in gray dust.
The photograph traveled around the world.
Borders became widely known as the "Dust Lady," although behind that famous image was a young mother whose life had been profoundly changed.
Life After September 11
Surviving the attack did not mean that Borders simply returned to her old life.
She later spoke publicly about struggling with the trauma of what she had experienced. For years, she dealt with depression and substance abuse while trying to rebuild her life.
Eventually, Borders entered rehabilitation and said that she had regained control of her life.
Then came another devastating challenge.
In 2014, Borders was diagnosed with stomach cancer. She questioned whether her illness might have been connected to the toxic dust she inhaled after escaping the World Trade Center, although an individual causal link was not established.
Marcy Borders died on August 24, 2015.
She was only 42 years old.
The photograph of the woman covered from head to toe in dust remains one of the defining images of September 11. But remembering Marcy Borders means looking beyond the photograph.
She was not simply the "Dust Lady."
She was a mother, a survivor and a woman whose life carried the consequences of that September morning long after the cameras were gone.