So my standard thing with newbies is to suggest putting it on their old machine rather than dual booting. I feel most people will be amazed at how fast linux runs on their last pc and how slowly windows does on their current and if they dual boot it can lead to lazily keeping it booted in windows were as if the linux is available for web browsing and such it will help getting used to it. What I use I think is good for newbies. Its a lazy mans linux in the sense that it comes with everything you need out of the box. Its called zorin and its an ubuntu lts respin and once installed without doing any further tinkering you can rdp to a windows host, burn a disk, open and edit sound, image, and video files. along with standard web browser and libre office and such. I think most folks could go with it unmodified for most everything they need to do. Since its ubuntu you can add programs from the software program and update with the update program but if you feel the need to do like windows many downloads will have a debian linux option which when double clicked will work fine. also out of the box it has wine with play on linux installed so often times windows programs can be run by right clicking them and telling it to run with wine.
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I guess a good question would be what software you plan on using. If it's something more reliant on frequent updates and feature releases like gaming, the choice would be a bit different compared to something like office work or common browsing, where stability would be prioritized (at the cost of slower updates).
Mint, for example, is a great jumping off point for Windows users because of the familiar User Interface and a focus on stability and lack of prior knowledge required - but it lags behind when it comes to cutting edge stuff for things like gaming.
So you know basically as much as her. You guys can experience it together how great.
Mint Cinnamon. Just make sure to change the background before she sees it. The first impression is god awful with that stock background.
I think basically all the default backgrounds aren't great. There are a few passable ones but that's it.
I have been thinking this for a while too and it's a toss up between Fedora and Debian for a regular user and if you are gaming then something like PopOS or Bazzite I would want someone non-techy using something that is not a rolling release distro like Arch.
I loved Mint. It's still great. Recently I installed Linux on a family member's laptop which is not upgradeable to Windows 11. Hate to say it (and I may be a bit petty here): Mint looks dated, Cinnamon needs a facelift.
That was a reason I went with Zorin. It clearly tries to transition users that come from Windows with it's design (honestly, it's modded Gnome looks awesome). Even running .exe files is as simple as just opening them. Zorin will either just run them or suggest a Linux alternative. Had no issues with that OS so far.
That said, Mint or Ubuntu are solid choices for beginners (and pros alike).
I'm a fan of the uBlue distros Bazzite (gaming), Aurora (KDE), and Bluefin (Gnome and software devs). Other than that, Mint, Fedora, or Pop beta if you want to try the new Cosmic desktop