Nancy Reagan

Nancy Davis Reagan
Born	(1921-07-06) July 6, 1921 Manhattan, New York, U.S.
Occupation	First Lady of the United States
Predecessor	Rosalynn Carter
Successor	Barbara Bush
Spouse	Ronald Reagan
Children	Patti, Ron
Relatives	Kenneth Seymour Robbins and Edith Luckett

Nancy Davis Reagan (born Anne Frances Robbins July 6, 1921) was the First Lady of the United States of America from 1981 to 1989. Her husband, Ronald Reagan, was the 40th President of the United States.

Early life

Born Anne Frances Robbins in Flushing, New York to Kenneth Seymour Robbins and his actress wife, Edith Luckett (1888-1987). While her parents divorced in 1928, they were separated for some time before then. Nancy was raised by her aunt and uncle for part of her childhood, as her mother traveled the country to pursue acting jobs and Nancy had no contact with her father during this time. In 1929, her mother married Dr. Loyal Davis, a neurosurgeon. Dr. Davis adopted Nancy, and she grew up in Chicago. Nancy's godmother was Russian-born silent film star Alla Nazimova, who was a friend of her mothers from the theater world. She received her formal education at Girls' Latin School and at Smith College in Massachusetts, where she majored in theater.

Acting career

Soon after graduation she became a professional actress using the stage name Nancy Davis, and toured with a road company, before landing a role in the Broadway theatre stage musical Lute Song starring Mary Martin. It was her only Broadway show, but she continued performing in smaller theaters. One performance drew an offer from Hollywood.

She eventually signed on as a contract player at MGM Studios. Davis appeared in 11 feature films, beginning in 1949, when she appeared in minor roles in two feature films: The Doctor and the Girl starring Glenn Ford and East Side, West Side starring Barbara Stanwyck. She played a psychiatrist in the film noir Shadow on the Wall (1950) with Ann Sothern and Zachary Scott. Her first co-starring lead role (opposite James Whitmore who got first billing) was in the religious drama The Next Voice You Hear ... (1950). She then starred in the 1953 science fiction film Donovan's Brain. In her last movie, Hellcats of the Navy (1957), she shared the screen for the only time with her husband. After her final film, she appeared in television dramas such as Wagon Train until 1962, after which she retired as an actress.

In most of her roles, Nancy Davis portrayed decent, godly, morally incorruptible characters, whose overall unremarkableness limited her visibility as an actress. Critics have praised her performance in The Next Voice You Hear ..., where she plays a surprisingly rationalist 1950s housewife who hears the voice of God from her radio. Nancy's favorite screen role was that of her performance in East Side West Side. She also served on the Screen Actors Guild Board for nearly 10 years.

Marriage and family

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Nancy and Ronald Reagan married in 1952.

Nancy met Ronald Reagan in 1951, while he was president of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG). Another actress by the same name had appeared on the Hollywood blacklist, and Nancy had concern about possible confusion with the other actress. So, Nancy Davis was put in contact with Reagan to help maintain her employment as a SAG actress in Hollywood, and for help in getting her name off this list. On March 4,1952, they were married in a simple ceremony in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles in the Little Brown Church. Their best man was William Holden.

From the very start of their marriage, Ronald and Nancy Reagan were "soul mates." He often called her "Mommy"; she called him "Ronnie". This deep relationship was with the Reagans throughout all of their married life. While President and First Lady, the Reagans frequently displayed their affection for each other in public, and in private. Even when the President was debilitated by Alzheimer's Disease, Nancy Reagan reaffirmed their love for each other, stating: "We were very much in love, and still are." President Reagan's passing away in June of 2004 ended what Charlton Heston called "the greatest love affair in the history of the American Presidency."

The Reagans had two children born from their marriage. Their daughter, Patricia Ann Reagan (best known as Patti Davis, her professional name), was born on October 21,1952, seven months after the couple's wedding. Their son, Ronald Prescott Reagan, was born on May 20, 1958. Nancy Reagan is also stepmother to Michael Reagan and the late Maureen Reagan, the children of her husband's first marriage to actress Jane Wyman.

First Lady of California, 1967-1975

Reagan was First Lady of California during her husband's two terms as governor.

She first attracted controversy in 1967, when she moved out of the Governor's Mansion in Sacramento, after fire officials had described it as a "firetrap," and into a wealthy suburb . This move was perceived by many as snobbery, but Mrs. Reagan has said that she did it for the good of her family.

As California's First Lady, she visited veterans, the elderly, and the handicapped, and worked in conjunction with a number of charitable groups. She began her involvement with the Foster Grandparent Program, which she would continue, and expand, once in Washington.

First Lady of the United States, 1981-1989

The Reagans wave from the limosuine taking them down Pennsylvania Avenue, after the President's Inauguration, to the White House.

As First Lady, Mrs. Reagan drew controversy early on by announcing the purchase of $200,000 worth of new china for the White House — albeit paid for by a private foundation — at a time when the nation was undergoing a recession. Together, with her taste for expensive fashion, it gave her an image of being out-of-touch with the concerns of ordinary Americans. She attempted to deflect some of this criticism in 1982 at the Gridiron Dinner when she self-deprecatingly donned a baglady costume and sang "Second-Hand Rose".

Mrs. Reagan describes in her memoirs that the assassination attempt on her husband, on March 30, 1981, was the worst day of her life. She descibes the moment she arrived at George Washington University Hospital: "I had seen emergency rooms before, but I had never seen one like this-with my husband in it." On April 12, Nancy escorted President Reagan from the hospital back to the White House.

Nancy Reagan was known for the focused and attentive look she fastened upon her husband during his speeches and appearances, nicknamed the Gaze.

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First Lady Nancy Reagan sits on Mr. T's lap in the White House Cross Hall, in a 1983 Christmas party for underprivileged children of the District.

Nancy Reagan is remembered for conservative fashions emulated by many women of the time, as well as her participation in the campaign against juvenile drug use. She launched the "Just Say No" Drug Awareness Campaign while First Lady. There are thousands of "Just Say No" clinics still in operation around the country, aimed at helping and rehablilitating children and teens with drug problems.

Nancy Reagan hosts the First Ladies Conference on Drug Abuse at the White House in 1985.

Behind the scenes, though, Mrs. Reagan had some influence in White House operations, especially over personnel matters mainly dealing with her husband's image and legacy. She became close friends with Katharine Graham, publisher of the Washington Post, having been introduced by their mutual friend Truman Capote, and throughout her later years in the White House met for weekly lunches with Graham and Post editorial page editor Meg Greenfield.

Mrs. Reagan has been criticized for her personal use of astrology and her attempts to influence her husband's policy using it. Her personal astrologer, Joan Quigley was called on frequently, particularly after the 1981 assassination attempt. It was also revealed that Mrs. Reagan influenced the White House time schedule of her husband. Days were color-coded according to the astrologer's advice (classified as "good" days, "neutral" days, or "days that should be avoided), it became an embarrassment. The White House Chief of Staff, Donald Regan, finally grew frustrated with this regimen, creating friction between Regan and the First Lady. The famous incident was that while the two were talking on the telephone, Regan became so angry that he hung up on the First Lady. When word got out to the President that Regan had treated his wife that way, he demanded Regan's resignation, which eventually came in 1987.

In October 1987, Nancy Reagan was discovered to have breast cancer and underwent a mastectomy at Bethesda Naval Hospital.

In 1983, Reagan, along with former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and philanthropists Barbara and Marvin Davis, appeared as herself in an episode of the primetime soap opera Dynasty. In addition, Reagan appeared as herself in an episode of the popular sitcom Diff'rent Strokes to underscore her support for her "Just Say No" anti-drug campaign. She appeared in her first ever Rock Music Video, "Stop the Madness" in 1985, also to promote "Just Say No."

Later life

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Former First Lady Nancy Reagan stands with her military escort as she witnesses the body of her husband being transfered into a hearse during the week-long funeral for President Ronald Reagan.

Nancy Reagan currently resides in the wealthy suburb of Bel Air, Los Angeles, California, where she had lived with her husband until his death on June 5, 2004. Mrs. Reagan was seen around the world during the week-long state funeral for her husband. Always with her military escort, Mrs. Reagan traveled from her home, to the Reagan Library, and to Washington, D.C., before returning to the Reagan Library in California, for the internment. At that ceremony, she broke down, and cried for the first time in public, and mouthed "I love you" to the casket, before leaving.

Mrs. Reagan has continued to be active in politics, particularly relating to stem cell research. She has urged President George W. Bush to support embryonic stem cell research, in the hopes that such research would lead to a cure for Alzheimer's disease. She has not been notably successful in changing the President's opinion, but did support his campaign for a second term.

Since 1994, when her husband disclosed that he suffered from Alzheimer's Disease, Mrs. Reagan has presented the Ronald Reagan Freedom Award to one notable person, from anywhere in the world, whom "embodied President Reagan's lifelong belief that one man or woman truly can make a difference." On February 6, 2007, Mrs. Reagan presented the award to Former President George H.W. Bush. Other notable recipients include Mikhail Gorbachev, Margaret Thatcher, and Rudy Guiliani.

Nancy Reagan was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, by President George W. Bush on July 9, 2002. The award was given in the East Room of the White House. President Ronald Reagan received his own Presidential Medal of Freedom in January of 1993. Earlier that year, Nancy Reagan and her husband were jointly awarded the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor on May 16, at the Capitol Building, being only the third President and First Lady to receive it. Mrs. Reagan was on hand to receive the medal on behalf of herself and her husband.

Reagan was briefly hospitalized in 2005 after she slipped and fell in her hotel room in London, while visiting Margaret Thatcher and Prince Charles.

Mrs. Reagan was among those who attended the National Funeral Service for Gerald Ford in the Washington National Cathedral on January 2, 2007. She mourned her husband in 2004 in the same cathedral.

Kitty Kelley biography

In 1991, Kitty Kelley published an unauthorized biography about Reagan[1]. The book detailed Reagan's sex life, including an affair with Frank Sinatra, her poor relationship with her children, and her belief in the power of psychics.

References in pop culture

• During her time as First Lady, her Secret Service code name was "Rainbow."
• Melanie Chartoff and Terry Sweeney are known for doing accurate yet disparaging impersonations of Nancy Reagan on their respective sketch comedy shows (Chartoff on "Fridays" and Sweeney on "Saturday Night Live").

See Also

• Ronald Reagan
• Just Say No
• Reagan administration
• Ronald Reagan Freedom Award
• Death and state funeral of Ronald Reagan

References

External links

• Nancy Davis at IMDb
• White House profile
• Nancy Reagan profile at NNDB