Patti Davis

Patti Davis
Reagan family photo, 1967
Born	Patricia Ann Reagan (1952-10-21) October 21, 1952 Los Angeles, California
Nationality	American
Occupation	Actress, author
Spouse(s)	Paul Grilley (m. 1984–90)
Parent(s)	Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan

Patti Davis (born October 21, 1952) is an American actress and author. She is the daughter of U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Reagan's second wife, First Lady Nancy Reagan.

Early life

Patricia Ann Reagan was born to Ronald and Nancy Reagan on October 21, 1952 in Los Angeles, California. She is the older sister of Ron Reagan, the half-sister of Michael Reagan and the late Maureen Reagan. She went to grade school at The John Thomas Dye School in Bel Air, and graduated from the Orme School of Arizona in 1970. She attended Northwestern University from 1970–71, where she studied Creative Writing and Drama. She then went to the University of Southern California for two years. She changed her last name to her mother's maiden name, Davis, in an effort to have an independent career. She was active in the anti-nuclear movement before her father was elected president, and continued her activism through his term, stirring controversy and creating strife in the family.

Acting, modeling and writing careers

In the early 1980's, Patti acted in a few television shows before getting her first publishing deal. In 1986, she published her first novel, "Home Front." She used elements of her own life to create a fictional story, and because of that the book became controversial and she was widely criticized. Following her second novel "Deadfall," she wrote an autobiography called "The Way I See It," in which she revealed many family dramas and secrets. She has since spoken publicly about her regrets over writing that book.

Davis posed nude in Playboy in the July 1994 issue, 5 years after her father left office.

When her father was diagnosed with Alzheimer's she began writing "The Long Goodbye." It was published in 2004. During that time, she began writing for magazines and newspapers, including The New York Times, Newsweek and Time. Her original screenplay, Spring Thaw, became the 2007 Hallmark Channel movie Sacrifices of the Heart starring Melissa Gilbert and Ken Howard.

Personal life

In the 1970's, Patti lived with Eagles guitarist Bernie Leadon. Together they cowrote the song "I Wish You Peace" which appeared on the Eagles album, One of These Nights. In the 1980's, she dated Timothy Hutton and later had a two year relationship with Peter Strauss. In 1984, she married Paul Grilley, a yoga instructor. They divorced in 1990.

In 2011, she launched "Beyond Alzheimer's" at UCLA, which she still runs.

Bibliography

• Home Front. Crown, 1986. ISBN 0-517-55952-8. (quasi-novel)
• Deadfall. Crown, 1989. ISBN 0-517-57405-5. (novel)
• A House of Secrets. Carol, 1991. ISBN 1-55972-082-4. (quasi-novel)
• The Way I See It: An Autobiography. Putnam, 1992. ISBN 0-399-13748-3.
• Bondage. Simon & Schuster, 1994. ISBN 0-671-86953-1. (novel)
• Angels Don't Die: My Father's Gift of Faith. Harper Collins, 1995. ISBN 0-06-017324-6.
• The Long Goodbye. Knopf, 2004. ISBN 0-679-45092-0.
• Two Cats and the Woman They Own. Chronicle Books, 2006. ISBN 0-8118-5166-4.
• The Lives Our Mothers Leave Us. Hay House, 2009. ISBN 1401921620.
• Till Human Voices Wake Us. CreateSpace, KDP, 2013. ISBN 1483990044. (novel)
• The Blue Hour. CreateSpace, KDP, 2013. ISBN 1492144479. (novel)
• The Wit and Widsom of Grace. Huqua Press, 2014. ISBN 0-983812055
• The Earth Breaks in Colors. Huqua Press, 2014. ISBN 0-990696642 (novel)

External links

• Official Site
• Patti Davis at the Internet Movie Database
• Appearances on C-SPAN