Individual Details
Anne Frances "Nancy" Robbins - Davis
(July 6, 1923 - )
Nancy Davis Reagan -
"My life really began when I married my husband," says Nancy Reagan, who in the 1950's happily gave up an acting career for a permanent role as the wife of Ronald Reagan and mother to their children. Her story actually begins in New York City, her birthplace. She was born on July 6, 1921. When the future First Lady was six, her mother, Edith--a stage actress--married Dr. Loyal Davis, a neurosurgeon. Dr. Davis adopted Nancy, and she grew up in Chicago. It was a happy time: summer camp, tennis, swimming, dancing. She received her formal education at Girls' Latin School and at Smith College in Massachusetts, where she majored in theater.
Soon after graduation she became a professional actress. She toured with a road company, then landed a role on Broadway in the hit musical Lute Song. More parts followed. One performance drew an offer from Hollywood. Billed as Nancy Davis, she performed in 11 films from 1949 to 1956. Her first screen role was in Shadow on the Wall. Other releases included The Next Voice Your Hear and East Side, West Side. In her last movie, Hellcats of the Navy, she played opposite her husband.
She had met Ronald Reagan in 1951, when he was president of the Screen Actors Guild. The following year they were married in a simple ceremony in Los Angeles in the Little Brown Church in the Valley. Mrs. Reagan soon retired from making movies so she "could be the wife I wanted to be...A woman's real happiness and real fulfillment come from within the home with her husband and children," she says. President and Mrs. Reagan have a daughter, Patricia Ann, and a son, Ronald Prescott.
While her husband was Governor of California from 1967 to 1975, she worked with numerous charitable groups. She spent many hours visiting veterans, the elderly, and the emotionally and physically handicapped. These people continued to interest her as First Lady. She gave her support to the Foster Grandparent Program, the subject of her 1982 book, To Love A Child. Increasingly, she has concentrated on the fight against drug and alcohol abuse among young people. She visited prevention and rehabilitation centers, and in 1985 she held a conference at the White House for First Ladies of 17 countries to focus international attention on this problem.
Mrs. Reagan shared her lifelong interest in the arts with the nation by using the Executive Mansion as a showcase for talented young performers in the PBS television series "In Performance at the White House." In her first year in the mansion she directed a major renovation of the second- and third-floor quarters.
Now living in retirement with her husband in California, she continues to work on her campaign to teach children to "just say no" to drugs, though her husband and her home remain her first priority. In her book My Turn, published in 1989, she gives her own account of her life in the White House. Through the joys and sorrows of those days, including the assassination attempt on her husband, Nancy Reagan held fast to her belief in love, honesty, and selflessness. "The ideals have endured because they are right and are no less right today than yesterday."
"REAGAN, ANNE FRANCES (NANCY) DAVIS, (1921-)
Nancy (Anne Frances Robbins) Davis Reagan
Born: July 6, 1921 (although some sources claim 1923) New York City
Father: Kenneth Robbins
Mother: Edith Luckett Robbins
Ancestry: English
Siblings: None
Physical Description: 5�4� tall, reddish brown hair, now worn lighter � almost sandy, with hazel eyes. Mrs. Reagan has a good figure and is very thin.
Religion: Presbyterian
Education and Childhood: Nancy Reagan�s father was a salesman, and her mother was an actress. Her godmother was the famous actress Alla Nazimova. Her parents married in 1917, separated and later divorced in 1928.
Nancy�s mother, Edith Robbins, wanted to return to the stage and put her daughter in the care of her sister, Virginia Galbraith in Bethesda, Maryland. Over the next few years, Nancy seldom saw her mother unless Edith was performing in New York.
Edith Robbins married successful neurosurgeon Loyal Davis in May 1929. Loyal, Edith, Nancy and Loyal�s son from a previous marriage moved to a large home in Chicago. Nancy came to love her stepfather very much, and he adopted her when she was fourteen.
Loyal Davis sent Nancy to Girls Latin School, Camp Ketchawa and Smith College. She made her debut in 1939 at Chicago�s Casino Club.
After graduating from Smith College, Nancy Davis went into the acting profession. She joined Zasu Pitts� travel company, worked on and off Broadway, and did some modeling. She dated often and enjoyed the high life. Eventually an agent from M.G.M. suggested that Nancy go to Hollywood for a screen test.
During the Red Scare, Nancy became acquainted with Ronald Reagan, and they started dating. They went together for several years before marrying.
Husband: Ronald Wilson Reagan (1911 � 2004)
Marriage: March 4, 1952 North Hollywood, California
Age at Marriage: 30 years, 242 days
Personality: A strong, supportive woman who has decided views on right and wrong, Mrs. Reagan has always put her husband first, even, some say, at the expense of her children. Very superstitious, Nancy Reagan has been known to call on astrology and readers to foretell dangers. She has a good sense of humor and can laugh at herself. If crossed, however, she can be unforgiving. She kept a close eye on her husband and kept those she didn�t trust at bay. She has always been interested in clothes. In the early days of the White House, the public perception of Nancy Reagan was of her wearing designer clothes and reading Vogue Magazine. By the 1984 re-election campaign, Mrs. Reagan had become involved in causes and showed a more serious side.
Children: 1. Patricia Ann Reagan, known as Patti Davis (1952 - )
2. Ronald (Skip) Prescott Reagan (1958 - )
Two stepchildren:
1. Maureen Elizabeth Reagan (1941 � 2001)
2. Michael Edward Reagan � adopted (1945 - )
Years Before the White House: Under the influence of her ultra-conservative stepfather, Nancy evolved into a very conservative Republican. Both Loyal Davis and Nancy played a major role in Ronald Reagan�s shift from a liberal Democrat to the conservative icon he became.
Nancy loved to sit back and listen to Reagan talk; she was his most loyal audience. Both were deeply committed to their marriage and to each other � a devotion that lasted throughout their entire marriage.
Nancy gave up acting after her marriage to Ronald Reagan. Ronald Reagan was a spokesman for General Electric, then later became the host on T.V�s �Death Valley Days�.
By 1964, Reagan had become a political force and in 1966 the Republican Party nominated him for governor of California. At this time, Nancy began her question and answer sessions as an alternative to formal public speeches. She would sit in the audience and listen to Ronald Reagan�s speeches with a fixated look that became known as �the gaze�.
After the election, Nancy refused to live in the decaying 1877 Governor�s Mansion. The Reagan�s rented a $1,250 a month apartment and silenced their critics by taking them through the ancient mansion. She began overseeing Reagan�s schedule, reducing it item by item if she deemed it too full. If she found any of Reagan�s staff members that were difficult or unwilling to follow her directives, she relieved them of their duties.
Reagan thrived on Nancy�s attention. For all her interference, he recognized that she was a shrewd judge of character. The press came to dislike her, and references to �Queen Nancy� became common. Nancy Reagan cultivated her image as a fashion figure, but also spoke in favor of the Foster Grandparents program.
In 1976 Reagan made his first bid for the Presidency, but the nomination went to Gerald Ford. His term as Governor was over, and Ronald and Nancy retired to their ranch.
In 1980 the Reagans were ready to run again for the White House. Nancy helped Ronald by keeping a vigilant eye on him and his staff. Mrs. Reagan considered Rosalynn Carter a rival; Nancy felt that she had the same amount of power as Rosalynn, but that they handled it differently. Nancy wanted her power kept hidden, while Rosalynn Carter had been much more open with hers.
Ronald Reagan defeated Jimmy Carter and was elected in 1980.
First Lady: 1981 � 1989: Nancy Reagan�s eight years as First Lady were difficult. The press carried their poor perceptions of her from her years as First Lady as California. Some people saw her as a cold, controlling woman, while others saw her as a supportive wife who listened attentively to her husband and only sought to protect him from those who wanted to hurt him. Both images had elements of truth. Nancy could be unforgiving with those she saw as a danger to Ronald Reagan; she always made it clear that her main objective was protecting her husband. No one doubted her devotion or love, but her methods were sometimes questioned. In March 1981, she faced the assassination attempt on Ronald�s life with strength and dignity.
With the Reagans, glamour and Hollywood returned to the White House. Their first inaugural ball was lavishly expensive. Within sixty days, Nancy Reagan redecorated the family quarters using over $822,000 in private donation funds. The same funds were used to purchase the Reagan�s red White House china.
Mrs. Reagan represented the U.S. at the marriage of Prince Charles to Lady Diana Spencer. The British press was as critical to her as the U.S. press. The U.S. press began criticizing Nancy from taking gowns from designers as gifts or donation. She came under even heavier press fire for trying to write the gowns off on her taxes.
With the advice of Helen Thomas, Mrs. Reagan tried to defuse the critics by expanding her work on causes, such as the Foster Grandparents and Just Say No to Drugs programs. She appeared on various T.V. programs to speak about her anti-drug campaign. In 1985 Nancy hosted a drug abuse conference for first ladies around the world.
Nancy Reagan worked hard to improve her image. In 1982 she appeared at the Press Gridiron Dinner dressed as a bag lady singing �Second Hand Rose�. She ended the skit by smashing a red dish representing the Reagan White House china. Mrs. Reagan learned how effective humor could be to deflate critics.
During her second term as First Lady, Nancy Reagan faced her mastectomy with courage and with the same openness as Betty Ford, allowing Americans to know the details.
Nancy continued to keep a close watch on her husband and a sharp eye on his staff. She arranged his schedule based on astrological charts. Mrs. Reagan was influential in the removal of Alexander Haig, Donald Regan and Lyn Nofziger from Reagan�s staff. Because Ronald Reagan was hard of hearing, Nancy would often whisper what was being said to him, cementing the perception that she would tell him what to do. Mrs. Reagan�s conflicts with Mrs. Gorbachev, another strong-minded woman, solidified Nancy�s image as a powerful woman.
Nancy Davis Reagan was a powerful First Lady, in that she had a strong influence over her husband. She was tireless in her love and devotion to her husband, and never eased her watch over him.
After the White House: After the election of George H.W. Bush, the Reagans returned to their ranch in California. Mrs. Reagan kept busy writing her memoirs, serving on the board of Revlon and with her �Just Say No� drugs program.
In 1995 Ronald Reagan announced that he was suffering from Alzheimer�s Disease. Nancy took on his care. The years that followed took a heavy toll on Mrs. Reagan due to her husband�s decline.
Ronald Reagan�s death in 2004 ended a long and celebrated love story; the nation reached out to Nancy Reagan. Her poise, her obvious grief and her fragile appearance tugged at everyone�s heart. It became even more apparent that her actions had always been because of her commitment to her husband.
Mrs. Reagan has come out in support of stem cell research as a means of treating Alzheimer�s. This has placed her in opposition with the George W. Bush administration. Even today, Nancy Reagan stirs controversy, even if it is unintended.
Legacy: Nancy Reagan�s story continues. She will be a very difficult First Lady to assess; she will be discussed and studied for years to come. Only when time has passed, her papers opened and emotions laid aside will her legacy be fairly judged. One thing will remain constant � she loved her husband, and he always came first." (National First Ladies Library.)
"My life really began when I married my husband," says Nancy Reagan, who in the 1950's happily gave up an acting career for a permanent role as the wife of Ronald Reagan and mother to their children. Her story actually begins in New York City, her birthplace. She was born on July 6, 1921. When the future First Lady was six, her mother, Edith--a stage actress--married Dr. Loyal Davis, a neurosurgeon. Dr. Davis adopted Nancy, and she grew up in Chicago. It was a happy time: summer camp, tennis, swimming, dancing. She received her formal education at Girls' Latin School and at Smith College in Massachusetts, where she majored in theater.
Soon after graduation she became a professional actress. She toured with a road company, then landed a role on Broadway in the hit musical Lute Song. More parts followed. One performance drew an offer from Hollywood. Billed as Nancy Davis, she performed in 11 films from 1949 to 1956. Her first screen role was in Shadow on the Wall. Other releases included The Next Voice Your Hear and East Side, West Side. In her last movie, Hellcats of the Navy, she played opposite her husband.
She had met Ronald Reagan in 1951, when he was president of the Screen Actors Guild. The following year they were married in a simple ceremony in Los Angeles in the Little Brown Church in the Valley. Mrs. Reagan soon retired from making movies so she "could be the wife I wanted to be...A woman's real happiness and real fulfillment come from within the home with her husband and children," she says. President and Mrs. Reagan have a daughter, Patricia Ann, and a son, Ronald Prescott.
While her husband was Governor of California from 1967 to 1975, she worked with numerous charitable groups. She spent many hours visiting veterans, the elderly, and the emotionally and physically handicapped. These people continued to interest her as First Lady. She gave her support to the Foster Grandparent Program, the subject of her 1982 book, To Love A Child. Increasingly, she has concentrated on the fight against drug and alcohol abuse among young people. She visited prevention and rehabilitation centers, and in 1985 she held a conference at the White House for First Ladies of 17 countries to focus international attention on this problem.
Mrs. Reagan shared her lifelong interest in the arts with the nation by using the Executive Mansion as a showcase for talented young performers in the PBS television series "In Performance at the White House." In her first year in the mansion she directed a major renovation of the second- and third-floor quarters.
Now living in retirement with her husband in California, she continues to work on her campaign to teach children to "just say no" to drugs, though her husband and her home remain her first priority. In her book My Turn, published in 1989, she gives her own account of her life in the White House. Through the joys and sorrows of those days, including the assassination attempt on her husband, Nancy Reagan held fast to her belief in love, honesty, and selflessness. "The ideals have endured because they are right and are no less right today than yesterday."
"REAGAN, ANNE FRANCES (NANCY) DAVIS, (1921-)
Nancy (Anne Frances Robbins) Davis Reagan
Born: July 6, 1921 (although some sources claim 1923) New York City
Father: Kenneth Robbins
Mother: Edith Luckett Robbins
Ancestry: English
Siblings: None
Physical Description: 5�4� tall, reddish brown hair, now worn lighter � almost sandy, with hazel eyes. Mrs. Reagan has a good figure and is very thin.
Religion: Presbyterian
Education and Childhood: Nancy Reagan�s father was a salesman, and her mother was an actress. Her godmother was the famous actress Alla Nazimova. Her parents married in 1917, separated and later divorced in 1928.
Nancy�s mother, Edith Robbins, wanted to return to the stage and put her daughter in the care of her sister, Virginia Galbraith in Bethesda, Maryland. Over the next few years, Nancy seldom saw her mother unless Edith was performing in New York.
Edith Robbins married successful neurosurgeon Loyal Davis in May 1929. Loyal, Edith, Nancy and Loyal�s son from a previous marriage moved to a large home in Chicago. Nancy came to love her stepfather very much, and he adopted her when she was fourteen.
Loyal Davis sent Nancy to Girls Latin School, Camp Ketchawa and Smith College. She made her debut in 1939 at Chicago�s Casino Club.
After graduating from Smith College, Nancy Davis went into the acting profession. She joined Zasu Pitts� travel company, worked on and off Broadway, and did some modeling. She dated often and enjoyed the high life. Eventually an agent from M.G.M. suggested that Nancy go to Hollywood for a screen test.
During the Red Scare, Nancy became acquainted with Ronald Reagan, and they started dating. They went together for several years before marrying.
Husband: Ronald Wilson Reagan (1911 � 2004)
Marriage: March 4, 1952 North Hollywood, California
Age at Marriage: 30 years, 242 days
Personality: A strong, supportive woman who has decided views on right and wrong, Mrs. Reagan has always put her husband first, even, some say, at the expense of her children. Very superstitious, Nancy Reagan has been known to call on astrology and readers to foretell dangers. She has a good sense of humor and can laugh at herself. If crossed, however, she can be unforgiving. She kept a close eye on her husband and kept those she didn�t trust at bay. She has always been interested in clothes. In the early days of the White House, the public perception of Nancy Reagan was of her wearing designer clothes and reading Vogue Magazine. By the 1984 re-election campaign, Mrs. Reagan had become involved in causes and showed a more serious side.
Children: 1. Patricia Ann Reagan, known as Patti Davis (1952 - )
2. Ronald (Skip) Prescott Reagan (1958 - )
Two stepchildren:
1. Maureen Elizabeth Reagan (1941 � 2001)
2. Michael Edward Reagan � adopted (1945 - )
Years Before the White House: Under the influence of her ultra-conservative stepfather, Nancy evolved into a very conservative Republican. Both Loyal Davis and Nancy played a major role in Ronald Reagan�s shift from a liberal Democrat to the conservative icon he became.
Nancy loved to sit back and listen to Reagan talk; she was his most loyal audience. Both were deeply committed to their marriage and to each other � a devotion that lasted throughout their entire marriage.
Nancy gave up acting after her marriage to Ronald Reagan. Ronald Reagan was a spokesman for General Electric, then later became the host on T.V�s �Death Valley Days�.
By 1964, Reagan had become a political force and in 1966 the Republican Party nominated him for governor of California. At this time, Nancy began her question and answer sessions as an alternative to formal public speeches. She would sit in the audience and listen to Ronald Reagan�s speeches with a fixated look that became known as �the gaze�.
After the election, Nancy refused to live in the decaying 1877 Governor�s Mansion. The Reagan�s rented a $1,250 a month apartment and silenced their critics by taking them through the ancient mansion. She began overseeing Reagan�s schedule, reducing it item by item if she deemed it too full. If she found any of Reagan�s staff members that were difficult or unwilling to follow her directives, she relieved them of their duties.
Reagan thrived on Nancy�s attention. For all her interference, he recognized that she was a shrewd judge of character. The press came to dislike her, and references to �Queen Nancy� became common. Nancy Reagan cultivated her image as a fashion figure, but also spoke in favor of the Foster Grandparents program.
In 1976 Reagan made his first bid for the Presidency, but the nomination went to Gerald Ford. His term as Governor was over, and Ronald and Nancy retired to their ranch.
In 1980 the Reagans were ready to run again for the White House. Nancy helped Ronald by keeping a vigilant eye on him and his staff. Mrs. Reagan considered Rosalynn Carter a rival; Nancy felt that she had the same amount of power as Rosalynn, but that they handled it differently. Nancy wanted her power kept hidden, while Rosalynn Carter had been much more open with hers.
Ronald Reagan defeated Jimmy Carter and was elected in 1980.
First Lady: 1981 � 1989: Nancy Reagan�s eight years as First Lady were difficult. The press carried their poor perceptions of her from her years as First Lady as California. Some people saw her as a cold, controlling woman, while others saw her as a supportive wife who listened attentively to her husband and only sought to protect him from those who wanted to hurt him. Both images had elements of truth. Nancy could be unforgiving with those she saw as a danger to Ronald Reagan; she always made it clear that her main objective was protecting her husband. No one doubted her devotion or love, but her methods were sometimes questioned. In March 1981, she faced the assassination attempt on Ronald�s life with strength and dignity.
With the Reagans, glamour and Hollywood returned to the White House. Their first inaugural ball was lavishly expensive. Within sixty days, Nancy Reagan redecorated the family quarters using over $822,000 in private donation funds. The same funds were used to purchase the Reagan�s red White House china.
Mrs. Reagan represented the U.S. at the marriage of Prince Charles to Lady Diana Spencer. The British press was as critical to her as the U.S. press. The U.S. press began criticizing Nancy from taking gowns from designers as gifts or donation. She came under even heavier press fire for trying to write the gowns off on her taxes.
With the advice of Helen Thomas, Mrs. Reagan tried to defuse the critics by expanding her work on causes, such as the Foster Grandparents and Just Say No to Drugs programs. She appeared on various T.V. programs to speak about her anti-drug campaign. In 1985 Nancy hosted a drug abuse conference for first ladies around the world.
Nancy Reagan worked hard to improve her image. In 1982 she appeared at the Press Gridiron Dinner dressed as a bag lady singing �Second Hand Rose�. She ended the skit by smashing a red dish representing the Reagan White House china. Mrs. Reagan learned how effective humor could be to deflate critics.
During her second term as First Lady, Nancy Reagan faced her mastectomy with courage and with the same openness as Betty Ford, allowing Americans to know the details.
Nancy continued to keep a close watch on her husband and a sharp eye on his staff. She arranged his schedule based on astrological charts. Mrs. Reagan was influential in the removal of Alexander Haig, Donald Regan and Lyn Nofziger from Reagan�s staff. Because Ronald Reagan was hard of hearing, Nancy would often whisper what was being said to him, cementing the perception that she would tell him what to do. Mrs. Reagan�s conflicts with Mrs. Gorbachev, another strong-minded woman, solidified Nancy�s image as a powerful woman.
Nancy Davis Reagan was a powerful First Lady, in that she had a strong influence over her husband. She was tireless in her love and devotion to her husband, and never eased her watch over him.
After the White House: After the election of George H.W. Bush, the Reagans returned to their ranch in California. Mrs. Reagan kept busy writing her memoirs, serving on the board of Revlon and with her �Just Say No� drugs program.
In 1995 Ronald Reagan announced that he was suffering from Alzheimer�s Disease. Nancy took on his care. The years that followed took a heavy toll on Mrs. Reagan due to her husband�s decline.
Ronald Reagan�s death in 2004 ended a long and celebrated love story; the nation reached out to Nancy Reagan. Her poise, her obvious grief and her fragile appearance tugged at everyone�s heart. It became even more apparent that her actions had always been because of her commitment to her husband.
Mrs. Reagan has come out in support of stem cell research as a means of treating Alzheimer�s. This has placed her in opposition with the George W. Bush administration. Even today, Nancy Reagan stirs controversy, even if it is unintended.
Legacy: Nancy Reagan�s story continues. She will be a very difficult First Lady to assess; she will be discussed and studied for years to come. Only when time has passed, her papers opened and emotions laid aside will her legacy be fairly judged. One thing will remain constant � she loved her husband, and he always came first." (National First Ladies Library.)
Events
| Birth | July 6, 1923 | Manhattan, New York County, New York | |||
| Marriage | March 4, 1952 | Ronald Wilson Reagan |
Families
| Spouse | Ronald Wilson Reagan (1911 - 2004) |
| Child | Patricia Ann "Patti" Davis - Reagan (1952 - ) |
| Child | Ronald Prescott Reagan (1958 - ) |
| Father | Kenneth Seymour Robbins (1890 - ) |
| Mother | Edith Luckett ( - ) |