Nancy Reagan

Nancy Davis Reagan (born July 6, 1921) is the widow of President Ronald Reagan and was First Lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989. She was an actress prior to her marriage.

Early life

She was born Anne Frances Robbins in Flushing, New York to Kenneth Seymour Robbins and his actress wife, Edith Luckett. When she was six, her mother married Dr. Loyal Davis, a neurosurgeon. Dr. Davis adopted Nancy, and she grew up in Chicago. She was also god-daughter of Russian-born silent film star Alla Nazimova. She received her formal education at Girls' Latin School and at Smith College in Massachusetts, where she majored in theater.

Actress

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 (1950). Other releases included The Next Voice You Hear ... (1950) and East Side, West Side (1949). In her second to the last movie, Hellcats of the Navy (1957), she played opposite her husband. After her final film, 1958's Crash Landing, she appeared in television dramas until 1962, after which she retired as an actress.

In most of her roles, Nancy Davis played decent, godly, morally incorruptible characters, whose overall unremarkableness limited her visibility as an actress. Critics have said her best performance was in The Next Voice You Hear ... where she plays a surprisingly rationalist 1950s housewife in a religious drama. ^*

Marriage and family

She met Ronald Reagan in 1951, when he was president of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and an actress with the same name had appeared on the Hollywood blacklist. This name confusion with the other actress was a concern of Nancy Davis in maintaining her employment as a SAG actress in Hollywood, and she was put in contact with Reagan 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 in the Valley. "My life really began when I married my husband," she would later say. ^*

The Reagans had two children born from their marriage. Daughter Patti Davis (referred to by her professional name) was born on October 21,1952, seven months after the couple's wedding. Son Ron Reagan was born on May 20, 1958. Nancy Reagan is also stepmother to Michael Reagan and the late Maureen Reagan, the children of Ronald Reagan's first marriage to actress Jane Wyman.

First Lady of California

Nancy Reagan was First Lady of California from 1967 to 1975, during her husband's two terms as governor.

She attracted controversy at the start of her stint 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. ^*

As California 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 once in Washington. [http://teacher.scholastic.com/researchtools/articlearchives/civics/presid/flgall/flreagan.htm

First Lady of the United States

As First Lady, Nancy Reagan attracted 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 was able to deflect some of this criticism in 1982 at the Gridiron Dinner when she self-deprecatingly donned ragged clothes and sang "Second-Hand Rose". ^*

Nancy Reagan was famous for the adoring look she fastened upon her husband during his speeches and appearances. Although most political spouses do this to some extent, Nancy's was so focused and attentive that it was given the nickname "The Gaze". [http://eightiesclub.tripod.com/id398.htm Behind the scenes, though, Nancy Reagan had some influence in White House operations, especially over personnel matters and 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. Nancy Reagan is widely considered to have exercised a somewhat moderating influence over White House policy, particularly during the President's second term.

Reagan is well-remembered for conservative fashions emulated by many women of the time, for championing the "Just Say No" campaign against juvenile drug use^*, and for her personal use of astrology. She had, in fact, a personal astrologer named Joan Quigley during her time as First Lady; the astrologer(s) were particularly used after the 1981 assassination attempt when she became nothing short of obsessed with her husband's personal safety. It finally became a major embarrassment, as it was disclosed that Nancy influenced the White House time schedule of her husband. Days were color-coded according to the astrologer's advice, being classified as "good" days, "neutral" days, or days that should be avoided. The White House Chief of Staff, Donald Regan, finally became extremely frustrated with this regime, causing a power struggle between Regan and the First Lady. Regan resigned in 1987.

In October 1987, Nancy Reagan was discovered to have breast cancer and underwent a mastectomy. ^*

Kitty Kelley's 1991 book Nancy Reagan: The Unauthorized Biography became the fastest-selling biography in publishing history. It included controversial details about the former First Lady's involvement with astrology and White House meetings with Frank Sinatra.

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 highly popular 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.

Later life

Nancy Reagan currently resides in Bel Air, Los Angeles, California, where she had tended to the former President who, before his death on June 5, 2004, was debilitated by Alzheimer's disease. She also 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.

In 2004, Warner Books published Their Path to the White House, 1911-1980" by Bob Colacello, a longtime Vanity Fair writer and friend of Mrs. Reagan.

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

References in pop culture

Mission of Burma's 2006 album, The Obliterati, features a song titled "Nancy Reagan's Head" and contains the line "I'm haunted by the freakish size of Nancy Reagan's head / no way that thing came with that body."

Sun City Girls have a song entitled "Nancy Reagan" on their 1987 album, Horse Cock Phepner.

During her two terms as First Lady of the U.S., the Secret Service protected Nancy Reagan by refering to her under the code name "Rainbow."

External links

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