Nancy reagan biography in 2016 campaign

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Who Was Nancy Reagan?

Nancy Reagan was a former first lady of the United States and the widow of President Ronald Reagan. She was a Hollywood actress in the s and '50s and married then-actor Reagan in Acting as a significant adviser to her husband, she served as first lady of California before eventually moving into the White House. Her major initiative was the "Just Say No" drug awareness campaign. After her husband contracted Alzheimer's disease, she became a strong advocate for finding a cure.

Early Life

Nancy's early life foretold nothing of the woman she would become. On July 6, , Anne Frances Robbins was born in New York City, the only child of Kenneth Robbins, a salesman, and Edith Luckett Robbins, an aspiring actress. Early on, Anne acquired the nickname "Nancy." With her father having left the marriage during Nancy's infancy, Edith sent her daughter to be raised by her aunt and uncle, Virginia and C. Audley Galbraith, in Bethesda, Maryland. There, Nancy attended Sidwell Friends School for a time. She and her aunt would travel to visit her mother whenever Edith was in New York for lengthy theater runs.

In , Edith married a prominent Chicago neurosurgeon, Loyal Davis. Nancy joined her mother and, in , Loyal adopted Nancy, changing her last name to Davis. In her new home, she was exposed to wealth and privilege, attending the Girls' Latin School. She then studied drama at Smith College and earned a bachelors of arts degree in

Acting Career

After college, Nancy worked as a sales clerk in Marshall Fields Department store in Chicago and later as a nurse's aide. With help from some of her mother’s friends, she eased into an acting career. Her first role was a nonspeaking part in the touring company production of Ramshackle Inn. The play eventually made it to Broadway in New York City, where Nancy landed a minor role in the musical Lute Song, starring Yul Brynner and Mary Martin.

In , Nancy Davis traveled to

First Lady of the United States from to

"Nancy Davis" redirects here. For other people with the same name, see Nancy Davis (disambiguation).

Nancy Davis Reagan (; born Anne Frances Robbins; July 6, &#;– March 6, ) was an American film actress who was the first lady of the United States from to , as the second wife of President Ronald Reagan.

Reagan was born in New York City. After her parents separated, she lived in Maryland with an aunt and uncle for six years. When her mother remarried in , she moved to Chicago and later was adopted by her mother's second husband. As Nancy Davis, she was a Hollywood actress in the s and s, starring in films such as The Next Voice You Hear, Night into Morning, and Donovan's Brain. In , she married Ronald Reagan, who was then president of the Screen Actors Guild. He had two children from his previous marriage to Jane Wyman, and he and Nancy had two children together. Nancy Reagan was the first lady of California when her husband was governor from to , and she began to work with the Foster Grandparents Program.

Reagan became First Lady of the United States in January , following her husband's victory in the presidential election. Early in his first term, she was criticized largely due to her decisions both to replace the White House china, which had been paid for by private donations, and to accept free clothing from fashion designers. She championed opposition to recreational drug use when she founded the "Just Say No" drug awareness campaign, considered her major initiative as First Lady, although it received substantial criticism for stigmatizing poor communities affected by the crack epidemic. More discussion of her role ensued following a revelation that she had consulted an astrologer to assist in planning the president's schedule after the attempted assassination of her husband in She generally had a strong influence on her husband and played a role in a few of his personnel a

Nancy Reagan (July 6, March 6, ) was a film and television actress, mother, second wife of President Ronald Reagan, First Lady of California and the United States, and involved in multiple charities

Nancy Davis Reagan (Anne Frances “Nancy” Robbins) was born on July 6, in New York City, the only child of Kenneth Seymour Robbins and Edith Prescott Luckett.  Her parents separated shortly after her birth. After the separation, Edith continued pursuing her acting career, and eventually placed two- year-old Nancy in the care of her sister and brother-in-law Virginia and Audley Gailbraith in Bethesda, Maryland.  Nancy lived with the Gailbraiths for the next six years.

Edith Luckett remarried in to Loyal Edward Davis, a prominent neurosurgeon from Chicago, Illinois. Mother and daughter reunited in Chicago where Nancy attended school and grew into a young woman. Dr. Davis, who died August 19, was Professor Emeritus at Northwestern University after serving as Professor of Surgery there for more than 30 years. Edith Luckett Davis went on to serve with many charitable organizations. She died October 26, at the Davis's retirement home in Phoenix, Arizona.

Nancy Reagan enjoyed a close relationship with her stepfather, and always considered him her father.  Loyal Davis formally adopted Nancy when she was a teenager. Anne Francis Robbins legally became Nancy Davis at this time. 

Nancy Davis graduated from Chicago's Girls' Latin School. After graduation she attended Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, where she majored in English and Drama.  She graduated in and then pursued a professional acting career. 

In her acting career, Nancy Davis worked in stage, film, and television productions.  Her stage performances ranged from summer stock to road tours to Broadway.  In she signed a seven-year contract with MGM.  She made eleven films in all, including thr

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NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the groundbreaking backstairs look at the White House, The Residence, comes an intimate, news-making look at the true modern power brokers at Pennsylvania Avenue: the First Ladies, from Jackie Kennedy to Michelle Obama. One of the most underestimated—and challenging—positions in the world, the First Lady of the United States must be many things: an inspiring leader with a forward-thinking agenda of her own; a savvy politician, skilled at navigating the treacherous rapids of Washington; a wife and mother operating under constant scrutiny; and an able CEO responsible for the smooth operation of countless services and special events at the White House. Now, as she did in her smash #1 bestseller The Residence, former White House correspondent Kate Andersen Brower draws on a wide array of untapped, candid sources—from residence staff and social secretaries to friends and political advisers—to tell the stories of the ten remarkable women who have defined that role since Brower offers new insights into this privileged group of remarkable women, including Jacqueline Kennedy, Lady Bird Johnson, Patricia Nixon, Betty Ford, Rosalynn Carter, Nancy Reagan, Barbara Bush, Hillary Clinton, Laura Bush, and Michelle Obama. The stories she shares range from the heartwarming to the shocking and tragic, exploring everything from the first ladies’ political crusades to their rivalries with Washington figures; from their friendships with other first ladies to their public and private relationships with their husbands. She also offers a detailed and insightful new portrait of one of the most-watched first ladies of all time, Hillary Clinton, asking what her tumultuous years in the White House may tell us about her own historic presidential run . . . and what life could be like with the nation’s