Historical Figure
Nancy Reagan
1921–2016
First Lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989
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Biography
Nancy Davis Reagan was an American actress who was First Lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989. She was the second wife of Ronald Reagan, the 40th president of the United States.
In Their Own Words (5)
I must say that acting was good training for the political life that lay ahead of us.
As quoted in Business : The Ultimate Resource (2002) by Daniel P. Goleman , 2002
I am a big believer that you have to nourish any relationship. I am still very much a part of my friends' lives and they are very much a part of my life. A First Lady who does not have this source of strength and comfort can lose perspective and become isolated.
As quoted in Winning with People : Discover the People Principles That Work for You Every Time (2005) by John C. Maxwell, p. 186 , 2005
I was not the power behind the throne. Did I ever give Ronnie advice? You bet I did. I'm the one who knows him best, and I was the only person in the White House who had absolutely no agenda of her own — except helping him. And so I make no apologies for telling him what I thought. Just because you're married doesn't mean you have no right to express your opinions. For eight years I was sleeping with the president, and if that doesn't give you special access, I don't know what does! So yes, I gave Ronnie my best advice — whenever he asked for it, and sometimes when he didn't. But that doesn't mean he always took it. Ronald Reagan has a mind of his own.
Ch. 4 : First Lady, Dragon Lady , 1989
Although there is a certain dignity in silence, which I find appealing, I have decided that for me, for our children, and for the historical record, I want to tell my side of the story. So much was said about me — about astrology, and my relationship with Raisa Gorbachev, and whether I got Donald Regan fired, and what went on between me and my children, especially Patti. Ironically, I felt I could start rebuilding our private life only by going public on these and other topics — to have my say and then to move on. I often cried during those eight years. There were times when I just didn't know what to do, or how I would survive. But even so, I wouldn't trade those experiences for anything. I did things I never dreamed I could do, went places I never imagined I'd go, grew in ways I never thought possible. Yes, almost from the day I met him, Ronald Reagan has been the center of my life. I have been criticized for saying that, but it’s true. -->
Foreword , 1989
Our relationship is very special. We were very much in love and still are. Thank God we found each other. When I say my life began with Ronnie, well, it's true. It did. Forty-six years? Can't imagine life without him.
On her relation with her husband, Ronald Reagan, as quoted in an interview with Vanity Fair (July 1998), and in Saving The Reagan Presidency : Trust Is The Coin Of The Realm (2005) by David M. Abshire, p. 107 , 2005
Timeline
The story of Nancy Reagan, told in moments.
Born Anne Frances Robbins in New York City. Her father abandoned the family. Her mother was a stage actress who left Nancy with relatives for years. A Chicago neurosurgeon named Loyal Davis adopted her. She took his name. She took his politics.
Marries Ronald Reagan. She'd gone to him for help getting her name removed from a Hollywood blacklist. It was a case of mistaken identity. They met for dinner. The dinner lasted the rest of their lives.
Becomes First Lady. She redecorates the White House, buys new china worth $209,000 (donated, but still), and wears designer gowns during a recession. The press savages her. She adjusts. Launches the "Just Say No" anti-drug campaign.
Ronald Reagan announces his Alzheimer's diagnosis. She becomes his full-time caretaker for the next decade. She fights for stem cell research, breaking with the Republican Party. "Ronnie's long goodbye," she calls it.
Dies in Bel Air, Los Angeles, at 94. Congestive heart failure. Buried beside Ronald at the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley. The view faces west, toward the Pacific, toward the sunset.
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