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Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipient First Lady Nancy Davis Reagan
Nancy 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."
Nancy Reagan is also a Congressional Gold Medal Recipient along with President Ronald Reagan
United States of America Congressional Gold Medal and Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipient Nancy Reagan in The White House Red Room February 7, 1981
Nancy Reagan
written by Julie Wolf
In her 1989 memoir "My Turn," Nancy Reagan wrote candidly about her obsession during her years as First Lady to protect her husband, Ronald Reagan, from physical harm, the ambition of those around him, and negative publicity. The couple's strong bond was renowned. "The love and devotion you show to each other," an acquaintance once commented, "isn't seen much around here."
Born in Manhattan on July 6, 1921, Anne Frances "Nancy" Robbins was herself the product of an unhappy marriage. Nancy's parents divorced shortly after her birth. An aunt in Bethesda raised her while her mother, an actress, supported herself in the theater. In 1931 Nancy's new stepfather, a prominent Chicago neurosurgeon, adopted her. This was Nancy's first exposure to wealth and privilege. Nancy Davis studied drama at Smith College, and was eased into a career in Hollywood by her mother's friends.
Nancy's acting career, was moderately successful, but she left Hollywood after her marriage to Ronald Reagan in 1952. She feared not being able to balance motherhood and a career. In 1966, the wife and mother of two, Patti and Ron, landed a new role: First Lady of California. Nancy raised eyebrows as soon as she moved into -- and quickly out of -- the Governor's Mansion in Sacramento. The mansion, she said was a "firetrap" -- it had been so described by the fire department -- and she moved her family to an exclusive suburb. What Nancy claimed was concern for Ron's safety, many Californians perceived as snobbery.
This perception also followed Nancy to Washington. Since Jacqueline Kennedy's renovations of the early '60s, the White House had fallen into disrepair. Nancy believed the nation needed a more suitable First Home, and immediately began redecorating. Although the White House, after years of neglect, needed the lift, Nancy was criticized for spending frivolously in the middle of a recession.
Nancy's wardrobe engendered further criticism. Designers donated their fashions to Nancy in exchange for the exposure she afforded them, but the public balked. The Reagans were accused of not caring that America was having trouble making ends meet, while they lived and entertained lavishly, surrounded by well-heeled friends.
Nancy improved her reputation by personally championing drug abuse education. Some derided Nancy's approach as simplistic -- liberal Abbie Hoffmann likened her "Just Say No" campaign to "the equivalent of telling manic depressives to 'just cheer up'" -- but most gave her credit for raising drug awareness.
Although she largely left policy to the Reagan men, Nancy was deeply involved in selecting who those men were. Discreet as it may have been, her influence was undeniable. Those close to the Reagans were careful never to forget that the President and First Lady "attacked the world as a team." Nancy was reportedly instrumental in the shift from hard-line conservatives to foreign policy moderates which began with the replacement of Judge William Clark as National Security Adviser and Alexander Haig as Secretary of State by Robert McFarlane and George Shultz, respectively, midway into Reagan's first term.
Nancy Reagan's backstage handling became fodder for late-night monologues and a national concern in 1987, following the publication of Donald Regan's "For the Record." Regan believed, as did many others, that Nancy was largely responsible for his being replaced as Chief of Staff. In his sensational memoir, Regan revealed that the First Lady regularly dictated the president's schedule after consulting her personal astrologer. Regan never claimed that astrology influenced executive decisions, but the ensuing frenzy raised questions about who exactly was in control at The White House. In "My Turn," Nancy attributed her reliance on astrology to her fear that her husband would be shot again.
In October 1987 Nancy was diagnosed with breast cancer. Incredibly, even her decision to have a mastectomy instead of a lumpectomy was criticized.
Nancy Reagan's detractors were vocal, but so were her supporters. For each of the eight years of Reagan's presidency, she was voted one of the ten most admired women in both "Good Housekeeping" and the Annual Gallup Poll.
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Medal History
