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She was born Anne Frances Robbins in New York, 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.

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 (SAG) and an actress with the same name had appeared on the communist 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. As anti-communist sentiment ran very high in the United States, those who made a living in the motion picture industry usually were effectively "blacklisted" - not given work - by being labelled potential communists. (See McCarthyismMcCarthyism named after Joseph McCarthy, was a period of intense anticommunism, also known as the (second) Red Scare, which occurred in the United States from 1948 to about 1956 (or later), when the government of the United States actively persecuted the) In the following year they were married in a simple ceremony in the San Fernando ValleyThe San Fernando Valley or, simply, The Valley is an urbanized valley in southern California. Geography The San Fernando Valley is bounded by the Santa Susana Mountains to the northwest, The Simi Hills to the west, the Santa Monica Mountains to the south, of Los AngelesThis article is about the city in California. For other uses of 'Los Angeles' see Los Angeles (disambiguation The City of Los Angeles widely known by its abbreviation L. is a large coastal metropolis in Southern California in the western United States. in the Little Brown Church in the Valley. Mrs. Reagan soon retired from making movies.

The Reagans had two children born from their marriage: daughter PattiPatti Davis (born Patricia Ann Reagan on October 21, 1952) is the daughter of Ronald Reagan and Nancy Davis. She is the older sister of Ron Reagan, and half-sister of Michael Reagan and Maureen Reagan. Known as the black sheep of the Reagan children, she (referred to as Patti Davis - her professional name) (born October 21October 21 is the 294th day of the year (295th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 71 days remaining. Events 686 Conon becomes Pope. 1600 Tokugawa Ieyasu defeats the leaders of rival Japanese clans in the Battle of Sekigahara, which marks the b, 1952Summary of notable events in 1952 . Events January events January 8 West Germany has 8 million refugees inside its borders. January 24 Sudden heavy snowfall in Algeria. January 24 Vincent Massey sworn in as first Canada-born Governor-General of Canada.) and son Ron ReaganRonald Prescott Reagan (born May 20, 1958), usually known as Ron Reagan is the son of late President Ronald Reagan and his wife Nancy and an occasional talk show host and political commentator. Life and family Reagan grew up in Los Angeles and then Sacram (born May 20May 20 is the 140th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (141st in leap years). There are 225 days remaining. Events 325 The First Council of Nicaea is held; the first Ecumenical Council of the Christian Church. 526 An Earthquake kills about 300,000, 1958). Nancy Reagan is also stepmother to Michael Reagan.

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 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 (of no relation to her husband), finally became extremely frustrated with this irrational and detrimental regime, causing a power struggle between Regan and the First Lady. Donald Regan resigned in 1987.

She currently resides in Bel Air, Los Angeles, California, where she had tended the former President who, before his death on June 5, 2004, was debilitated by Alzheimer's disease. Reagan has broken Republican Party lines and 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.