Nancy Reagan became First Lady of the United States in January 1981 following
herhusband's
victory, but was criticised early in his first term largely due to her
decision to replace theWhite
House china. Nancy restored aKennedy-esque
glamour to the White House following years of lax formality, and her interest
in high-end fashion garnered much attention, as well as criticism. She
championedrecreational
drug preventioncauses by founding the "Just
Say No" drug awareness campaign, which was considered her major initiative
as first lady. Always protective of her husband, more controversy ensued when
it was revealed in 1988 that she had consulted anastrologerto
assist in planning the president's schedule after the1981
assassination attempton her
husband.
Anne Frances Robbins was born on July 6, 1921,[3][4]atManhattan'sSloane
Hospital for Womenin New York,[5][6]the
only child of car salesman Kenneth Seymour Robbins (1894–1972)[7]and
his actress wife,Edith
Luckett(1888–1987).[1][2][8]Her
godmother was silent-film-starAlla
Nazimova.[9]She
lived for her first two years inFlushing,
Queens, in New York.[10]While
her parents divorced soon after her birth, they had already been separated for
some time.[11]As
her mother traveled the country to pursue acting jobs, Nancy was raised inBethesda,Maryland,
for the next six years by her aunt Virginia and uncle Audley Gailbraith.[12]Nancy
describes longing for her mother during those years: "My favorite times were
when Mother had a job in New York, and Aunt Virgie would take me by train to
stay with her."[13]
In 1929, her mother married Loyal Davis (1896–1982), a prominent, politicallyconservativeneurosurgeonwho
moved the family toChicago.[3]Nancy
and her stepfather got along very well;[14]she
would later write that he was "a man of great integrity who exemplified
old-fashioned values".[15]He
formally adopted her in 1935,[3]and
she would always refer to him as her father.[14]At
the time of the adoption, her name was legally changed to Nancy Davis (since
birth, she had commonly been called Nancy).[11]She
attended theGirls'
Latin School of Chicago(describing
herself as an average student), graduated in 1939, and later attendedSmith
CollegeinMassachusetts,
where she majored inEnglishanddramaand
graduated in 1943.[8][16]
Acting
career
Nancy Davis poses for a publicity photo, 1950
Following her graduation, Davis held jobs in Chicago as a sales clerk inMarshall
Field'sdepartment store and as
a nurse's aide.[8]With
the help of her mother's colleagues in theatre, includingZasu
Pitts,Walter
Huston, andSpencer
Tracy,[14]she
pursued a career as a professional actress. She first gained a part in Pitts'
1945 road tour ofRamshackle Inn,[3]
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