Nancy Reagan was born Anne Frances Robbins on July 6^th 1921 in Flushing, New York. Nancy shares the same birth date, July 6^th, with George W Bush.

Her parents Kenneth Seymour Robbins and his actress wife, Edith Luckett separated not long after Nancy was born and finally divorced in 1928. Nancy was raised by her aunt and uncle for part of her childhood, as her mother traveled the country to pursue acting jobs and during this time Nancy had no contact with her father.

When Nancy’s mother re-married she moved the family to Chicago. She was formally educated at Girls' Latin School and at Smith College in Massachusetts, where she majored in theater.

After Nancy graduated she became a professional actress and took on her stepfather’s name and called herself, Nancy Davis. She landed a role in the Broadway musical, Lute Song which also starred Mary Martin, mother of Larry Hagman.

Nancy Reagan took her career as an actress seriously and after arriving in Hollywood she was signed up by MGM Studios and went on to appear in two feature films, The Doctor and the Girl with Glenn Ford and East Side, West Side with Barbara Stanwyck.The only time she ever appeared in the same movie as her future husband, Ronald Reagan,  was in 1957 in Hellcats of the Navy.

She retired from acting in 1962 after appearing in several television dramas including Wagon Train.

For nearly ten years Nancy served on the Screen Actors Guild. It was during this time in 1951 that Nancy met Ronald Reagan while he was president of the Screen Actors Guild. By March 4^th 1952 they were married. Their best man on the special day was William Holden. It was Ronald Reagan’s second marriage as he had been married to another actress, Jane Wyman, in 1940 and divorced in 1948.

Nancy has always maintained that from the start she and Ronald Reagan were “soul mates”. When her husband passed away, Charlton Heston referred to their relationship as “the greatest love affair in the history of the American Presidency.”Nancy and Ronald had two children, Ronald and Patti. Patti was once photographed for an issue of Hugh Hefner’s Playboy magazine.

When Ronald Reagan first moved his wife into the White House she was criticized for spending $210,399 on a scarlet, cream and gold china service because at that time the nation was experiencing an economic recession. During her time at the White House Nancy liked to influence the day to day operations especially dealing with matters related to her husband’s image and legacy. Also while at the White House she became a close friend of Truman Capote. She was a keen observer of astrology and frequently tried to use it to influence her husband’s policies much to the disapproval of  The White House Chief of Staff, Donald Regan.

In 1983 along with the former Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, Nancy appeared in an episode of the TV series Dynasty along with other cast members including John Forsythe, Joan Collins, Linda Evans and John James. She also appeared as herself in Different Strokes with Gary Coleman.

Nancy Reagan suffered the terrible experience of the attempt on her husband’s life in 1981 and later in 1989 she too was to undergo a life threatening experience when she underwent a mastectomy for breast cancer. After Ronald Reagan was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease in 1994 Nancy took responsibility for presenting the Ronald Reagan Freedom Award to people from anywhere in the world who "embodied President Reagan's lifelong belief that one man or woman truly can make a difference." Notable recipients have been Mikhail Gorbachev, Margaret Thatcher, Rudy Giuliani and George H W Bush.

Another moment of concern for Nancy Reagan’s health came in London in 2005 during a visit with Margaret Thatcher and Prince Charles when she suffered a fall and was briefly hospitalized.

Mrs. Reagan was among those who attended the National Funeral Service for Gerald R Ford in the Washington National Cathedral on January 2, 2007. She had mourned her own husband in 2004 in the same cathedral.

Nancy Reagan currently resides in the wealthy suburb of Bel Air, Los Angeles, California, where she had lived with her husband until his death on June 5, 2004.