CineScope
Nancy Reagan picture

Nancy Reagan

Acting
Known For

94 Years Old

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Nancy Davis Reagan (born Anne Frances Robbins; July 6, 1921 – March 6, 2016) was an American film actress and the wife of Ronald Reagan, the 40th President of the United States. She served as the First Lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989. Davis' film career began with small supporting roles in two films that were released in 1949, The Doctor and the Girl with Glenn Ford and East Side, West Side starring Barbara Stanwyck. She played a child psychiatrist in the film noir Shadow on the Wall (1950) with Ann Sothern and Zachary Scott; her performance was called "beautiful and convincing" by New York Times critic A. H. Weiler. She co-starred in 1950's The Next Voice You Hear..., playing a pregnant housewife who hears the voice of God from her radio. Influential reviewer Bosley Crowther of The New York Times wrote that "Nancy Davis [is] delightful as [a] gentle, plain, and understanding wife." In 1951, Davis appeared in Night into Morning, her favorite screen role, a study of bereavement starring Ray Milland. Crowther said that Davis "does nicely as the fiancée who is widowed herself and knows the loneliness of grief," while another noted critic, The Washington Post's Richard L. Coe, said Davis "is splendid as the understanding widow." MGM released Davis from her contract in 1952; she sought a broader range of parts, but also married Reagan, keeping her professional name as Davis, and had her first child that year. She soon starred in the science fiction film Donovan's Brain (1953); Crowther said that Davis, playing the role of a possessed scientist's "sadly baffled wife," "walked through it all in stark confusion" in an "utterly silly" film. In her next-to-last movie, Hellcats of the Navy (1957), she played nurse Lieutenant Helen Blair, and appeared in a film for the only time with her husband, playing what one critic called "a housewife who came along for the ride." Another reviewer, however, stated that Davis plays her part satisfactorily, and "does well with what she has to work with." Author Garry Wills has said that Davis was generally underrated as an actress because her constrained part in Hellcats was her most widely seen performance. In addition, Davis downplayed her Hollywood goals: promotional material from MGM in 1949 said that her "greatest ambition" was to have a "successful happy marriage"; decades later, in 1975, she would say, "I was never really a career woman but [became one] only because I hadn't found the man I wanted to marry. I couldn't sit around and do nothing, so I became an actress." Ronald Reagan biographer Lou Cannon nevertheless characterized her as a "reliable" and "solid" performer who held her own in performances with better-known actors. After her final film, Crash Landing (1958), Davis appeared for a brief time as a guest star in television dramas, such as the Zane Grey Theatre episode "The Long Shadow" (1961), where she played opposite Ronald Reagan, as well as Wagon Train and The Tall Man, until she retired as an actress in 1962.

Born

New York City, New York, USA on 6th July 1921

Died

6th March 2016

All Credits

Apostrophes Image
Apostrophes
Self
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson Image
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre Image
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Amy Lawson
Great Performances Image
Great Performances
Self
Wagon Train Image
Wagon Train
Mrs. Baxter
Narcos Image
Narcos
Self (archive footage)
87th Precinct Image
87th Precinct
Diane King
Climax! Image
Climax!
Carol Peterson
Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields Image
Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields
Self (archive footage)
The Family Image
The Family
Self (archive footage)
The Reagans Image
The Reagans
Self (archive footage)
Entertainment Tonight Image
Entertainment Tonight
Self
The Tall Man Image
The Tall Man
Sarah Wiley
American Made Image
American Made
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
General Electric Theater Image
General Electric Theater
Vicky Carlisle
General Electric Theater Image
General Electric Theater
Betty Anderson
General Electric Theater Image
General Electric Theater
General Electric Theater Image
General Electric Theater
Evelyn Kent
Diff'rent Strokes Image
Diff'rent Strokes
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars Image
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Helen
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars Image
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Nan Gage
First Ladies Image
First Ladies
Self (archive footage)
Kill the Messenger Image
Kill the Messenger
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
The '80s: The Decade That Made Us Image
The '80s: The Decade That Made Us
Self (archive footage)
Crack: Cocaine, Corruption & Conspiracy Image
Crack: Cocaine, Corruption & Conspiracy
Self (archive footage)
James Stewart: A Wonderful Life Image
James Stewart: A Wonderful Life
Self
Zappa Image
Zappa
Self (archive footage)
Portrait of Jennie Image
Portrait of Jennie
Teenager in Art Gallery
13th Image
13th
Self (archive footage)
HyperNormalisation Image
HyperNormalisation
Self (archive footage)
Reagan Image
Reagan
Self
Grass Image
Grass
Self (archive footage)
Get Me Roger Stone Image
Get Me Roger Stone
Self (archive footage)
Tupac: Resurrection Image
Tupac: Resurrection
Self (archival)
Secret Origin: The Story of DC Comics Image
Secret Origin: The Story of DC Comics
Self (archive footage)
The Making of Trump Image
The Making of Trump
Self (archive footage)
No Image
The Queen at 80
Self
Hellcats of the Navy Image
Hellcats of the Navy
Nurse Lt. Helen Blair
Reagan Image
Reagan
Self (archive footage)
The Reagan Show Image
The Reagan Show
Self (archive footage)
Talk About a Stranger Image
Talk About a Stranger
Marge Fontaine
Casino Jack and the United States of Money Image
Casino Jack and the United States of Money
Self (archive footage)
Bully. Coward. Victim. The Story of Roy Cohn Image
Bully. Coward. Victim. The Story of Roy Cohn
Self (archive footage)
The New Air Force One: Flying Fortress Image
The New Air Force One: Flying Fortress
Self (archive footage)
The Way I See It Image
The Way I See It
Self (archive footage)
It's a Big Country Image
It's a Big Country
Miss Coleman
Silk Road: Drugs, Death and the Dark Web Image
Silk Road: Drugs, Death and the Dark Web
Herself (archive footage)
The House I Live In Image
The House I Live In
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
East Side, West Side Image
East Side, West Side
Helen Lee
The Killing of America Image
The Killing of America
Self (archive footage)
Crash Landing Image
Crash Landing
Helen Williams
Superstar: The Life and Times of Andy Warhol Image
Superstar: The Life and Times of Andy Warhol
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
The Doctor and the Girl Image
The Doctor and the Girl
Mariette Corday
Reversing Roe Image
Reversing Roe
Self (archive footage)
The Next Voice You Hear... Image
The Next Voice You Hear...
Mary Smith
Shadow on the Wall Image
Shadow on the Wall
Dr. Caroline Canford
The Presidents' Gatekeepers Image
The Presidents' Gatekeepers
Self (archive footage)
The Flintstone Kids' "Just Say No" Special Image
The Flintstone Kids' "Just Say No" Special
Herself
Myrna Loy: So Nice to Come Home To Image
Myrna Loy: So Nice to Come Home To
(archive footage)
Donovan's Brain Image
Donovan's Brain
Janice Cory
Shadow in the Sky Image
Shadow in the Sky
Betty Hopke (as Nancy Davis)
Night Into Morning Image
Night Into Morning
Mrs. Katherine Mead
Le Cirque: A Table in Heaven Image
Le Cirque: A Table in Heaven
Self
Inside the White House Image
Inside the White House
Self (archive footage)
Our Nixon Image
Our Nixon
Self
How to Win the US Presidency Image
How to Win the US Presidency
Self (archive footage)
Joan Rivers at the BBC Image
Joan Rivers at the BBC
Self (archive footage)
Family Fundamentals Image
Family Fundamentals
Self - First Lady (archive footage)
La Coupe Stanley à Montréal en 1993 Image
La Coupe Stanley à Montréal en 1993
Self (archive footage)
All the Presidents' Wives Image
All the Presidents' Wives
Self
How to Win the TV Debate Image
How to Win the TV Debate
Self (archive footage)
Remembering Reagan at His Ranch Image
Remembering Reagan at His Ranch
(archive footage)
Ronald Reagan: An American Journey Image
Ronald Reagan: An American Journey
Self
The Dark Wave Image
The Dark Wave
No Image
Stand-up Reagan
Self (archive footage)
Nancy Reagan: The Role of a Lifetime Image
Nancy Reagan: The Role of a Lifetime
Self (archive footage)
Anxiety. Thoughts of an Old Man Image
Anxiety. Thoughts of an Old Man
Self (archive footage)
Tyranny of the Status Quo: Politicians Image
Tyranny of the Status Quo: Politicians
Self (Archival Footage)
The Road to Mass Incarceration Image
The Road to Mass Incarceration
Self
Tyranny of the Status Quo: Beneficiaries Image
Tyranny of the Status Quo: Beneficiaries
Self (Archival Footage)
A Child is Born: A Christmas Story Presented by Ronald Reagan Image
A Child is Born: A Christmas Story Presented by Ronald Reagan
Wife
Tyranny of the Status Quo: Bureaucrats Image
Tyranny of the Status Quo: Bureaucrats
Self (Archival Footage)
No Image
The Chemical People