The
former First Lady, wife of President Ronald Reagan, passed away in Bel
Air on Sunday after suffering congestive heart failure.
Starting as an actress in the 1940s and 1950s, she married Ronald Reagan - then president of the Screen Actors Guild - in 1952.
Mrs Reagan was an influential First Lady during her husband's presidency from 1981 to 1989.
Notably
she spearheaded the 'Just Say No' to campaign against drugs, speaking
at schools and appearing on TV shows such as Dynasty and Diff'rent
Strokes to promote the cause.
She married
Ronald Reagan in 1952. They served in the White House from 1981 to
1989. Pictured: The couple at a ball at the Air and Space Museum in 1985
(left) and on a 1984 trip to the Great Wall Of China (right)
The former First Lady, who was married to President Ronald Reagan, passed away in Bel Air
'Drugs
take away the dream from every child’s heart and replace it with a
nightmare, and it’s time we in America stand up and replace those
dreams,' she said in a speech which led to 12,000 Just Say No clubs
being set up across the country and a Just Say No Week implemented by
Congress.
Her efforts are credited with driving cocaine use down to a 10-year low.
Ronald Reagan died on June 5, 2004, after a 10-year battle with Alzheimer's disease.
In
recent years, Nancy struggled with her health after falling at home and
breaking three ribs in 2012, not long after breaking her pelvis at home
in 2008.
Despite
her own health setbacks, however, Mrs Reagan remained active in
politics, particularly in relation to stem-cell research.
She also endorsed Mitt Romney for the presidency in 2012.
On
Sunday, Mrs Reagan's adopted stepson Michael Reagan led tributes to the
former First Lady on Twitter, writing: 'I am saddened by the passing of
my step mother Nancy Reagan...She is once again with the man she
loved.God Bless...'
Rand
Paul tweeted: 'Nancy Reagan was an exemplary First Lady and woman. She
will be missed. My thoughts and prayers are with her loved ones. RIP
Mrs. Reagan'
Born in New York City in 1921, her birth certificate reads Anne Francis Robbins, but everyone called her Nancy from the start.
At
the time her mother Edith Luckett, an actress on Broadway, and her
father Kenneth Robbins, a car salesman, were married and living in New
York.
But within months of Nancy's birth, they divorced, her father disappeared, and her mother joined a traveling theater company.
As Edith traveled, Nancy lived with her aunt in Flushing, Queens, until she was six years old.
In 1929, Edith married a neurosurgeon called Loyal Davis, who adopted Nancy and moved the family to Chicago.
Nancy went to college in Chicago then university in Massachusetts, majoring in English and Drama.
She
then moved to New York to follow in her mother's footsteps and become
an actress, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Katherine Hepburn.
In
March 1949, she signed a seven-year contract with MGM and relocated to
Hollywood to star in movies such as The Next Voice You Hear, which
received a glittering review in the New York Times.
In
October 1949, she met Ronald Reagan. They married in 1952 - and
appeared in a movie together, Hellcats Of The Navy, in 1956.
She is survived by two children: Patricia Ann and Ronald Prescott.
She will be buried at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, next to her husband Ronald.
A
statement released by the Reagan Library said: 'In lieu of flowers, we
hope you will remember Mrs. Reagan with a memorial gift to the Ronald
Reagan Presidential Foundation. The Reagan Foundation was created by
President and Mrs. Reagan to preserve the Reagan Legacy and continue
President Reagan’s work for the benefit of future generations.'
On Sunday, tributes flooded in from political figures including aspiring presidents Ted Cruz and Donald Trump.
Trump tweeted: 'Nancy Reagan, the wife of a truly great President, was an amazing woman. She will be missed!'
Cruz
said: 'Nancy Reagan will be remembered for her deep passion for this
nation and love for her husband, Ronald. The Reagan family is in our
prayers.'
Sean
Spicer, head of the RNC committee, said: 'The world, the country and
@GOP lost an amazing woman today. May God bless #nancyreagan and the
Reagan family'
Arnold
Schwarzenegger, who like Reagan went from acting to governing
California, wrote on Twitter: 'Nancy Reagan was one of my heroes. She
served as First Lady with unbelievable power, class and grace and left
her mark on the world.'
Mitt Romney tweeted: 'With the passing of Nancy Reagan, God and Ronnie have finally welcomed a choice soul home.'
Joan Collins said: 'My friend Nancy Reagan died aged 94 The end of an era, #Love the 80s'
