Reagan, Nancy (1923– )

US first lady. Fiercely protective of her husband, President Ronald Reagan, she was criticized by some for her interference in White House decision-making, but others argued that she provided a realistic counterweight to her husband's more casual and conservative approach.

She was born in New York City. After studying drama at Smith College, she became an actor in Hollywood where she met Ronald Reagan; they married in 1952. Her book The Letters of Ronald Reagan to Nancy Reagan was published in 2000. It is a non-political collection of love letters, telegrams, and notes from her husband, proceeds from which have been donated to the Alzheimer's Foundation (the disease from which Ronald Reagan announced in 1994 that he was suffering) and the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation for the Ronald Reagan Library and Museum.