INTRODUCTION

HER STORY

QUOTES

Ronald Reagan was said to have been a faithful fan of Falcon Crest starring his first wife, Jane Wyman. Nancy left the room whenever it was aired.

Nancy Davis Reagan always made it clear that Ron Jr. was her favorite child, often regarding the more rebellious Patti, his sister, as the black sheep of the family. She called her son "Skipper," and her love for him was so strong that she was accused of being overly protective as a mother.

Nancy ruled her family on the advice of astrologer Joan Quigley. For example, she insisted that her husband be sworn in as governor of California in the middle of the night when the stars were in a favorable alignment.

Long before she ever dreamed of becoming First Lady of America, Nancy Davis was an attractive and ambitious starlet known otherwise as "The Fellatio Queen of Hollywood," as described by Kitty Kelley in the First Lady's unauthorized biography. As an aspiring starlet, Nancy's affairs included dalliances with Clark Gable, Peter Lawford, Spencer Tracy, and Frank Sinatra.

Patti Davis, daughter of Ronald and Nancy Reagan, was the prodigal daughter, dumping the Reagan name and using her mother's maiden name instead to symbolize her disgust with her father's right-wing political views. At the age of 41, Patti posed fpor Playboy, appearing on the cover with the hands of a black man cupping her otherwise naked breasts.

She used the White House as a showcase for talented young performers in the PBS television series "In Performance at the White House."

In her first year in the White House she directed a major renovation of the second- and third-floor quarters.

Ronald Reagan was a democrat when he met Nancy.  She persuaded him to join the republican party.

Her domineering manner is said to have caused frequent run-ins with her staff and earned her the title, Dragon Lady.

Following an assassination attempt on the president in 1981 she hired the services of astrologer, Joan Quigley, who charted and mapped safe times for all events including travel arrangements, speeches, debates and press conferences.

Determined to try to break Jane Wyman's record of having appeared in five movies with Ronald Reagan, Nancy accepted the film role of a promiscuous nurse in love with a submarine commander in Hellcats of the Navy. This 1957 Columbia Pictures release was to be their only feature film together, though they co-starred in four television dramas, two of which were on the General Electric Theater.

"Nancy never bought gifts for her friends," said Carlo Celoni, the former manager of Gucci in Beverly Hills. "She was not a great one for spending ... She was very careful about how she spent money. If she got a birthday present she didn't like, she'd always bring it in to us and we'd credit it to her account for when she wanted to buy something for herself. We did that a lot for her."

The woman she most admired in the world was the soignée wife of the founder, president and chief executive officer of Diners Club. "Betsy Bloomingdale was her idol, her goddess," said journalist Jody Jacobs. "She was everything Nancy wanted to be."

Nancy's gift-giving took bizarre, even eccentric turns, according to her friends, relatives and employees. They were well aware that their presents usually came from the discarded heap of free samples and rejects accumulated by the Reagans over the years.

Her stepfather, Dr. Loyal Davis, was a prominent neurosurgeon, very active in ultra-conservative politics. Nancy says she has his hands.