Nancy Reagan might never have been first lady if someone hadn't mistaken her for a communist sympathizer.
She met and married the future 40th president of the United States through a case of mistaken identity. Her name was Nancy Davis and she was a young aspiring movie actress in 1951 when hunters of real and imaginary communists were investigating Hollywood.
Her name, to her surprise, appeared on a list of communist sympathizers.
She appealed for help to the president of the Screen Actors Guild, Ronald Reagan. He investigated and found the implicated person was another Nancy Davis.
Reagan, who was divorced from actress Jane Wyman, began dating Davis regularly and they were married in a San Fernando Valley chapel March 4, 1952.
They pursued their careers and appeared in several films together, including 'Hellcats of the Navy' in 1957.
The false communist connection came as a jolt to Davis and her friends because she had been politically and socially conservative. She strongly supports the old-fashioned way of life based on close family ties and the right to privacy.
As she entered the White House as first lady on Jan. 20, 1981, she clung to those virtues. Her close friends likened her to a lioness protecting her mate and offspring at every turn.
Mrs. Reagan got off to a shaky start in the White House when there were headlines about her expensive wardrobe and purchase of new china for the White House. Reporters found her amiable until questions became personal and then she turned cool. She was thought calculating, the brains and the ambition behind her husband.
An appearance in the annual Gridiron Club's dinner singing 'Second Hand Rose' changed all that. When she demonstrated that she could laugh at herself after all, she hit her stride in leading a worldwide campaign to educate young people about the dangers of drugs.
Her efforts culminated in the fall of 1986 a huge government anti-drug campaign, led by her husband, to get young people to 'Just Say No' to illegal drugs. She was honored by numerous organizations for her campaign.
In 1984, before the president announced his plans to seek re-election, there were times when Mrs. Reagan appeared ambivalent about another four years in the White House. She spoke of the country's need for a two-term president but also made no attempt to hide her concern over the president's safety.
The attempt on his life March 30, 1981, a little more than two months after he took office, took its toll on her. He said he knew she worried whenever he left the White House gates.
She lost 10 pounds to the stress of worrying over her husband and grieving over the death of her stepfather.
In July 1985, the president underwent surgery for colon cancer, and her lion-like protectiveness again shielded the president. News about Reagan's health had to be cleared through the first lady before it was released.
Similarly, when the president goes in to Bethesda Naval Hospital for routine checkups, she screens information about his condition.
It will be at Bethesda Naval Hospital Saturday where Mrs. Reagan will undergo a modified radical mastectomy -- the removal of the breast and surrounding lymph nodes -- because of a 'suspicious lesion' doctors found during a recent examination.
Mrs. Reagan was born in New York on July 6, 1923, the daughter of Edith Dee-Dee Luckett, a one-time actress, and Kenneth Robbins, an automobile salesman.
Robbins left his wife when Nancy was an infant. She lived with relatives for five years when her mother was on the road.
Her mother divorced Robbins and married Dr. Loyal Davis, a Chicago surgeon, in May 1929. Nancy remained close to her adoptive father and her mother, who made their home in Phoenix, Ariz., until he died.
After she left Smith College, Mrs. Reagan acted in a few plays in summer stock before deciding to try for the movies.
Spencer Tracy was a friend of her family. In 1949 he arranged a screen test at MGM with director George Cukor that led to a seven-year contract. She appeared in 'Shadow on the Wall,' 'The Doctor and the Girl,' 'Night Into Morning,' 'East Side, West Side' and 'The Next Voice You Hear.' During that time she dated Cary Grant, Clark Gable and other leading men. She said there were no serious romances.
When Reagan became host-actor in the 'Zane Grey Theater,' she often was a guest star. They did 14 television shows together.
She wrote briefly of her acting career in her autobiography, 'Nancy,' and touched only lightly on her two children, Ronald Jr., and daughter Patti.
During the years between Reagan's governorship of California and his election as president, Mrs. Reagan kept a low profile. Occasionally she joined Reagan on the trail during his unsuccessful campaigns for the GOP nomination.
