Nancy Reagan’s childhood was essentially a tale of two very different worlds: an early period marked by separation and instability, followed by a sudden shift into an elite, privileged upbringing. Born Anne Frances Robbins in New York City on July 6, 1921, her early life was far from the picture-perfect image she later projected. Her father, Kenneth Robbins, was a car salesman who left the family shortly after she was born. Her mother, Edith Luckett, was a dynamic, ambitious stage actress.
Because her mother needed to travel constantly for theatrical tours to make a living, she made the difficult decision to send young Nancy (then nicknamed “Nancy” by her mother) to live with relatives. From the age of two until she was nearly nine, Nancy grew up in a modest home in Bethesda, Maryland, raised by her maternal aunt Virginia and uncle Audley Galbraith.
During these six years, she deeply missed her mother. She later recalled that her happiest moments were the rare occasions when Edith would pass through town on tour, leaving behind the glamorous scent of stage makeup and perfume.
Everything changed in 1929. Her mother married Dr. Loyal Davis, a highly prominent, wealthy, and politically conservative neurosurgeon from Chicago. Virtually overnight, Nancy was swept into a life of high society, moving into a luxury apartment on Chicago’s Gold Coast.
Dr. Davis was strict but deeply devoted to Nancy. She adored him, and when she turned 16, he formally adopted her. It was at this point her name legally became Nancy Davis. She attended the elite Girls’ Latin School of Chicago, where she excelled in drama and sports, followed by Smith College in Massachusetts, where she majored in English and theater. Through her mother’s theatrical connections and her stepfather’s status, the family home regularly hosted legendary figures of the era, including Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, and Walter Huston.
This secondary phase of her childhood fundamentally shaped the woman she would become. The stability and elegance of her life in Chicago replaced the anxieties of her early years, instilling in her a fierce loyalty to family and a comfort within upper-class social circles that served her perfectly all the way to the White House.
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