In this July 18, 1985, file photo, President Ronald Reagan and his wife, Nancy, wave from windows of his hospital room at the Navy Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. The former first lady has died at 94, The Associated Press confirmed Sunday, March 6, 2016. AP
LOS ANGELES, United States 鈥� Nancy Reagan, devoted wife and trusted confidante to late president Ronald Reagan who became the most ardent guardian of his legacy, died on Sunday, aged 94.
The former first lady, who suffered heart failure at her home in Los Angeles, will be buried next to her husband at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, her spokeswoman Joanne Drake said.
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Late in life, Reagan earned praise for many of the very qualities that saw her savaged by critics during Ronald Reagan鈥檚 two White House terms from 1981-1989 鈥� her fierce protectiveness and outsized influence on the president.
Perceived as regal and cold, she was feared by White House aides who often found themselves butting heads with her over policy and personnel appointments.
She made her own mark as first lady with her signature 鈥淛ust Say No鈥� drug awareness campaign, launched in 1982.
But after she left the White House, as she nursed Reagan through his ten-year descent into Alzheimer鈥檚 disease until his death in 2004, America softened its view of the former movie starlet.
鈥楶roud example鈥�
Warm tributes noting Nancy Reagan鈥檚 steadfast dedication to her husband poured in, with President Barack Obama and wife Michelle calling her a 鈥減roud example.鈥�
鈥淲e remain grateful for Nancy Reagan鈥檚 life, thankful for her guidance, and prayerful that she and her beloved husband are together again,鈥� the Obamas said in a statement.
Former first lady Barbara Bush said she was 鈥渢otally devoted to President Reagan, and we take comfort that they will be reunited once more.鈥�
Former California governor and action movie star Arnold Schwarzenegger described her as 鈥渙ne of my heroes鈥� who 鈥渟erved as first lady with unbelievable power, class and grace.鈥�
鈥淣ancy Reagan, the wife of a truly great president, was an amazing woman. She will be missed!鈥� said Donald Trump, the frontrunner in the race to be the Republicans鈥� presidential candidate in November.
President Reagan is viewed as something of a patron saint of conservatives and the patriarch of the modern Republican Party, and the diminutive former first lady has wielded considerable political power as a succession of 聽presidential hopefuls have sought her endorsement.
Born Anne Frances Robbins in New York on July 6, 1921 鈥斅燼nd given the name Nancy by her mother, Edith Robbins 鈥斅燫eagan鈥檚 car salesman father left the family when she was young.
Edith toured the country as an actress, marrying prominent neurosurgeon Loyal Davis, and settling the family in Chicago.
Inspired by her mother, Nancy worked as an actress on stage and in film and television, and met Ronald Reagan while under contract with MGM.
Love story
They married in 1952 after Reagan divorced his first wife, actress Jane Wyman, beginning a marriage that has been described as a love story to rival any that the couple acted out on the silver screen.
The pair, who wrote passionate love letters to each other over the decades, had two children: Patti, born in 1952 and Ron, born in 1958.
She made 11 films in all, including three after her marriage, appearing alongside her husband just once, in her last role in 鈥淗ellcats of the Navy鈥� (1956).
When Reagan went into California politics in the 1960s, Nancy recast herself as the ultimate political wife and confidante, serving as his first lady there from 1967-1975.
Only months after he took office as US president in 1981, Reagan narrowly survived an assassination attempt that spurred Nancy to take a keener role as her husband鈥檚 protector, strictly controlling access to the president.
She sometimes set out to influence decision-making indirectly by taking her case to people her husband trusted. Other times, her role took on a bizarre twist as she consulted astrologers to guide administration policy.
Dragon
鈥淲hen she gets her hackles up, she can be a dragon,鈥� said former Reagan chief of staff Howard Baker, appointed after Nancy Reagan engineered the firing of his predecessor, Don Regan.
In a 1988 interview, Nancy said she was forced to exert her influence because her husband was poorly served by his aides, especially during the Iran-contra scandal that tarnished his reputation.
To the public, Nancy Reagan became best known for her glamorous designer clothes, Hollywood friends and reported social climbing, as well as her 鈥淛ust Say No鈥� anti-drug campaign.
Behind closed doors, her actions were much more important.
鈥淣ancy wasn鈥檛 popular and she operated under cover, usually through a surrogate,鈥� columnist Eleanor Clift wrote years ago in The Washington Post.
Clift said Nancy鈥檚 鈥渋nstinct for moderation drew her into debates over everything from social policy to US-Soviet relations鈥� as she tried to protect her husband from right-wing influence.
After the Reagans left the White House in 1989, 鈥渢ell-all鈥� books by Regan and especially an unauthorized biography by Kitty Kelley, cast Nancy Reagan in an unflattering light, even alleging an affair with Frank Sinatra.
But in 1994 she played a key role in her husband鈥檚 widely-praised disclosure that he had Alzheimer鈥檚 and became a vocal campaigner for awareness of the disease.
As his memory faded and he no longer recognized the woman he had loved for half a century, Nancy Reagan again closed ranks around him, shielding him from public view and even from old friends to protect his image and dignity.
鈥淩onnie鈥檚 long journey has finally taken him to a distant place where I can no longer reach him,鈥� a rueful Nancy Reagan said at an Alzheimer鈥檚 fundraiser years ago.