Jae C. Hong / AP
Nancy Reagan, former first lady of the United States and the widow of President Ronald Reagan, died in her Los Angeles home Sunday morning. She was 94.
According to a statement sent to BuzzFeed News from Joanne Drake of the Reagan Presidential Foundation, the cause of death was congestive heart failure.
"Mrs. Reagan will be buried at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, next to her husband ... who died on June 5, 2004," the statement read.
"I am saddened by the passing of my step mother Nancy Reagan," her step-son Michael Reagan wrote on Twitter. "She is once again with the man she loved. God Bless."
Nancy Reagan was born in 1921 in New York City. She was named Anne Francis Robbins, but was always called "Nancy" by her family, according to the Reagan foundation.
In the 1940s she moved to Hollywood to pursue a career in acting. There she met then actor Ronald Reagan. In 1952 the two were married.
More than 10 years later – after starring in only one movie together called Hellcats of the Navy – Ronald Reagan began to become politically active.
Nancy Reagan was notoriously involved in her husband's campaign and presidency. She was known by many as one of his most trusted advisors who often put his image, reputation, and well-being above her own.
After Ronald Reagan served as the governor of California, he was elected president in 1980 and served two terms.
“Without Nancy, there would have been no Governor Reagan, no President Reagan,” Michael K. Deaver, a close friend and longtime political aide and of the Reagans who died in 2007.
Nancy Reagan exercised power behind the scenes, helping to hire and fire the political consultants during both of her husband’s campaigns for the Republican presidential bid, first in 1976 then successfully in 1980. S
As first lady, Nancy Reagan served publicly as the powerful face of the anti-drug "Just Say No" campaign. She pointedly portrayed herself as a devoted wife, often saying she had happily given up her career in acting to devote herself to her husband's career.
Behind the scenes she continued to function as a prominent adviser during Reagan's presidency. In 1987, when it was revealed that Ronald Reagan secretly signed off on sale of arms to Iran, Nancy Reagan was heavily involved in attempting to recover from the scandal.
She was influential in the decision to fire Donald Regan, Ronald Reagan's chief of staff, and in convincing her husband to issue a public apology, which he eventually did. She never sought and received little credit for the turnaround until years later.
Nancy Reagan remained notoriously loyal and publicly protective of Ronald Reagan, throughout his struggle with Alzheimer's disease and up until his death in 2004.
Ronald Reagan Presidental Library / Getty Images
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