Patti Davis | |
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 Davis in 1983 | |
| Born | Patricia Ann Reagan (1952-10-21)October 21, 1952 (age 73) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Other names | Patti Reagan |
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| Political party | Democratic[1] |
| Spouse | |
| Partner | Bernie Leadon |
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Patricia Ann Davis (néeReagan; born October 21, 1952) is an American actress and author. She is the daughter of U.S. presidentRonald Reagan and his second wife,Nancy Reagan.
Patricia Ann Reagan was born to Ronald and Nancy Reagan on October 21, 1952, atCedars-Sinai Medical Center inLos Angeles, California.[2] She is the older sister ofRon Reagan, and the younger adoptive sister of the lateMichael Reagan as well as half-sister of the lateMaureen Reagan. She went to grade school atthe John Thomas Dye School inBel Air, and graduated from theOrme School of Arizona in 1970.[3]She matriculated atNorthwestern University, where she studied creative writing and drama. She then attended theUniversity of Southern California for two years.[4] She changed her last name to her mother's maiden name, Davis, in an effort to have an independent career.[5] She was active in theanti-nuclear movement before her father was elected president, and continued her activism through his term, stirring controversy and creating strife in the family. She has been a critic of theRepublican Party, with which she has never been affiliated.[6]
In the early 1980s, Davis acted in a few television shows before getting her first publishing deal. In 1986, she published her first novel,Home Front. She used elements of her own life to create a fictional story. The book became controversial, and she was widely criticized. Following her second novelDeadfall, she wrote an autobiography calledThe Way I See It, in which she revealed many family dramas and secrets. She has since spoken publicly about how she regrets the form, but not the content, of the critique she presented in the book.[7]
In the July 1994 issue ofPlayboy, Davis posed for the magazine with afull frontal pictorial.[8][9] This issue of the magazine also displayed Davis on its front cover. This issue is considered to be one of the magazine's most controversial covers. Davis has posed for other magazines such asMore in 2011.Playboy also issued a VHS tape as a complement to the 1994 issue.[10]
When her father was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, she began writingThe Long Goodbye, which was published in 2004. During that time, she began writing for magazines and newspapers, includingThe New York Times,Newsweek andTime. Her original screenplay,Spring Thaw, became the 2007Hallmark Channel movieSacrifices of the Heart, starringMelissa Gilbert andKen Howard.[11]
In 1969, Davis applied to Ohio University and Northwestern to study journalism, and enrolled in the latter.
In the 1970s, she lived withEagles guitaristBernie Leadon.[4] By this time, her mother had disowned her for living with Leadon as an unmarried couple. Together, Davis and Leadon co-wrote the song "I Wish You Peace", which appeared on Eagles albumOne of These Nights.[12]
In the 1980s, she dated actorTimothy Hutton, and later had a two-year relationship with actorPeter Strauss.
In 2014, Davis expressed her frustration about having theSecret Service monitoring her dates, as they had time limits on evening dates, and monitored her and her partners' actions together. She said that this situation was part of why she rushed into her relationship with her future husband,Paul Grilley.[13] In 1984, she married Grilley, a yoga instructor and one of the founders ofYin Yoga. They divorced in 1990, without children. As of January 2026, Davis has never remarried.[4]
Davis is avegetarian, and has disagreed with laws that outlaw the use ofmarijuana.[14]
She has no children.[15]
In 2011, she launched "Beyond Alzheimer's" atUCLA, which she still runs.[16][17]
In a September 2018, op-ed for theWashington Post, Davis wrote that she had beensexually assaulted nearly 40 years earlier by a studio executive. The op-ed was released the same weekChristine Blasey Ford recounted an alleged sexual assault by Supreme Court nomineeBrett Kavanaugh. Davis released the piece in support of Blasey Ford when she had been criticized for not remembering details of the alleged assault.[18][19][20]
After thesynagogue shooting in Pittsburgh in October 2018, Davis penned an op-ed in the Washington Post, accused PresidentDonald Trump of failing to provide solace to the nation in times of tragedy. She wrote, in part: "This president will never offer comfort, compassion or empathy to a grieving nation. It’s not in him. When questioned after a tragedy, he will always be glib and inappropriate. So I have a wild suggestion: Let’s stop asking him. His words are only salt in our wounds."[21][22] In August 2019, Davis wrote an editorial in theWashington Post condemning denigrating comments her father had made in jest about black Africans at theUnited Nations in a 1971 phone conversation with PresidentRichard Nixon, which Nixon had taped. The tapes were publicly released the day prior. In the editorial, Davis wrote: "There is no defense, no rationalization, no suitable explanation for what my father said on that taped phone conversation."[23]
In October 2021, she expressed her disdain forJohn Hinckley Jr. being fully released following theassassination attempt of her father in 1981,[24] a view that contrasted with that ofMichael Reagan, the adopted son of President Reagan and his first wife,Jane Wyman, who expressed forgiveness for Hinckley.[25][26]
After theattempted assassination of Donald Trump, she voiced disdain for political violence and related the event to her own father's experience being shot and the emotional toll it took on her family.[27]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Curse of the Pink Panther | Michelle Chauvin | |
| 1985 | Cocaine Wars | Rosita | |
| 1989 | Tango & Cash | Reporter | |
| 1993 | The Last Party | N/a | Documentary |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979, 1986 | The Love Boat | Brenda / Cindy | 2 episodes |
| 1979 | CHiPs | Receptionist | Episode: "The Watch Commander" |
| 1980 | Fantasy Island | Charmain | Episode: "My Fair Pharaoh/The Power" |
| 1980 | Vegas | Connie / Beth | 2 episodes |
| 1981 | Nero Wolfe | Dana Groves | Episode: "Gambit" |
| 1981 | For Ladies Only | Sandy Green | Television film |
| 1982 | Hart to Hart | Laura Hampel | Episode: "To Coin a Hart" |
| 1982 | Romance Theatre | Jean | 5 episodes |
| 1983 | Night Partners | Janice Tyler | Television film |
| 1983 | Trapper John, M.D. | Janet Taylor | Episode: "All About Everett" |
| 1983, 1985 | Simon & Simon | Beth Carlisle / Diana | 2 episodes |
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