Maureen Elizabeth Reagan (January 4, 1941 – August 8, 2001) was an American political activist and the first child of U.S. president
Ronald Reagan and his first wife, actress
Jane Wyman
Jane Wyman ( ; born Sarah Jane Mayfield; January 5, 1917 – September 10, 2007)["Actress, P ...](_blank)
.
Her brother is
Michael Reagan and her half-siblings are
Patti Davis and
Ron Reagan, from her father's second marriage (to
Nancy Reagan).
Early life
Reagan was born January 4, 1941, in Los Angeles, where she was raised. She graduated from Marymount Secondary School,
Tarrytown, New York in 1958 and briefly attended
Marymount University
Marymount University is a private Catholic university with its main campus in Arlington, Virginia. Marymount offers bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees. It has approximately 3,897 students enrolled, representing approximately 45 states an ...
in
Virginia.
She worked for
Walker & Dunlop and entered the
Miss Washington competition in 1959.
Her parents also had another daughter, Christine, who died shortly after birth.
Acting career
Reagan pursued a career in acting in her youth, appearing in films such as ''
Kissin' Cousins
''Kissin' Cousins'' (stylized onscreen as ''KISƧIN' COUSINS'') is a 1964 American musical Panavision Metrocolor comedy film directed by Gene Nelson and starring Elvis Presley. Written by Gerald Drayson Adams and Gene Nelson, the film featur ...
'' (1964) in which she featured alongside
Elvis Presley.
Political activities
Reagan was the first son or daughter of a President to be elected cochair of the Republican National Committee.
However, both of her attempts at election to political office ended in defeat. She ran unsuccessfully for the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
from California in 1982 (which was eventually won by
Pete Wilson
Peter Barton Wilson (born August 23, 1933) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 36th governor of California from 1991 to 1999. A member of the Republican Party, he also served as a United States senator from California bet ...
) and in 1992 for
California's 36th congressional district
California's 36th congressional district is a U.S. congressional district in California. Based in the eastern part of Riverside County, it covers most of the desert communities of Palm Springs, Palm Desert, Indio, Coachella, Rancho Mirage, D ...
.
Although they maintained a united front, Maureen Reagan differed from her father on several key issues. Although reared
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
following her mother's conversion, she was
pro-choice
Abortion-rights movements, also referred to as pro-choice movements, advocate for the right to have legal access to induced abortion services including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their pre ...
on
abortion
Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...
.
She also held the belief that
Oliver North
Oliver Laurence North (born October 7, 1943) is an American political commentator, television host, military historian, author, and retired United States Marine Corps lieutenant colonel.
A veteran of the Vietnam War, North was a National Secu ...
should have been
court-martial
A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...
ed.
After her father announced his diagnosis of
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...
in 1994, Maureen Reagan became a member of the
Alzheimer's Association
The Alzheimer's Association was founded by Jerome H. Stone with the help of several family members in Chicago, Illinois, and incorporated on April 10, 1980, as the Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association, Inc. It is a non-profit Ame ...
board of directors and served as the group's spokeswoman. While hospitalized for
melanoma
Melanoma, also redundantly known as malignant melanoma, is a type of skin cancer that develops from the pigment-producing cells known as melanocytes. Melanomas typically occur in the skin, but may rarely occur in the mouth, intestines, or eye ( ...
cancer towards the end of her life, Maureen was only floors away from her father who had suffered a severe fall.
Personal life
In 1960, Maureen's by-then divorced parents became concerned about her. Ronald Reagan used his connections at the FBI − established during his work as an anti-communist informant − to request the agency to investigate her romantic life. The agency did so on condition that the FBI not be cited as a source, and reported that she was living with an older, married man who was a police officer.
Maureen Reagan was married three times:
*John Filippone, a policeman; they were married in 1961 and divorced the following year.
[
* David G. Sills, a lawyer and Marine Corps officer; they married on February 28, 1964; the couple divorced in 1967.][
*Dennis C. Revell, CEO of Revell Communications (a national public relations/public affairs firm), whom she married on April 25, 1981.] She and Revell adopted one daughter, Margaret "Rita" Mirembe Revell, who was born in Uganda. The Revells became Rita's guardians in 1994. They adopted her in 2001. Rita was the beneficiary of a private bill to facilitate her adoption as Maureen and Dennis Revell were unable to complete the necessary paperwork and other requirements by the Ugandan government, including a personal visitation to that country, due, in large part, to Maureen Reagan Revell's terminal cancer.
Death
Reagan died in Granite Bay, California
Granite Bay is a census-designated place (CDP) in Placer County, California, United States. It is part of the Sacramento–Arden-Arcade– Roseville Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 21,247 at the 2020 census, up from 20,402 ...
, on August 8, 2001, aged 60, from melanoma
Melanoma, also redundantly known as malignant melanoma, is a type of skin cancer that develops from the pigment-producing cells known as melanocytes. Melanomas typically occur in the skin, but may rarely occur in the mouth, intestines, or eye ( ...
. She is interred at Calvary Catholic Cemetery and Mausoleum in Sacramento, California.
Reagan volunteered with actor David Hyde Pierce
David Hyde Pierce (born April 3, 1959) is an American actor and director of stage, film and television. He starred as psychiatrist Dr. Niles Crane on the NBC sitcom ''Frasier'' from 1993 to 2004, and won four Primetime Emmy Awards and a Screen ...
, of TV's ''Frasier
''Frasier'' () is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for 11 seasons. It premiered on September 16, 1993, and ended on May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey (screenwriter), Peter Case ...
'', at the Alzheimer's Association. At her funeral on August 19, 2001, Pierce spoke to the mourners at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in Sacramento, and recalled his friend's attitude to her illness. "When she was given lemons, she did not make lemonade. She took the lemons, threw them back and said, 'Oh, no you don't.'"
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Reagan, Maureen
1941 births
2001 deaths
20th-century American actresses
21st-century American women
Activists from California
American feminists
American film actresses
American health activists
Actresses from Los Angeles
California Republicans
Deaths from cancer in California
Children of presidents of the United States
Converts to Roman Catholicism
Deaths from melanoma
People from Granite Bay, California
Actresses from Sacramento, California
Reagan family
Women in California politics
Catholics from California