Maureen Reagan

Maureen Elizabeth Reagan was born on January 4, 1941, in Los Angeles, California. She was the first child of Ronald Reagan, who later became the President of the United States, and his first wife, actress Jane Wyman. Reagan had a younger brother, Michael Reagan, and her half-siblings from Ronald Reagan's subsequent marriage to Nancy Reagan are Patti Davis and Ron Reagan. Additionally, she had an older sister, Christine, who died shortly after birth.

Reagan graduated from Marymount Secondary School in Tarrytown, New York, in 1958. She later briefly attended Marymount University in Virginia. During her early adulthood, she worked for Walker & Dunlop and participated in the Miss Washington competition in 1959.

In her youth, Reagan pursued a career in acting. She appeared in various films, including "Kissin' Cousins" (1964), in which she performed alongside Elvis Presley. She also appeared on television, notably in the episode "Ship of Ghouls" (Season 2, Episode 6) of "The Love Boat," which aired on October 27, 1978, where she played Mrs. Moss opposite Vincent Price as The Amazing Alonzo.

Reagan became active in politics and was notably the first child of a U.S. president to be elected co-chair of the Republican National Committee. She ran for political office twice, but both campaigns were unsuccessful. In 1982, she campaigned for the United States Senate from California, a race eventually won by Pete Wilson. In 1992, she ran for California's 36th congressional district but was not elected.

Although she was raised Roman Catholic following her mother's conversion, Reagan held progressive views on certain issues; she was pro-choice regarding abortion and believed that Oliver North should have been court-martialed.

In 1994, after her father announced his diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease, Reagan joined the Alzheimer's Association's board of directors and served as its spokeswoman. During her final years, she was hospitalized with melanoma cancer; at the time, she was located only a few floors away from her father, who had suffered a severe fall.

Reagan's personal life included three marriages. In 1961, she married John Filippone, a policeman; they divorced in 1962. She married lawyer and Marine Corps officer David G. Sills on February 28, 1964; the couple divorced in 1967. Her third marriage was to Dennis C. Revell, CEO of Revell Communications, on April 25, 1981. Together, they adopted a daughter, Margaret "Rita" Mirembe Revell, who was born in Uganda. The Revells became Rita’s guardians in 1994 and finalized her adoption in 2001, aided by a private legislative bill due to delays caused by Reagan’s terminal cancer.

Maureen Reagan passed away on August 8, 2001, in Granite Bay, California, at the age of 60, due to melanoma. She was interred at Calvary Catholic Cemetery and Mausoleum in Sacramento, California. During her illness, she volunteered with actor David Hyde Pierce at the Alzheimer's Association. At her funeral, Pierce spoke about her resilience and attitude towards her illness, recalling her response to challenges as rejecting optimism in favor of defiance.

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