Patti Davis - Biography

Patti Davis (born Patricia Ann Reagan on October 21, 1952, in Los Angeles, California) is known as the black sheep of the Reagan family. She is famous for her pro-choice viewpoint on abortion and for being against nuclear weapons, and she had a highly-publicized rift between her and her parents, former president Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan.

She wrote accounts of her life that did not portray her family in a positive light, and the autobiography "The Way I See It," which contained the revelations that her father was cold, distant, and aloof to everyone except Nancy. It also contained accusations of physical abuse by her mother.

Patti was romantically involved with Bernie Leadon of Eagles for a time in the 1970s and co-wrote with him the song "I Wish You Peace," which appeared on The Eagles' "One of These Nights" album.

In 1984, she married her yoga instructor Paul Grilley, but they divorced in 1990.

In the 1990s, she posed nude for Playboy Magazine and filmed the video Playboy Celebrity Centerfold: Patti Davis (1995).

Later, Patti reconciled with her parents, especially as they battled her father's Alzheimer's disease. As public opinion polls looked more favorably upon Ronald and Nancy, so did Patti's portrayal of them. She wrote books that were more flattering to her father, and was active in Reagan family actions against John Hinckley and a CBS mini-series called The Reagans (2003). Patti also published columns and articles in a number of newspapers and magazines.