Ronald Reagan’s First Lady Nancy has turned 90. She observed the occasion quietly at home with family.

An iron-willed woman, she has been credited with pushing Reagan to seek the presidency.

 Outspoken, she was one of the first modern conservative women to reap the constant ridicule of the news media — which aimed unending, weathering criticism at her purchases of new White House china, reports that she had consulted an astrologer, as well as her “Just Say No” anti-drug campaign aimed at children and her unwavering support of her husband, who she called “Ronnie.”

As she rushed to his side after his 1981 attempted assassination,  Reagan remarked to her, “Honey, I forgot to duck.”

She was born July 6, 1921.

“Her Jackie O-esque appeal won both praise and charges of elitism,” noted an editorial on Sunday’s The Daily Caller website, “but her fierce protection of her husband was undoubtably crucial to his success. Through her battle with cancer and his with Alzheimers, she remained steadfast at the side of her husband until his 2004 death.”

In a written statement, she said Friday she was deeply saddened by former First Lady Betty Ford’s death, calling her “an inspiration to many” and praising her efforts to educate women about breast cancer as well as her work at the Betty Ford Center rehabilitation facility.

Nancy Reagan praised Betty Ford’s courage in facing and sharing deeply personal struggles and called Betty former President Ford’s “strength through some very difficult days in our country’s history.”