Gail Davis, whose real name was Betty Jeanne Grayson, was born in Little Rock, Arkansas on October 5, 1925, to Dr. & Mrs. W.B. Grayson.  Her home town, however, was in McGehee, 108 miles south of the state capitol, but it did not have a hospital at the time of Gail's birth.  Gail's father, a prominent surgeon, later built the first hospital in McGehee.  Shortly thereafter, Dr. Grayson became the State Health Officer and the family moved to  Little Rock.             
                           
Gail grew up in a neighborhood with very few girls, so she learned to play boys games or be left out of everything.  She admitted to being somewhat of a tomboy, climbing trees, playing marbles and riding horses instead of playing with dolls.  However, she was also chosen "Most Beautiful Baby in Arkansas," making it easy to see why she was wholeheartedly accepted by her male playmates.           

She was the first of her family to enter the theatrical profession. Her Mother had studied singing and had a fine contralto voice which Gail inherited.  She began singing and dancing early on and by the age of eight, she was already taking part in many local shows.

  Gail attended Little Rock Senior High School, majored in Dramatics at Harcum Junior College for Girls in Bryn Mawr, Pa., and attended the University of Texas in Austin.  There she became one of the famed Texas Blue Bonnet Belles, not to mention having eight other beauty titles during her high school and college careers.

As Annie Oakley, Gail was the screen's first out and out female western star, having been called "the perfect western actress" by Autry, himself.  In an era dominated by cowboys, she was one of the few cowgirls whose role and abilities made her an equal.  She had to deal with the same kinds of outlaws that the cowboys dealt with and she did it without ever killing a one of them.  Though she did a man-sized job of shooting, riding, and cliff hanging in the course of each episode, Gail's Annie was feminine through and through.

Gail was proud of Annie Oakley, the real one as well as the character she portrayed on TV.  She was in total agreement with Autry that the series uphold the high standards the real Annie lived by, never wanting to dissuade but rather to encourage her values.  In so doing, Gail created an image of the western woman that offered young girls the same fantasy the Hollywood cowboy offered boys.  Gene Autry's dream had become a reality, and Gail Davis would uphold that reality for the rest of her life.