Personal Life
In 1952 Rankin married Dr. Hugh Clark Davidson, M.D.. They were married for fifty-three years until her death of polycythemia vera, a bone marrow disease, in 2005. She died at Cabrini Medical Center in New York City. The Davidsons had no children.
Rankin did claim to have owned an exotic pet. In a 2002 Opera News interview, she recalled, "I became fascinated with a pet jaguar I discovered one day walking down the street in New Orleans. Eventually I talked his owner into selling him to me. His name was King Tut. We all became very much attached to him and watched him become a featured character in two movies. My husband and I even decided to take him to the Met once as a 'negotiating tool.' I don't think we really intimidated Bing, but he felt distinctly uncomfortable."
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