The older daughter of R.J. Reynolds (1850-1918), founder of R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, and Katharine Smith Reynolds (1880-1924), Mary Reynolds Babcock was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on August 8, 1908. She had two brothers, R. J. Reynolds Jr. (1906-1964) and Zachary Smith Reynolds (1911-1932), and a younger sister, Nancy Susan Reynolds (1910-1985). Her childhood years were spent at the family’s home on West Fifth Street and then at Reynolda, the family’s estate located just north of Winston-Salem. She attended elementary school at Reynolda School, followed by Salem Academy, Miss Mason’s School in Tarrytown, New York, and Miss Wright’s School in Pennsylvania (now the Bryn Mawr College dormitory for graduate students). After graduating from Miss Wright’s School in 1927, she lived in Paris and New York and studied art and other subjects. In December 1929, she married Charles Henry Babcock (1899-1967), an investment banker from Philadelphia. They lived in Philadelphia, New York, and then Greenwich, Connecticut. In 1934 Babcock acquired the Reynolda Estate from her siblings and had it remodeled over the next two years.

Babcock, who inherited $30 million from her father’s estate in 1936, became a noted philanthropist, contributing to many worthy recipients. It has been estimated that she gave close to $7 million during her life in supporting the arts, education, and civic projects. In 1951 she and her husband gave 350 acres of Reynolda to Wake Forest College for its relocation to Winston-Salem from Wake County, North Carolina. Following her death in 1953, her will helped establish the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation. Since 1954, her foundation has supported many organizations, particularly non-profit organizations in North Carolina and the Southeast engaged in helping communities and people suffering economic hardships.

Mary Reynolds Babcock died in New York City on July 17, 1953 at the age of 44. Mary and Charles Babcock had four children: Mary Katharine, Barbara Frances, Charles Henry, Jr. (1932-2005), and Betsy Main (1937-2001).