Veteran Soap Opera Star Linda Dano Celebrates Her Birthday

It was great to have veteran soap star Linda Dano back on soaps in 2021, and the actress remains just as beloved – and busy – as she ever was. And today, this talented lady is celebrating a major milestone.

Happy Birthday, Linda Dano!

And that’s because she was born on May 12, 1943, in Los Angeles, California, which means that this much-loved fan favorite is turning 81 years old today! In the halcyon days of her early career, Dano found herself cast in numerous primetime programs — Ironside, Police Woman, Starsky & Hutch, Charlie’s Angels, etc. — as well as films, and she eventually landed a contract through 20th Century Fox, alongside the likes of Tom Selleck.

Between 1978 and 1980, she played the recurring character Gretel Cummings on One Life to Live, and from 1981 to 1982, she appeared on As the World Turns as Cynthia Haines. Beginning on January 6, 1983, and continuing until the series cancellation in 1999, Dano starred on Another World as romance novelist Felicia Gallant (AKA Fanny Grady).

Originally a man-eating, acid-tongued vixen, Felicia eventually mellowed, and Dano’s own warmer personality was copied. During her tenure with the program, she won a Daytime Emmy Award (for a controversial storyline that saw Felicia wreck the home of one of her dearest girlfriends). She infamously underwent a facelift, which was incorporated into the fictional proceedings — Felica’s face was horribly scarred in a fall, and serious plastic surgery was necessitated.

In the aftermath of AW’s ending, Dano reprised her OLTL role and eventually crossed over to sister serials All My Children, General Hospital, and Port Charles. Her other acting credits include Guiding Light (Lena), Days of our Lives (Vivian), Homicide: Life on the Street, and Desperate Housewives.

In addition to her acting, Dano co-hosted a daytime TV talk show titled Attitudes — which resulted in her being parodied by Saturday Night Live‘s Nora Dunn — penned a style and fashion column for various magazines, co-authored a romance novel and two style guides, and created her own merchandise lines for sale on QVC.

Dano was married to advertising executive and actor Frank Attardi for over 20 years. They were separated by his death from lung cancer in 2004. On the day of Attardi’s burial, Dano learned that her mother had passed — an incident that resulted in the actress sinking into a deep depression.

After a prolonged recovery, buoyed by talk therapy, Dano threw herself into charitable works. The actress is currently actively supporting such groups as HeartShare, The National Osteoporosis Foundation, the National Alzheimer’s Association, and Support Partners. Every year, the HeartShare Human Services of New York bestows a “Linda Dano Award.”

Soap Hub would like to wish Linda Dano a very happy birthday, and you can, too, by clicking on the X (formerly Twitter) link below.