Even if someone has never watched a soap opera, you can pretty much bet that they have at least heard of Susan Lucci. Her incredible career on All My Children led to her becoming a pop-culture icon — culminating in her being the only current soap star to host NBC’s Saturday Night Live.
But she has gone on to achieve even more, having also created a business empire selling things from beauty products to exercise equipment. From her early life to her soap legend BFF, here are five fast facts you should know about Emmy-winning actress, Susan Lucci.
In The Beginning
Lucci was born in Scarsdale, New York, but she moved around the state a number of times throughout her childhood. Growing up, she took voice lessons, dance lessons (guess that came in handy when she was on Dancing With The Stars), and participated in community theater. She got her BA in Drama from Marymount College.
Daytime Emmy Gold
Lucci was part of the original cast of All My Children, playing Erica Kane starting in 1970 and staying for its entire original run on television, which lasted 41 years. She was also nominated for 19 Daytime Emmy Awards before finally winning in 1999 (she was nominated twice after), spoofing her losses with a “Sweet One” commercial.
Broadway Baby
While still working on All My Children, Lucci tried her hand at Broadway. She was cast in the show Annie Get Your Gun as Annie Oakley. She did the role from 1999 until 2001. She returned to Broadway for one month’s run in Celebrity Autobiography back in 2018.
Legendary Mentor
Lucci was very close to acting legend Ruth Warrick, who was the grand dame of All My Children as Phoebe Tyler Wallingford, from 1970 until her death in 2005. Warrick, who was also in the Orson Wells classic, Citizen Kane, served as a mentor to Lucci, and the younger actress was her caregiver when Warrick’s health started to decline.
Health Concerns
Lucci was forced to deal with her own health scare fairly recently. She began having chest discomfort in the fall of 2018 and was told that she had two blocked cardiac arteries. An emergency surgery put in place two stents in her heart. Thankfully she’s OK and was able to solve the problem before something more serious happened.
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