Soap Opera Veteran Hillary B. Smith Celebrates Her Birthday

One Life to Live and General Hospital’s Nora Hanen Gannon Buchanan hasn’t been seen in a Port Charles courtroom in quite a while. But her portrayer, Hillary B. Smith, also beloved as Margo Hughes for many years on As the World Turns, has a reason to be festive.

Happy Birthday, Hillary B. Smith

That’s because she was born on May 25, 1957, in Boston, Massachusetts, which means that this talented performer is turning 67 years old today! After appearing on stage, Smith made her on-camera debut in an episode of the Michael Learned series, Nurse.

A year later, she was a cast member of the sketch comedy/sitcom No Soap, Radio. Subsequently, she appeared on the NBC daytime drama The Doctors (in the contract role of Kit McCormac), as well as episodes of Baby Makes Five and Too Close For Comfort.

Between 1983 and 1989, Smith took over the role of Margo Montgomery Hughes on As the World Turns from Margaret Colin. After leaving, she headed to Broadway, where she appeared in the smash hit The Heidi Chronicles as Susan Johnston. In 1992, she joined the cast of One Life to Live. On that soap, she played lawyer Nora Hanen Gannon. Her eventual pairing opposite Robert S. Woods, who played Bo Buchanan, proved to be a fan favorite.

During her tenure on the serial, Smith also starred in the Gene Wilder sitcom Something Wilder — which aired between 1994 and 1995. Smith remained at OLTL until its conclusion on ABC, which took place on January 13, 2012. When it returned for a one-season run on The Online Network, Smith was an inaugural cast member.

For her work at OLTL, Smith has won one Daytime Emmy Award (in 1994 for Outstanding Lead Actress) and received an additional nomination in 2000.

Smith’s other acting credits include feature films like Purple Hearts, Love Potion No. 9, and Palindromes, as well as guest appearances on Law & Order: SVU, The Bold and the Beautiful (where she played sex therapist Stacy Barton), and General Hospital (where she reprised the Nora Buchanan part).

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