Legendary ‘As The World Turns’ Soap Star Passed Away At 91
Eileen Fulton, the legendary soap opera actress, has died at the age of 91.
She passed away on July 14 in her hometown of Asheville, North Carolina, after a period of declining health, according to an obituary from Groce Funeral Home.
Fulton was best known for her iconic role as Lisa Grimaldi on As the World Turns. She starred on the show from 1960 until it ended in 2010, making her one of the longest-running actors in soap opera history with a 50-year run.
Eileen Fulton, born Margaret Elizabeth McLarty on September 13, 1933, in Asheville, North Carolina, was a beloved soap opera star. The daughter of a Methodist minister, she developed a love for music and performance early in life and went on to earn a music degree from Greensboro College.
In 1956, Fulton moved to New York City to pursue an acting career, studying with respected teachers like Sanford Meisner and Lee Strasberg. She got her big break in 1960 when she was cast as Lisa Miller, later Lisa Grimaldi, on As the World Turns. What began as a short-term role turned into a 50-year legacy, with Fulton creating one of soap opera’s first true “vixens.” Her character became a staple of the show, and Fulton remained with the series until it ended in 2010.
“I’m the classic daytime meanie,” Fulton told PEOPLE in a1978 interview about her role as Lisa. “I’ve had 32 lovers, four husbands, two children and one phantom fetus.”
“They hated her — and I thought it was fabulous,” she told NPR of fan reaction to her character. Once, she told the outlet, a woman even hit her in the middle of a department store. “And people looked at me like I was rotten and this woman was a heroine. But I thought, you know what? I’ve reached them.”
Outside of daytime television, she appeared in various stage productions, including Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and The Fantasticks, and was active in the cabaret scene in both New York and Los Angeles. Fulton also authored two memoirs, a mystery novel, and several murder-mystery books.
Recognized for her lasting impact on the genre, she received a Daytime Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award and was inducted into the Soap Opera Hall of Fame. After retiring in 2019, she returned to her hometown of Asheville, North Carolina.