Eileen Fulton, Iconic Soap Star, Dies at 91
Eileen Fulton, best known for her 50-year role as Lisa Grimaldi on As the World Turns, died July 14 in Asheville, N.C., after a period of declining health.
Born Margaret Elizabeth McLarty in 1933, she began performing at age 2 and later studied drama and music at Greensboro College. After college, she moved to New York in 1956, studied under Sanford Meisner and Lee Strasberg, and took on modeling before landing her breakout role in 1960.
Originally meant to be a short-term character, Lisa became one of daytime TV’s most infamous “mean girls.” Fulton embraced the drama, once joking, “I’ve had 32 lovers, four husbands, two children and one phantom fetus.”
Despite occasional public backlash, she reveled in the audience’s strong reactions. “I’ve reached them,” she told NPR.