Susan Lucci Biography

Actress. Born in 1948, in Scarsdale, New York. The daughter of Victor and Jean Lucci, she grew up in Garden City, New York, with her older brother, James. A fan of television soap operas from childhood, Lucci enrolled in the drama program at Marymount College in Tarrytown, New York, after graduating high school.

In 1969, the 21-year-old Lucci auditioned for and won the part of Erica Kane on the fledgling daytime soap opera All My Children. From 1970 to the present, Lucci earned the adoration of her fans for her portrayal of Erica through three decades, several high-profile careers, and nine marriages to six different men. TV Guide has called Erica Kane “unequivocally the most famous soap opera character in the history of daytime TV.”

Lucci herself became famous for her string of Daytime Emmy Award nominations: every year from 1981-93 and 1995-98, she earned a nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for All My Children. Her unbroken streak—zero wins out of 18 nominations—made Lucci notorious in the entertainment world and beyond. On May 21, 1999, the curse was finally lifted, as Lucci finally took home the award after her 19th nomination. In addition to her long-awaited Emmy triumph, Lucci has also collected numerous awards over the years, including an American Academy of Achievement Award in June of 1991, a 1992 People's Choice Award, and a 1993 Soap Opera Digest Award. In 2000, she celebrated her 30th anniversary on All My Children.

In addition to her tempestuous onscreen life as Erica Kane, Lucci has appeared on the primetime drama series Dallas, during the 1990-91 season. She has also starred in a number of equally melodramatic television movies, including Mafia Princess (1986), Lady Mobster (1988), French Silk (1994), Seduced and Betrayed (1995), and Blood on Her Hands (1998). In 1995, she played a female Scrooge in Ebbie, a humorous television version of the classic A Christmas Carol. Susan Lucci also appeared briefly in the feature film Young Doctors in Love (1982). In late 1999, she turned in a stint as Annie Oakley on Broadway in the musical Annie Get Your Gun, filling in for star Bernadette Peters.

Lucci is active in her support of Little Flowers Children’s Services of New York, a child-care agency providing foster care and adoption. In 2000, she was chosen as the celebrity spokesperson for the March of Dimes’ National Ambassador Campaign. Susan Lucci launched her own collection of beauty products, the Susan Lucci Collection, in 1991, and introduced her own fragrance, La Lucci, in 1999.

Lucci lives in Garden City, New York, with her husband and manager, Helmet Huber. The couple married in 1969 and have two children, Liza, an actress who debuted on the soap opera Passions in 1999, and Andreas.

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