Susan Lucci
Susan Victoria Lucci is an American actress, television host, author and entrepreneur, best known for portraying Erica Kane on the ABC daytime drama All My Children from 1970 to 2011. The character is considered an icon, and Lucci has been called "Daytime's Leading Lady" by TV Guide, with The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times citing her as the highest-paid actor in daytime television. As early as 1991, her salary had been reported as over $1 million a year.
In 1996, TV Guide ranked Lucci number 37 on its 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time list. In 2005, she received a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and was inducted into the Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2006. She was named one of VH1's 200 Top Icons of All-Time and one of Barbara Walters's Ten Most Fascinating People. She has also played roles in made-for-TV movies, hosted many shows and guest starred on television comedy series, including Saturday Night Live and Hot in Cleveland. She also has her own line of hair care products, perfumes, lingerie and skin care, called The Susan Lucci Collection. As of 2012, Lucci hosted Deadly Affairs, and starred as Genevieve Delatour in the Lifetime television series Devious Maids.
In 2015, Lucci was inducted as a Disney Legend.
Early life
Susan Lucci was born in Scarsdale, New York, to parents Jeanette and Victor Lucci, a building contractor. Her father is of Italian ancestry, and her mother is of Swedish descent. She was raised in Yonkers, New York, before moving with her family at age 2 to Elmont, New York, and then at age 5 to another Long Island town, Garden City, New York. Lucci graduated from Garden City High School in 1964 and from Marymount College, Tarrytown in 1968, with a BA degree in drama.Career
''All My Children''
Lucci is best known for appearing as Erica Kane on the ABC soap opera All My Children, from January 16, 1970, to September 23, 2011.Lucci was nominated for the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series Emmy for her work on All My Children almost every year beginning in 1978. When Lucci did not win the award after several consecutive nominations, her image in the media began to be lampooned, as she became notoriously synonymous with never winning an Emmy. NBC's Saturday Night Live exploited this by asking her to host an episode; during her monologue, the show's cast, crew, and even stagehands nonchalantly carried Emmys of their own in her presence. In addition, she appeared in a 1989 television commercial for the sugar substitute Sweet One, intended to portray her as the opposite of her villainess character, yet throwing one of Erica Kane's characteristic tantrums, shouting, "Eleven years without an Emmy! What does a person have to do around here to get an Emmy?" Her name eventually became part of the language, used as an avatar for artists who receive numerous award nominations without a win.
After 18 failed nominations, she finally won in 1999.
When ABC cancelled All My Children on April 14, 2011, after 41 years on the air, Lucci said in an interview: "It's been a fantastic journey. I've loved playing Erica Kane and working with Agnes Nixon and all the incredible people involved with All My Children. I'm looking forward to all kinds of new and exciting opportunities." Lucci publicly criticized ABC Daytime president Brian Frons over the cancellation of All My Children in the epilogue of her autobiography All My Life.
Primetime television, stage, hosting and film
Lucci has appeared in a number of television series and television movies. In 1982, she appeared in a cameo appearance in the comedy film Young Doctors in Love. In 1986, she played the role of Darya Romanoff in the Golden Globe– and Emmy Award–winning TV movie . In 1990–1991, she began a series of guest spots on the nighttime soap opera Dallas. She hosted NBC's Saturday Night Live in October of that year; in one skit, she appeared as Erica Kane competing on a game show.In 1995, Lucci appeared in the Lifetime television film Ebbie. This film was an updated version of A Christmas Carol. Lucci played a Scrooge-like department store owner visited by Marley and the three ghosts on Christmas. In 2004, she appeared as a guest star in two episodes of the ABC comedy series Hope & Faith.
In 1999, she played the title role of Annie Oakley in the revival of Irving Berlin's musical Annie Get Your Gun. Michael Logan of TV Guide said, "Susan Lucci didn't just take Great White Way by storm: she took it by tornado, hurricane and tsunami, too."
Lucci made several appearances as herself, the arch rival of Wendie Malick's character, Victoria Chase, on the TV Land sitcom Hot in Cleveland, including the February 1, 2012 episode entitled Life with Lucci.
She appeared in Gloria Estefan's music video "Hotel Nacional" in February 2012. She guest starred in multi-episodes of the sixth season of Lifetime drama series Army Wives.
Lucci hosted and narrated Deadly Affairs, a prime-time series airing on Investigation Discovery as of 2012. On November 15, 2012 Lucci appeared on The Colbert Report in a segment reflecting the soap-opera-like nature of the Petraeus scandal.
Lucci had a starring role as Geneviève Delatour in the Lifetime comedy-drama series Devious Maids created by Marc Cherry.
In 2017, Lucci played one of Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard's grandparents in SIA's music video, "Santa's Coming for Us". She also appeared in television ads for Progressive Insurance that were styled as a soap opera.
''Dancing with the Stars''
Lucci competed in Season 7 of Dancing with the Stars with dance partner Tony Dovolani. Lucci said that Dancing had asked her to appear before, but she had turned it down, in part, because of the travel it would have required of her. Lucci later changed her mind, in part, because of the experience of fellow All My Children star Cameron Mathison, who finished fifth in season 5. She was voted off the show on November 5, 2008, finishing sixth in the competition.;Performances
Personal life
Lucci married Austrian-born chef and food-service manager Helmut Huber on September 13, 1969. They are the parents of two children: actress Liza Huber and a son, Andreas Huber.Lucci's autobiography, All My Life: A Memoir, was published in 2011. She is a registered Republican and has hosted fundraising events for Rudy Giuliani. She is a supporter of LGBT rights and equality, her support spurred by an All My Children storyline in 2000 in which her character Erica's daughter, Bianca Montgomery, came out as a lesbian.
In the fall of 2018, Lucci suddenly experienced chest discomfort. Seeking medical help, she was surprised to find that she had two blocked cardiac arteries, as she lives a healthy lifestyle. That night, she had an emergency procedure to place two arterial stents in her heart. Lucci postponed making public her experience until shortly before the American Heart Association's annual fashion event in February 2019.