Deborah Adair (born Deborah Adair Miller) is an American television actress, primarily known for her roles in soap operas.

Early life

Born in Lynchburg, Virginia, Adair attended the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...

, where she earned a degree in advertising and marketing. She worked as a copywriter, commercial producer and assistant promotion manager for radio stations in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. Adair was married to politician Gary Baker for four years, divorcing in 1978.

Career

Adair went to Hollywood and found an agent who helped her land small parts in several television series. Her big break came in 1980 when she was cast as

Jill Foster Abbott Jill Abbott is a fictional character from the American CBS soap opera ''The Young and the Restless''. The longest-running and only remaining original character, Jill was created and introduced by William J. Bell. Originally portrayed by Brenda ...

on the daytime soap opera ''

The Young and the Restless ''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in fictional Genoa City (not the real-life similarly-named Genoa City, ...

''. In 1983, she left ''The Young and the Restless'' to take the role of

Tracy Kendall ''Dynasty'' is an American prime time television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 12, 1981 to May 11, 1989. The series, created by Richard and Esther Shapiro and produced by Aaron Spelling, revolves around the Carringtons, a wealthy ...

in the primetime soap opera ''

Dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...

'', a role she played until 1984. She followed this with the regular role of Daisy Lloyd in another Aaron Spelling series, ''

Finder of Lost Loves ''Finder of Lost Loves'' is an American drama series aired by the ABC network during the 1984–1985 season. Synopsis After Cary Maxwell's (Anthony Franciosa) wife Kate dies, he decides to set up a private detective agency specializing in reu ...

'', in 1984. In 1986, she made a one-week return to ''The Young and the Restless'' to reprise her role as Jill. She also appeared on the daytime soap opera '' Santa Barbara'' for a few episodes. Adair married television producer

Chip Hayes Chip Hayes (born December 15, 1956) is an American soap opera writer, producer, and director. Personal life He is married to actress Deborah Adair, with whom he has two adopted children. He is the son of Nancy Gates and William Hayes. Positions h ...

in 1987. She worked with her husband on the primetime soap opera '' Melrose Place'', in which she played the recurring role of advertising executive Lucy Cabot from 1992 to 1993. She also portrayed the role of Kate Roberts on '' Days of Our Lives'' in 1993 and became one of few actors to concurrently play in a daytime soap opera and a nighttime soap opera. She left ''Melrose Place'' while continuing on ''Days of our Lives'', a role for which she won the Best Supporting Actress Award at the

Soap Opera Digest Award ''The Soap Opera Digest Awards'', originally known as ''The Soapy Awards'' when introduced in 1977, is an awards show held by the daytime television magazine ''Soap Opera Digest''. History 1977 until 1983 The Soapy Awards were an award presen ...

in 1994. In total, Adair has appeared in seven projects produced by Aaron Spelling; ''

'', '' Matt Houston'', ''

The Love Boat ''The Love Boat'' is an American romantic comedy/drama television series that aired on ABC from 1977 to 1986; in addition, four three-hour specials aired in 1986, 1987, and 1990. The series was set on the luxury passenger cruise ship MS ''Pa ...

'', ''

Hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

'' (in which she played four roles between 1984–87), '' Melrose Place'' and the television movie ''

Rich Men, Single Women ''Rich Men, Single Women'' is a 1990 American made-for-television romantic comedy film directed by Elliot Silverstein.Television Reviews--Rich Men, Single Women Anonymous. Variety; Los Angeles Vol. 338, Iss. 3, (Jan 24, 1990): 167. Plot Three w ...

'' (1990). She has also appeared in a variety of other primetime series such as '' Murder, She Wrote'', ''

Blacke's Magic ''Blacke's Magic'' is an American crime drama television series that aired for 13 episodes on NBC, from January 5 to May 7, 1986. Reruns later aired during the fall of 1988, to fill scheduling gaps caused by the 1988 Writers Guild of America stri ...

'' and ''

MacGyver Angus "Mac" MacGyver is the title character and the protagonist in the TV series ''MacGyver''. He is played by Richard Dean Anderson in the 1985 original series. Lucas Till portrays a younger version of MacGyver in the 2016 reboot. In both p ...

''. Adair also played a supporting role as

Kate Chase Katherine Jane ("Kate") Chase Sprague (August 13, 1840 – July 31, 1899) was a Washington society hostess during the American Civil War. During the war, she married Rhode Island Governor William Sprague. She was the daughter of Ohio politician ...

in the Emmy Award-nominated miniseries ''

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...

'' (1988).

Personal life

In 1995, she retired from acting. She and her husband have two adopted children, Lucy Taylor Hayes and Jackson William Hayes.

References

External links

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adair, Deborah American soap opera actresses People from Lynchburg, Virginia 20th-century American actresses Living people 21st-century American women Year of birth missing (living people)