Elizabeth Lawrence (September 6, 1922 – June 11, 2000) was an American

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek ...

, best known for her role as "Myra Murdock Sloane" in the

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

All My Children ''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 20 ...

'' from 1979–1991.

Life and career

Lawrence was born in

Huntington, West Virginia Huntington is a city in Cabell and Wayne counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is the county seat of Cabell County, and the largest city in the Huntington–Ashland metropolitan area, sometimes referred to as the Tri-State Area. A h ...

and obtained a bachelor's degree in science and a master's degree in special education. She made her acting debut in 1947 off broadway in ''Skin of our Teeth'' and her Broadway debut in 1954 in ''The Rainmaker'' and would go on to act in several other theatrical productions. She would also work on the Daytime Soap Operas ''The Road of Life'', ''

The Edge of Night ''The Edge of Night'' is an American television mystery crime drama series and soap opera, created by Irving Vendig and produced by Procter & Gamble Productions. It debuted on CBS on April 2, 1956, and ran as a live broadcast on that networ ...

'', '' A World Apart'', '' The Doctors'', ''

Guiding Light ''Guiding Light'' (known as ''The Guiding Light'' before 1975) is an American radio and television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the third longest-running drama in television in American history. ''Guiding Light'' a ...

'', and ''All My Children'' from 1979 to 1991 where she played Myra Murdock Sloane and earned three

Daytime Emmy Award The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ...

nominations in 1981, 1982 and 1985 for

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series This is a list of winners and nominees of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. In early Primetime Emmy Award ceremonies, the supporting categories were not always genre-, or even gender-, specific. Begin ...

. Her other notable acting work includes roles in the movies '' Four Friends'', '' We're No Angels'', ''

Sleeping with the Enemy ''Sleeping with the Enemy'' is a 1991 American psychological thriller film directed by Joseph Ruben and starring Julia Roberts, Patrick Bergin and Kevin Anderson. The film is based on Nancy Price's 1987 novel of the same name. Roberts plays a ...

'', ''

The Butcher's Wife ''The Butcher's Wife'' is a 1991 American romantic comedy film, directed by Terry Hughes and starring Demi Moore and Jeff Daniels. The film concerns a clairvoyant woman (Moore) thinks that she's met her future husband, whom she has seen in her ...

'' and ''

The Crucible ''The Crucible'' is a 1953 play by American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatized and partially fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Massachusetts Bay Colony during 1692–93. Miller wrote the play as a ...

'' as well as guest starring roles on television series such as ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering on ...

'', '' Oz'' and ''

Third Watch ''Third Watch'' is an American crime drama television series created by John Wells and Edward Allen Bernero that aired on NBC from September 26, 1999, to May 6, 2005, with a total of 132 episodes spanning over six seasons. It was produced by ...

''. In the 1970s and 1980s she also worked as an auxiliary police officer in

Manhattan, New York Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

Death

Lawrence died of cancer on June 11, 2000 at age 77. M. Night Shymalan's ''

Unbreakable Unbreakable may refer to: * '' Unbreakable: My Story, My Way'', a book written by Jenni Rivera * Unbreakable (horse) (1935–1962), a Thoroughbred racehorse and sire Film and television * ''Unbreakable'' (film series), a trilogy directed by M ...

'' was dedicated to her memory.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lawrence, Elizabeth 1922 births 2000 deaths Actresses from West Virginia American film actresses American soap opera actresses Place of death missing Actors from Huntington, West Virginia American stage actresses 20th-century American actresses