Ellen Virginia Holly is an American actress. Beginning her career on stage in the late 1950s, Holly is perhaps best known for her role as Carla Gray–Hall on the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

daytime

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 ...

One Life to Live ''One Life to Live'' (often abbreviated as ''OLTL'') is an American soap opera broadcast on the ABC television network for more than 43 years, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and then on the internet as a web series on Hulu and iTunes ...

'' (1968–80; 1983–85). Holly is noted as the first African American to appear on daytime television in a leading role.

Biography

Career

Born in New York City, Holly is a life member of

The Actors Studio The Actors Studio is a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights at 432 44th Street (Manhattan), West 44th Street between Ninth Avenue (Manhattan), Ninth and Tenth Avenue (Manhattan), Tenth avenues in the ...

. Holly began her career on stage appearing in the Broadway productions of ''Tiger, Tiger Burning Bright'' and ''A Hand Is on the Gate'', then embarked on a television and film career. In 1968, Holly became the first black actress to be cast as a recurring cast member on daytime TV. She guest-starred on ''

Sam Benedict ''Sam Benedict'' is an American legal drama that aired on NBC from September 1962 to March 1963. The series was created and executive produced by E. Jack Neuman. The character Sam Benedict is based on real-life lawyer Jake Ehrlich, who served as ...

'' and '' The Nurses'' as well as landed the role of actress-turned-Judge

Carla Gray Carla Gray is a fictional character from the American soap opera '' One Life to Live'', played by actress Ellen Holly. Carla appeared from October 1968 through December 1980, and from May 1983 through December 1985. Carla was one of the original ...

on ''

'', a role she played from 1968 to 1980 and again from 1983 to 1985. Schemering, Christopher. '' The Soap Opera Encyclopedia'', September 1985, pg. 158-166, (1st edition) Holly came to the attention of

Agnes Nixon Agnes Nixon ( Eckhardt; December 10, 1922 – September 28, 2016) was an American television writer and producer, and the creator of the ABC soap operas '' One Life to Live'', '' All My Children'', as well as '' Loving'' and its spin-off '' The ...

, the creator of ''One Life to Live'', after writing a letter to the editor of ''The New York Times'' about what it was like to be a light-skinned

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

. Nixon created the role of Carla and offered Holly a role on her show. When Holly began on ''One Life to Live'' in October 1968, her African-American heritage was not publicized as part of the storyline; her character, named Carla Benari, was a touring actress of apparently Italian-American heritage. Carla and white physician Dr. Jim Craig fell in love and became engaged, but she was falling for an African-American doctor. When the two kissed onscreen, it was reported that the switchboards at ABC were busy by fans who thought that the show had shown an African-American and white person kissing. The fact that Carla was the African-American Clara Grey posing as white was revealed when Sadie Grey, played by

Lillian Hayman Lillian Irene Hayman (July 17, 1922 – October 25, 1994) was an American actress and singer. Career Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Hayman graduated from Wilberforce University with a BA before she began her career in the Broadway theatre. Sh ...

, was identified as her mother. Sadie convinced her daughter to embrace her heritage and tell the truth. Holly left the series in 1980, but returned in 1983. In 1996, she released her autobiography describing her life and struggles as a light-skinned black actress in Hollywood. According to her autobiography ''One Life: The Autobiography of an African American Actress'', she was fired from the show by new executive producer

Paul Rauch Paul Rauch (1930 – December 10, 2012) was an American television and film producer. Rauch's work was primarily in American soap operas. Career Rauch's earlier jobs included Vice President, Programs-East Coast for CBS, Supervising Producer for ...

in 1985. Holly returned to daytime in the long-term recurring role of a judge on ''

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 ...

'' from 1989 until 1993. She made a return to the small screen in 2002 when she appeared as Selena Frey in the TV movie ''10,000 Black Men Named George'', alongside

Andre Braugher Andre Keith Braugher (; born July 1, 1962) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Detective Frank Pembleton in the police drama series '' Homicide: Life on the Street'' (1993–1999), used car salesman Owen Thoreau Jr. in the com ...

and

Mario Van Peebles Mario Van Peebles (born January 15, 1957) is an American film director and actor best known for directing and starring in ''New Jack City'' in 1991 and '' USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage'' in 2016. He is the son of actor and filmmaker Melvin Va ...

Personal life

Ellen Holly was born in New York to William Garnet Holly and Grace Holly. Holly is

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

, and claims African, English, French, and Shinnecock

Native Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entert ...

heritage. Holly is a member of

Delta Sigma Theta Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. () is a historically African American sorority. The organization was founded by college-educated women dedicated to public service with an emphasis on programs that assist the African American community. Delta ...

sorority. Holly never married or had children. She had a relationship with her ''One Life to Live'' co-star Roger Hill who is also known for his role as Cyrus in the cult film '' The Warriors''. In her autobiography, she wrote about her romance with

Harry Belafonte Harry Belafonte (born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr.; March 1, 1927) is an American singer, activist, and actor. As arguably the most successful Jamaican-American pop star, he popularized the Trinbagonian Caribbean musical style with an interna ...

Filmography

References

External links

* *
Ellen Holly
at the

Internet Off-Broadway Database The Internet Off-Broadway Database (IOBDB), also formerly known as the Lortel Archives, is an online database that catalogues theatre productions shown off-Broadway. The IOBDB was funded and developed by the non-profit Lucille Lortel Foundation ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Holly, Ellen Living people American soap opera actresses Actresses from New York City African-American actresses American television actresses 20th-century American actresses American film actresses American stage actresses Delta Sigma Theta members 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women Year of birth missing (living people)