Ellen Parker (born September 30, 1949) is 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 Maureen Bauer in Guiding Light (1986-1993).

Stage work

Parker is primarily a New York stage actress. Among her credits was the original production of ''

The Heidi Chronicles ''The Heidi Chronicles'' is a 1988 play by Wendy Wasserstein. The play won the 1989 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Production history A workshop production at Seattle Repertory Theatre was held in April 1988, directed by Daniel J. Sullivan, starrin ...

'', as well as '' Equus'', David Hare's '' Plenty'', and the play "Strangers". She also had a role in the film ''

Kramer vs. Kramer ''Kramer vs. Kramer'' is a 1979 American legal drama film written and directed by Robert Benton, based on Avery Corman's 1977 novel of the same name. The film stars Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep, Jane Alexander, and Justin Henry. It tells the sto ...

''.

Television credits

Parker's first television appearance was in the PBS adaptation of another one of Wasserstein's works, ''

Uncommon Women and Others ''Uncommon Women and Others'' (1977), is the first play by noted 20th-century American playwright Wendy Wasserstein. Production history The play was initially produced at Yale University in 1975, as Wasserstein's master's thesis. The play pre ...

.'' Her first major television role was as

Ethel Kennedy Ethel Kennedy (' Skakel; born April 11, 1928) is an American human rights advocate. She is the widow of U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy, a sister-in-law of President John F. Kennedy, and the sixth child of George Skakel and Ann Brannack. Shortly ...

in the miniseries '' Kennedy'' in 1983. Among her other television credits are appearances on ''

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 ...

'' and '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', as well as ''

The Education of Max Bickford ''The Education of Max Bickford'' is an American drama television series that aired Sundays at 8:00 pm (EST) on CBS from September 23, 2001, to June 2, 2002, during the 2001–02 television season. After a strong initial launch, the show's audie ...

'' and '' Ed''.

Guiding Light

Parker is perhaps best known for her role as Maureen Reardon Bauer 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 ...

'', which she played from 1986 to 1993. She replaced Ellen Dolan in the role of Maureen in 1986, and played the role for seven years. During that time, the show's tentpole character, Bert Bauer, died when actress

Charita Bauer Charita Bauer (December 20, 1923 – February 28, 1985) was an American soap opera radio and television actress. Born in Newark, New Jersey, on December 20, 1923, she began her career at the age of eight as a model for clothing ads. Her talent ...

, who played Bert, died. Maureen then became the show's matriarchal figure. In 1993, then-executive producer

Jill Farren Phelps Jill Farren Phelps (born July 7, 1950) is an American television producer. She is known for her work with American soap operas, having served as executive producer of '' Santa Barbara'', '' Another World'', ''Guiding Light'', ''One Life to Live ...

made a surprising decision to kill the character of Maureen, based on lackluster responses to the character during a focus group session. Parker's performance during her character's death (Maureen died in a car accident after discovered her husband Ed had been unfaithful) earned her a

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 ...

in 1993. She subsequently returned to the show in 1997, 1998, 1999, 2004 and 2005 for flashback scenes and moments where Maureen appeared as a spirit. The character's death, and Parker's departure from the show, proved controversial and unpopular.

Personal life

Parker is

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

based and tends to take mostly New York-based roles. Ms. Parker is a graduate of

Bard College Bard College is a private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. The campus overlooks the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains, and is within the Hudson River Historic ...

. She and her ex- husband Dr. Mack Lipkin, a physician, have one child, a daughter, whom they adopted from

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, Ellen 1949 births Living people American soap opera actresses American stage actresses Bard College alumni Daytime Emmy Award winners Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series winners 21st-century American actresses