Svetlana Nikolaevna "Lanna" Saunders (December 22, 1941 – March 10, 2007) was an American actress, best known for her role as

Marie Horton Marie Horton (formerly Merritt and Curtis) is a fictional character on the NBC soap opera, ''Days of Our Lives''. Created by ''DOOL'' creator Ted Corday, actress Maree Cheatham is most recognized in the role, originating it on the debut episode o ...

on the television soap opera ''

Days of Our Lives ''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that streams on the streaming service Peacock. The soap, which aired on the American television net ...

'', on which she appeared from 197985. She also played the character Betty Andrews 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, Wi ...

''. Saunders came from a prominent Russian-American acting family: her father was actor Nicholas Saunders and her grandfather was actor

Nicholas Soussanin Nicholas Soussanin (born 16 January 1889, Yalta, Taurida Governorate, Russian Empire (present-day Crimea, Ukraine) – 27 April 1975, New York City) was an actor from the Russian Empire who settled and worked in the United States. He was married ...

, who emigrated from the

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...

in the 1920s, and married actress

Olga Baclanova Olga Vladimirovna Baklanova (russian: О́льга Влади́мировна Бакла́нова; 19 August 1893 – 6 September 1974), known professionally as Olga Baclanova, was a Russian-born actress who found success in Hollywood film and ...

. Saunders first started in acting at age 13, studying under

Elia Kazan Elia Kazan (; born Elias Kazantzoglou ( el, Ηλίας Καζαντζόγλου); September 7, 1909 – September 28, 2003) was an American film and theatre director, producer, screenwriter and actor, described by ''The New York Times'' as "one o ...

and later joining his Lincoln Center Company. She met her future husband, actor

Lawrence Pressman Lawrence Pressman (born David M. Pressman; July 10, 1939) is an American actor, probably best known for roles on ''Doogie Howser, M.D.'', ''Ladies' Man'', a recurring role on '' Profiler'', the title character on ''Mulligan's Stew'' and as a f ...

, while performing on Broadway, and they were married from 1973 until her death. Saunders was diagnosed with

multiple sclerosis Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This d ...

in 1982 and she left ''Days of our Lives'' three years later when she became too ill to continue in the role. She died on March 10, 2007.

Filmography

References

External links

* *
Los Angeles Times obituary on Saunders
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saunders, Lanna 1941 births 2007 deaths American soap opera actresses Actresses from New York City American people of Russian descent American stage actresses American child actresses Neurological disease deaths in California Deaths from multiple sclerosis 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American women