Elizabeth Hubbard, who rose to stardom for her appearances in various soap shows, has died at age 89.
The actress’s son Jeremy Bennett confirmed his mother’s passing on Monday, April 10, writing via Facebook, “I’m sorry to say with a broken heart my mum passed over the weekend. Thank you for being an unmovable rock that guided me through life. I will try to honour your memory for as long as I live.”
Martha Byrne, who played Hubbard’s onscreen daughter in As the World Turns, reflected on her former costar’s legacy amid the news.
“As many of you are finding out this morning, Elizabeth Hubbard passed away. First and foremost I want everyone to know I made sure she was aware of how much everyone loved her. I would share your comments from social media, videos and your fond memories of her as Lucinda, Althea, every time I saw her,” Byrne, 53, wrote via Instagram on Monday. “She loved the audience and fought like HELL to bring truth and honesty to her performances. On a personal level there aren’t words to describe how much she meant to me. Only feelings, which override words in so many cases when it comes to love. I will be sharing more so we can all grieve together but here are our last words together only just a few days ago.”
She continued: “I said, ‘Liz, do you know how much you have done for me?’ She said, ‘You can do more.’ Because of what she has done for me over the last 38 years, the strength and fearless nature in how she lived her life, she is right, I can AND WILL do more. I look forward to sharing more about her life, which encompasses so much more than her INCREDIBLE career on daytime television.”
Hubbard is best known for her role as Althea Davis on the NBC daytime soap opera The Doctors, which she played from 1964 to 1983. The New York native went on to play Lucinda Walsh in CBS’ As the World Turns, which scored her eight Daytime Emmy nominations.
On the big screen, Hubbard starred in films including I Never Sang for My Father, The Bell Jar and Ordinary People. After portraying Edith Wilson in the 1976 movie First Ladies Diaries: Edith Wilson, Hubbard received an Emmy win for Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Special.
The soap star continued to appear in TV roles such as Center Stage, Hope & Faith, The Treatment, Life on Mars and a Dutch series titled Goede tijden, slechte tijden. Hubbard’s final role before her passing was in Anacostia, which she appeared in from 2015 to 2018. She was once again nominated for an Emmy after playing Eva Montgomery in the web series.
Off screen, the Cold River star tied the knot with David Bennett in 1970. The couple welcomed their son, Jeremy, before calling it quits in 1972.
In 2015, Hubbard gushed over the support she received from soap opera fans throughout her career.
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“I love them and I mean that. They’re in my heart,” she told Soap Opera Digest in 2015. “Let the fans know that I love them and honor them and I still look at the poems I sent them. I’ve dated many men in my life, but my secret love affair is with the fans.”
