Trailblazing Actor Ellen Holly, First Black Soap Opera Star, Dies at 92

Holly, known for her role in 'One Life to Live', broke barriers in the television industry and later found joy in her career as a librarian.

Ellen Holly, the first Black actor to star in a soap opera with a lead role on “One Life to Live,” passed away at 92.
Holly's groundbreaking role came after she published a column in New York Times in 1968 describing her difficulties finding roles as a Black woman with lighter skin.
She starred on the soap for more than a decade, from 1968 to 1980 and again from 1983 to 1985, and her storylines included a love triangle between her character and two doctors, one white and one Black.
Holly later appeared in other television series, including “The Guiding Light” and “In The Heat of the Night.”
In the 1990s, Holly became a librarian at the White Plains Public Library, calling her years there some of her happiest.