As the World Turns Icon Eileen Fulton Passes Away at 91
Okay, I’ll explain, but try to keep up. Jordan Collins
Eileen Fulton, the actress who defined daytime drama as Lisa Grimaldi, has died at 91. According to an obituary published by Groce Funeral Home, she passed on July 14 in Asheville, North Carolina, after a period of declining health. Fans and colleagues are now reflecting on a career that reshaped the soap opera landscape for half a century.
Fulton’s journey began in Salisbury, North Carolina, where she discovered a passion for performance while studying drama and music at Greensboro College. It was a path she pursued with purpose, even though most actors would think twice before leaving home. By 1956, she had moved to New York City to chase her ambitions on stage and screen, a decision that paid off in unexpected ways.
Her first screen credit came in 1960 with the low-budget crime drama Girl of the Night, but Fulton’s real breakthrough arrived the same year. Casting directors tapped her for one of the most unlikely roles in television history: a scheming, trailblazing young wife named Lisa Grimaldi on As the World Turns. What was meant to be a temporary character turned into a cultural institution.
Producers likely did not predict that this “temporary” fixture would become a cornerstone of the show. Over the next five decades, Fulton portrayed Lisa with a mix of charm and cunning, turning her into daytime TV’s first true antiheroine. Lisa’s elaborate schemes and flamboyant fashion became appointment viewing for millions of Americans, cementing Fulton’s status as a soap legend.
When As the World Turns went off the air in 2010, Fulton held the distinction of being one of the longest-running actors on a single series in television history. Viewers who shipped Lisa with every romantic partner she ever had still remember her final curtain call and the emotional weight of that farewell episode.
Beyond Oakdale, Fulton proved her versatility on Broadway, appearing in the original cast of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and headlining the short-lived spin-off series Our Private World. She balanced stage and screen work with ease, showcasing an energy that many performers half her age couldn’t match.
Throughout her career, Fulton earned peer recognition and awards. In 1991 she received a Soap Opera Digest Award for Outstanding Actress, and in 2004 she was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Daytime Emmys. These accolades underscored her influence on the genre and her undeniable commitment to the craft.
As tributes pour in from co-stars, producers and fans, it’s clear that Fulton’s legacy extends far beyond her memorable one-liners and dramatic exits. She blazed a trail for strong, complex female characters in daytime television. Well, that should settle it.
Sources: Celebrity Storm and TMZ, Groce Funeral Home
Attribution: Creative Commons Licensed
