Elizabeth Hubbard, ‘As The World Turns’ star and Emmy winner, dead at 89

Soap opera legend Elizabeth Hubbard, who dazzled as businesswoman Lucinda Walsh on CBS’ “As The World Turns,” died at the age of 89 over the weekend, her son confirmed.

Her son, Jeremy D. Bennett, announced the news in a Facebook post on Monday. Her cause of death was not disclosed.

“I’m sorry to say with a broken heart mi mum passed over the weekend,” he wrote.

“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.”

Hubbard was nominated for eight daytime Emmy awards for her role as Walsh, a powerhouse businesswoman and devoted mother on the soap, which was focused on the upper-class Walsh and Stewart families and their fictional lives in Oakdale, Illinois.

She was the winner of two daytime Emmy awards – one for “Best Actress in Daytime Drama For a Series” in 1974 for her role as Dr. Althea Davis, and one in 1976 for “Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Special” for her role as Edith Wilson in “First Ladies Diaries.”

Hubbard was born in New York City on December 22, 1933, and attended Radcliffe College, which was the women’s college of Harvard University, and graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London, England, according to Soap Opera Digest.

The actress began her soap career in 1962 by playing Anne Fletcher in “Guiding Light,” and continued on to play Carol Kramer on “The Edge of Night” in 1963.

She had a long run on “The Doctors” as Dr. Davis, a New England doctor and divorcée, where she first began appearing in 1964. She appeared in over 2,700 episodes from 1964 until the show’s cancellation in 1982, according to IMDb.

After the cancellation of “The Doctors,” she played Estelle Chadwick on “One Life To Live” for one year before joining “As The World Turns” for her signature daytime role.

Over the course of her long career, she was nominated for eight Daytime Emmy Awards for her role as Walsh in “As The World Turns.” In addition, she was nominated for her role as Eva Montgomery in “Anacostia” in 2016.

She was also the winner of a Clarence Derwent Award in 1965 for “Best Supporting Female (USA),” as well as a recipient of a 2015 Gold Derby TV “Lifetime Achievement Award.”

Her other credits included playing Vikki St. John in the 1979 movie “The Bell Jar,” and Ruth in the 1980 film “Ordinary People.”

Actress Martha Byrne, who played Hubbard’s on-screen daughter, Lily, on “As The World Turns,” posted a heartfelt tribute to the star on her Instagram page on Monday.

“First and foremost I want everyone to know I made sure she was aware of how much everyone loved her,” Byrne wrote. “I would share your comments from social media, videos and your fond memories of her as Lucinda, Althea, every time I saw her. She loved the audience and fought like HELL to bring truth and honesty to her performances.”

The post continued, “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.”

While speaking with Soap Opera Digest in 2015, Hubbard gushed about her fans, telling the outlet, “I love them and I mean that. They’re in my heart… 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.” 

Hubbard married NYC furrier David Bennett in 1968 and divorced in 1973, according to Soap Hub. The two had one child together, Jeremy Bennett, 51.