Pioneering Actress Ellen Holly Dies at 92
December 7, 2023
America’s first Black soap opera star was also an acclaimed Broadway and film actress Trailblazing American actress Ellen Holly, the first Black person to star in a soap opera, has died. The White Plains resident, who helped change the face of daytime television with her lead role on “One Life to Live,” passed away peacefully in her sleep Wednesday, Dec. 6, at the age of 92 at Calvary Hospital in the Bronx, New York. Holly was born on January 16, 1931, in Manhattan to parents William Garnet Holly, a chemical engineer, and Grayce Holly, a housewife and writer. Ellen Holly’s