Jennifer Harmon, Emmy-Nominated ‘One Life to Live’ Actress, Dies at 82

Jennifer Harmon, the veteran actress best known for her work on the daytime dramas One Life to Live and How to Survive a Marriage, has died at the age of 82.

According to a memorial website created by her family, Harmon died Friday, May 8. A cause of death was not disclosed, and funeral arrangements have not yet been announced.

Born on Dec. 3, 1943, in Pasadena, California, Harmon spent much of her childhood in New Orleans before later attending both the University of Mississippi and the University of Michigan. After relocating to New York City, she launched her acting career on Broadway in the mid-1960s.

Harmon made her Broadway debut in a 1965 revival of You Can’t Take It With You and went on to appear in numerous acclaimed productions throughout her career, including The Cherry Orchard, The Wild Duck, The School for Scandal, The Glass Menagerie and Other Desert Cities. According to The Hollywood Reporter, she also served as an understudy for celebrated performers including Stockard Channing, Judi Dench, Jessica Lange and Blythe Danner.

Her television breakthrough came in 1974 when she portrayed Christine, a divorced alcoholic, on the NBC soap opera How to Survive a Marriage. A year later, Harmon joined the cast of the ABC daytime drama One Life to Live as Cathy Craig Lord. She became the fifth actress to portray the character and earned a Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in 1978.

Harmon later returned to One Life to Live in 1991 for a multi-episode storyline opposite Erika Slezak. Her additional daytime television credits included roles on Guiding Light and Loving.

Over the years, Harmon also appeared on popular primetime series including Dallas, St. Elsewhere, Law & Order, Oz, Rescue Me and The Good Wife.