One Life to Live’s Phyllis Newman Dead at 86

Soap opera alum remembered as a Tony Award-winning actress and philanthropist.

Actress Phyllis Newman, who originated the role of Renee Divine Buchanan on One Life to Live in 1987 died on Sunday September 15 at the age of 86. Soaps.com learned her daughter, Amanda Green, confirmed her mother’s death to The New York Times, and that Newman passed away at her home in Manhattan.

Born in Jersey City on March 19, 1933, Phyllis Newman later pursued an acting career in Atlantic City where her mother, Rachel Newman, once worked on the boardwalk as a fortuneteller. Her father, Sigmund Newman, was a hypnotist. Phyllis Newman married her husband, playwright Adolph Green, in 1960. He passed away in 2002. Newman is survived by her daughter, Amanda Green, and son, Adam Green, a theater critic.

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Phyllis Newman got her start on Broadway when she was just a child in You’ll See Stars, and went on to win a Tony Award for her performance in Subways Are For Sleeping in 1962, and later received another Tony nomination for the Neil Simon play Broadway Bound in 1986, her last Broadway production. In addition to her daytime role, Newman also appeared in such television series as Coming of Age and Thirtysomething. She was a regular on TV games show as well, including Match Game, Password and What’s My Line?

Newman, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1988 and underwent mastectomies, spoke publicly about the experience and went on to found the Phyllis Newman Women’s Health Initiative. She raised millions of dollars for the fund and as a result was honored with a special Tony, the Isabelle Stevenson Award, in 2009.

Soaps.com extends condolences to Phyllis Newman’s loved ones and friends. Remember other soap opera stars we’ve lost in 2019 through the gallery below…