🕊️ Farewell to a Soap Icon! Eileen Fulton Passes Away at 91 — The Woman Who Redefined Daytime Drama 💐🎭

Eileen Fulton’s death marks the end of an era — not just for soap operas, but for American television as a whole.

For over five decades, Fulton dominated screens across the country as Lisa Grimaldi, a character she originated in 1960 and turned into one of the most dynamic, controversial, and beloved figures in daytime drama.

She wasn’t just acting — she was redefining what a female character could be.

And now, the curtain has closed on a career that helped shape generations of storytelling.

Fulton passed away peacefully at the age of 91, according to family sources.

Tributes have been pouring in from fans, co-stars, and Hollywood veterans, all remembering her as more than just a soap actress — but as a pioneer, a powerhouse, and a woman who could steal a scene with just a raised eyebrow.

And if you thought soap operas were fluffy drama, think again.

Fulton made Lisa Grimaldi a household name by playing her as fiercely complicated: part vixen, part survivor, always unapologetically herself.

In fact, her character was so provocative for the time that CBS reportedly had to assure advertisers in the 1960s that “Lisa” wasn’t a role model — because America was already too obsessed with her.

Born Margaret Elizabeth McLarty in Asheville, North Carolina, Eileen Fulton’s rise to stardom wasn’t immediate — but once she hit daytime television, she never looked back.

As the World Turns was her canvas, and over the years, she painted Lisa’s life with scandal, heartbreak, revenge, romance, and yes — plenty of cliffhangers.

Fulton played the role (with only brief interruptions) from 1960 until the show’s cancellation in 2010, making her one of the longest-running soap opera stars in history.

But offscreen, Fulton was every bit as captivating.

She was known for her wit, her no-nonsense attitude, and her refusal to be boxed in.

“I always saw Lisa as more than a bitch,” Fulton once said in an interview.

“She was smart, passionate, flawed — just like every woman who’s ever had to fight to be heard.

” That perspective made her a feminist icon long before it was fashionable.

While TV wives were baking cookies, Fulton’s Lisa was divorcing husbands, starting businesses, and slapping back at anyone who crossed her.

Her influence extended far beyond soap fans.

Lisa Grimaldi was one of the first soap characters to get her own primetime spinoff (Our Private World, 1965), and Fulton became a sought-after guest on talk shows and red carpets.

With her signature blonde bouffant, sultry voice, and sharp tongue, she embodied the kind of confident woman that American television had rarely seen — and definitely wasn’t ready for.

Despite her fame, Fulton kept her personal life relatively private.

She was married briefly in the early 1960s but never remarried or had children.

Instead, she poured her energy into her craft, her writing (she authored several books, including memoirs and novels), and her music — having performed cabaret in New York throughout her career.

“I never needed a man to define me,” she famously said.

“I had Lisa.

And Lisa had the world.

As word of her death spreads, tributes are flooding social media.

Fans are reposting her most iconic scenes: Lisa throwing drinks, delivering venomous monologues, or simply walking into a room with the kind of presence that could stop time.

Longtime ATWT co-stars have shared heartfelt messages, calling her “a legend,” “a masterclass in charisma,” and “the original soap superstar.

” Others pointed out that without Fulton, there might not be the soapy juggernauts we know today — no Dynasty, no Melrose Place, no Scandal.

She paved the way.

The legacy she leaves behind is almost impossible to quantify.

Over 50 years on one show.

A character that evolved from scheming wife to independent matriarch.

A voice that told women everywhere they could be messy, complicated, powerful — and still own every scene.

And while her time on Earth has ended, the reruns, the memories, and the millions of lives she touched will keep Eileen Fulton alive for generations to come.

As one fan tweeted, “The world may have stopped turning, but Lisa Grimaldi — and Eileen Fulton — will never fade.

”

Rest in power to the original queen of daytime drama.

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