Nancy Addison

Nancy Addison (March 21, 1946 – June 18, 2002) was an American soap opera actress, best known for her role on the television soap opera Ryan's Hope as Jillian Coleridge, which she played from 1975 to 1988, and returned to for the show's final episodes in 1989.

Biography

Born in New York City as Nancy Addison Altman, she studied under the tutelage of Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse.

She got her first soap opera role on Guiding Light in 1969 and appeared until 1974 as the character Kit Vestid, a troubled young lady who had an affair with Joe Werner and committed suicide after she was discovered to be the murderer of Charlotte Waring Bauer. Then she went on to her most remembered role in 1975 on the new ABC soap opera "Ryan's Hope" as the show's central heroine, Jillian Coleridge. For the next 13 years, she utilized her acting chops in storylines that had her as the long-time lover of the married Frank Ryan, giving birth to his son while believing Seneca Beaulac was the father, losing Frank to her long-time rival Rae Woodard, dealing with the death of her child in a freak accident, suffering from addiction to pain pills, going on trial for pulling the plug on a dying musician she briefly became involved with, watching Frank and her sister Faith become involved, winning Frank back after he was hit by a car, finding her real mother and discovering that her deceased adoptive father was really her biological papa, and ending up with amnesia during which time she became involved with Frank's half brother. It was there that she remained until electing to leave the series in late 1987, in order to pursue new projects. After having made her final appearance on contract in January 1988, Addison returned to '"Ryan's Hope" in time for Christmas, to briefly reprise the role of Jill for the show's final weeks. Later in 1989, she moved into the role of Marissa Rampal on All My Children, Jeremy Hunter's former lover who tried to kill Natalie but died herself. Addison portrayed the gold-digging Deborah Brewster who blackmailed Clay Alden into marriage on Loving from 1993 to 1995, and in 1995 played the same role for a few episodes on The City.

Among her other work was co-starring with James Coburn in the three-part television mini-series film The Dain Curse (1978). She also appeared in Somewhere, Tomorrow (1983), Baby Me (1988) and the long-running television series Law & Order in different roles on various episodes.

Volunteer work

When Addison wasn't acting, she volunteered a considerable amount of her time to helping children with HIV/AIDS.

Illness and death

In 1999, she was diagnosed with cancer of her adrenal gland and bronchial tubes and in 2002, she died from the cancer in New York City, aged 56.