Erika Alma Hermina Slezak (; born August 5, 1946) is an American actress, best known for her role as Victoria "Viki" Lord on the American daytime

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio drama ...

One Life to Live ''One Life to Live'' (often abbreviated as ''OLTL'') is an American soap opera broadcast on the ABC television network for more than 43 years, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and then on the internet as a web series on Hulu and iTunes ...

'' from 1971 through the television finale in 2012 and again in the online revival in 2013. She is one of the longest-serving serial actors in American media. For her portrayal of Viki, she has won six

Daytime Emmy Awards The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (N ...

, the most of any daytime drama actress.

Life and career

Slezak was born in

Hollywood, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Picture ...

, of Czech,

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n, German-Jewish and

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

descent, the daughter of

Tony award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual c ...

-winning Austrian actor

Walter Slezak Walter Slezak (; 3 May 1902 – 21 April 1983) was an Austrian-born film and stage actor active between 1922 and 1976. He mainly appeared in German films before migrating to the United States in 1930 and performing in numerous Hollywood producti ...

and Johanna "Kaasi" Van Rijn, and the granddaughter of opera tenor Leo Slezak. Her godmother was Alma Mahler-Werfel. She was born two months after her grandfather died. Raised in

Greenwich, Connecticut Greenwich (, ) is a town in southwestern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. At the 2020 census, the town had a total population of 63,518. The largest town on Connecticut's Gold Coast, Greenwich is home to many hedge funds and othe ...

, Slezak attended high school at the Convent of the Sacred Heart, Eden Hall in

Torresdale, Philadelphia Torresdale, also formerly known as Torrisdale, is a neighborhood in the Far Northeast section of Philadelphia. Torresdale is located along the Delaware River between Holmesburg and Bensalem Township in neighboring Bucks County. The adjacent co ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. At age 17, she became one of the youngest individuals ever accepted into

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

's prestigious

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Senat ...

, later graduating in 1966. Establishing a noteworthy reputation in theater, she performed in

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee i ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

and

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 ...

''One Life to Live''

In 1971, Slezak auditioned for the role of nurse Mary Kennecott on the ABC

All My Children ''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 2013, via Hulu, Hulu Plus, and ...

''. She was not cast on that show, but the network offered her the role of Victoria "Viki" Lord Riley on ''

'' (''OLTL''). In her 42 years in the role, Slezak won six

Daytime Emmy Award The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ...

s, which is an Emmy record for a female performer. In 2007, Slezak voiced strong criticism of ''OLTL'' then-

head writer A head writer is a person who oversees the team of writers on a television or radio series. The title is common in the soap opera genre, as well as with sketch comedies and talk shows that feature monologues and comedy skits. In fictional comedy o ...

, Dena Higley. In the March 2007 edition of Slezak's fan club newsletter, she stated, "Dena doesn't care about the rich history of the show, which is evident in what she writes" and that Higley "wants to write stories that she thinks are interesting but nobody else does." Ron Carlivati was subsequently made co-head writer, with Higley ultimately leaving the series in September 2007. In April 2011, ABC announced that ''OLTL'' would be cancelled, with its final airdate in January 2012. However, media company Prospect Park licensed the creative rights to the show from ABC in July 2011 and announced that they would migrate the series to an online format. In September 2011, Slezak confirmed she would be participating in the new version show, along with other regular cast members. The Prospect Park project stalled in November 2011, and ''OLTL'' ended its run on ABC as scheduled. In early 2013, Prospect Park announced it was moving forward with their online versions of ''One Life to Live'' and ''All My Children'', with Slezak confirmed on board. The revived series, taped in

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut, outside of Manhattan. It is Connecticut's second-most populous city, behind Bridgeport. With a population of 135,470, Stamford passed Hartford and New Haven in population as of the 202 ...

, premiered on

Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television series ...

, Hulu Plus, and

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mu ...

on April 29, 2013 and ran through August 19, 2013.

Other projects

Slezak portrayed Jean Roberts in the 1996

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

adaptation of

Danielle Steel Danielle Fernandes Dominique Schuelein-Steel (born August 14, 1947) is an American writer, best known for her romance novels. She is the bestselling author alive and the fourth-bestselling fiction author of all time, with over 800 million ...

's novel '' Full Circle''. In April 2018, Slezak appeared as Dr. Eileen Jacoby on the Fox series '' The Resident'', in the episode "Haunted". In 2019, she starred alongside

Jeff Daniels Jeffrey Warren Daniels (born February 19, 1955) is an American actor, comedian, musician, and playwright, known for his work on stage and screen playing diverse characters switching between comedy and drama. He is the recipient of several accol ...

in the drama film '' Guest Artist'', based on the actor's 2006 play of the same name. Later that year, she guest-starred in the CBS police drama '' Blue Bloods''. She returned to series in 2022. In 2019, Slezak was interviewed for an episode of the ABC news program ''

20/20 Visual acuity (VA) commonly refers to the clarity of vision, but technically rates an examinee's ability to recognize small details with precision. Visual acuity is dependent on optical and neural factors, i.e. (1) the sharpness of the retinal ...

'' which focused on the murder of actress Rebecca Schaeffer. Schaeffer had a recurring role on ''One Life to Live'' in the mid-1980s.

Personal life

Slezak is married to Brian Davies, and is the mother of two children, Michael (born 1980) and Amanda (born 1981). In 2003, Amanda played a teenaged Victoria in flashback scenes on ''One Life to Live''.

Awards and nominations

Slezak has won six

s in the category of " Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series" out of nine nominations for her role as Victoria. Nominated in 1983, 1988, and 2012, she won in 1984, 1986, 1992, 1995, 1996 and 2005, making the record for most wins by an actress and, along with Justin Deas, is second to 8-time winner

Anthony Geary Anthony Geary (born May 29, 1947) is an American actor. He is known for playing the role of Luke Spencer on the ABC daytime drama ''General Hospital''. He originated the role of Luke in 1978 and received a record eight Daytime Emmy Awards for ...

, for the most wins for playing one character. Additionally, Slezak won a ''Soap Opera Digest'' Award for Favorite Couple with Mark Derwin in 2000. ;

wins ; ''Soap Opera Digest'' Award wins

Filmography

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Slezak, Erika 1946 births Living people 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses American people of Austrian descent American people of Czech descent American people of Dutch descent American people of German-Jewish descent American television actresses American soap opera actresses Daytime Emmy Award winners Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series winners Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art Actresses from Greenwich, Connecticut