Nancy Lee Grahn (born April 28, 1956) is an American actress known primarily for her work in 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 ...

s, portraying Julia Wainwright Capwell on '' Santa Barbara'' from 1985–93 and Alexis Davis on ''

General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the longest-running American soap opera in production, and the second in American history after '' ...

'' since 1996.

Early life and career

Grahn was born in

Evanston, Illinois Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, ...

, to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

mother, Barbara Edna Ascher, and a

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...

father, Robert Donald Grahn. Her parents were both involved with their local community theater in Skokie. Grahn's first stage appearance was as a pony in a community production of '' Oklahoma!'' At Niles North High School, she played "Daisy Mae" opposite future Broadway actor

Gregg Edelman Gregg Edelman (born September 12, 1958) is an American movie, television and theatre actor. Biography Edelman was born in Chicago, Illinois, attended Niles North High School, where he starred as Li'l Abner opposite future soap star Nancy Lee Gra ...

in the school's production of ''Lil' Abner''. As a freshman at the

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Un ...

, Grahn landed her first credited role, as Mimi in ''

Guys and Dolls ''Guys and Dolls'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on " The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" (1933) and "Blood Pressure", which are two short stories by Damon Runyon, and also b ...

'' at the Goodman Rep Theater, 1973–74 season. Grahn subsequently went to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, where she studied acting with noted drama teachers Sandy Meisner and Bill Epsen. Here she had roles in productions of ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict a ...

'' and '' Barefoot in the Park''. She also appeared in commercials and several industrial films; in an interview, Grahn recalled crossing paths with fellow future soap star Kim Zimmer at the production of several of those films. She also continued to perform in numerous plays, such as ''Father's Day'' and '' Two for the Seesaw'', among others.

Television roles

Grahn has made a number of appearances in episodic

prime time Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...

television, including '' Little House on the Prairie'', ''

Murder, She Wrote ''Murder, She Wrote'' is an American crime drama television series, created by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson and William Link, starring Angela Lansbury, and produced and distributed by Universal Television for the CBS network. The seri ...

'', '' Magnum, P.I.'', '' Diagnosis: Murder'', '' Perry Mason'', '' The Incredible Hulk'', '' Knight Rider'' and '' Babylon 5''. She has also been seen in the recurring role of Denise Fielding on ''

Melrose Place ''Melrose Place'' is an American prime time television soap opera that aired on Fox from July 8, 1992, to May 24, 1999, for seven seasons. The show follows the lives of a group of young adults living in an apartment complex on Melrose Place, i ...

'', as Connie Dahlgren on '' Murder One'', and as Principal Russell on '' 7th Heaven''. Grahn also has had several roles on daytime dramas. Her first television role was as Beverly Wilkes, Marco Dane's secretary on ABC's ''

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 1978 to 1982. In 1985, she was cast as headstrong lawyer Julia Wainwright Capwell, on the now-defunct soap opera '' Santa Barbara''. Julia was a departure from the traditional "damsel in distress" or vixen roles; she was an intelligent, uncompromising woman. Julia was paired with Mason Capwell, and the two had a Tracy/ Hepburn-esque romance. Offscreen, Grahn was briefly involved with Mason's portrayer, actor Lane Davies; conflict over their storylines eventually led to Davies' departure from the series. Grahn's performance garnered her a

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 ...

for Best Supporting Actress in 1989, an award which she shares with ''

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 ...

'' actress Debbi Morgan. She portrayed the role of Julia until the show's cancellation in 1993. In 1996, she was cast as Alexis Davis, another headstrong lawyer, on ''

''. She was nominated for several additional Daytime Emmys, winning in the Outstanding Supporting Actress category in 2012. In July 2010, Grahn re-signed with ''General Hospital'' for another four years on the show.

Political views

A liberal, Grahn is outspoken in political matters. In 2000, she organized a television conference for fellow Democratic daytime stars titled "Daytime for

Gore Gore may refer to: Places Australia * Gore, Queensland * Gore Creek (New South Wales) * Gore Island (Queensland) Canada * Gore, Nova Scotia, a rural community * Gore, Quebec, a township municipality * Gore Bay, Ontario, a township on Manito ...

/ Lieberman". The event was held at the home of Gary Tomlin, director of NBC's '' Passions'', and in attendance were

Sharon Davis Sharon Ryer Davis (born May 6, 1954) is an American author who served as first lady of California from 1999 to 2003. She is the wife of former California governor Gray Davis. She previously served as second lady of California from 1995 to 1999. ...

, wife of then-California Governor

Gray Davis Joseph Graham "Gray" Davis Jr. (born December 26, 1942) is an American attorney and former politician who served as the 37th governor of California from 1999 to 2003. In 2003, only a few months into his second term, Davis was recalled and remov ...

, and Kristin Gore, daughter of then-Vice President Al Gore. During the 2008 presidential election, she hosted an online chat along with fellow daytime actors to discuss the election with fans. Grahn is an active proponent of

reproductive rights Reproductive rights are legal rights and freedoms relating to reproduction and reproductive health that vary amongst countries around the world. The World Health Organization defines reproductive rights as follows: Reproductive rights rest o ...

. She created "Daytime for Choice" in 1988, and discussed with the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' in 2007 her decision to have an abortion when she was in her 20s as well as her desire to see abortion depicted in a fair and unbiased light within film and television. Grahn is also a supporter of

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term ...

rights and has participated in the NOH8 Campaign.

Personal life

Grahn is a single mother to one daughter, Katherine Grace, known as Kate, born on February 24, 1998, who studies music at the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

(USC). In December 2019, Grahn announced her engagement to guitarist Richard Smith of Eugene, Oregon, who is a professor at the Thornton School of Music at USC in LA. Grahn has two sisters, Wendy Grahn and Suzi Gantz of Illinois. She is also involved in various charities, including Meals on Wheels.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Grahn, Nancy Lee 1956 births Living people American soap opera actresses Actresses from Evanston, Illinois Daytime Emmy Award winners Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series winners American television actresses LGBT rights activists from the United States 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses American film actresses American people of Jewish descent Illinois Democrats