Anna Stuart
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Anna Stuart (born November 1, 1948, in
Bluefield, West Virginia Bluefield is a city in Mercer County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 9,658 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Bluefield micropolitan area extending into Virginia, which had a populatio ...
) is an American
actress An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...
. She has primarily played roles in daytime serials.


Career

Stuart began her career on '' The Doctors'' as lab technician Toni Ferra, a role she played from February 5, 1971 to September 30, 1976. Her character was involved in a triangle with Dr. Mike Powers and Dr. Alan Stewart. She followed up her work on ''The Doctors'' originating the role of Dr. Gina Dante Lansing on rival serial ''
General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera created by Frank and Doris Hursley which has been broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC since April 1, 1963. Originally a half-hour seria ...
'' (1977–1978) where she was reunited with her former "The Doctors" co-star Gerald Gordon who played her brother, Dr. Mark Dante. In 1981, she filled in for Maeve Kinkead on ''
Guiding Light ''Guiding Light'' (known as ''The Guiding Light'' before 1975) is an American radio and television soap opera. ''Guiding Light'' aired on CBS for 57 years between June 30, 1952, and September 18, 2009, overlapping a 19-year broadcast on radio ...
'' as Vanessa Chamberlain while Kinkead was on maternity leave. It was during this time that Vanessa was a prime suspect in the murder of Diane Ballard. This was Stuart's first time playing a schemer on the soaps, and led to playing other sophisticated trouble-makers on practically every New York based soap.


''Another World''

Stuart is best known for her role as Donna Love Hudson on '' Another World'', which she played from January 1983 to November 1986 and again from February 1989 to the show's final episode in June 1999. The role of Donna Love was written as a very complex society snob, interfering in the love life of her brother Peter and dating Iris's ex-husband, Bay City mayor Brian Bancroft. At first a supporting character, Donna was slowly made a lead as she became involved in a triangle with ex-husband Carl Hutchins and flashy novelist Felicia Gallant. Her storyline became more complex when it was revealed that not only was her sister Marley really her illegitimate daughter, but she'd also given birth to Marley's twin, Victoria, as well. As Stuart became more popular, a major romance was created for her with Michael Hudson (
Kale Browne David Charles "Kale" Browne (born June 16, 1950) is an American actor. Biography He was born in San Rafael, California. Browne was the first to play the roles of Michael Hudson on '' Another World'' (1986–1993, 1995–1998) and Sam Rap ...
) who was Victoria and Marley's father. When Stuart left the show in 1986, the role of Donna was recast with Philece Sampler, previously of the serial ''
Days of Our Lives ''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that aired on the network NBC from November 8, 1965, to September 9, 2022; the soap has streamed n ...
'' in the early 1980s. Two years later, Sampler's contract was terminated when Stuart expressed interest in returning to ''Another World''. Her return was highlighted by her appearance of the show's 25th-anniversary ''
Soap Opera Digest ''Soap Opera Digest'' was a weekly magazine covering American daytime soap operas. It featured onscreen and offscreen news about the series, interviews with and articles about performers, storyline summaries and analysis, and related promotional ...
'' cover. Stuart took medical sabbaticals from her role as Donna in 1990 and 1993, during which former ''Guiding Light'' and ''Another World'' co-star Sofia Landon briefly played the role. In the early 1990s, Donna began a May–December romance with Matthew Cory ( Matt Crane), which proved to be very popular. As the 1990s went on, however, the character was written in such a way that longtime viewers no longer recognized Donna. Stuart was quoted in ''Soap Opera Digest'' after ''Another Worlds cancellation as saying that if the show had not been canceled in 1999, she would have left the role due to her disapproval regarding her character's direction. When Michael Hudson was killed off in 1997, Donna's behavior became particularly bizarre with the character blaming her daughter Victoria for causing Michael's death. After the show's cancellation, Stuart and several other cast members played their characters on the soap opera ''
As the World Turns ''As the World Turns'' (often abbreviated as ''ATWT'') is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created ''As the World Turns'' as a sister show to her other so ...
''. Stuart's appearance was to have lasted for two episodes in order to help introduce the character of Jake McKinnon to the show, but she ended up recurring on the show for almost three years as Donna paid Jake occasional visits after the death of his wife Victoria. Her final appearance in April 2002 took place when Jake was suddenly killed off, with Marley ( Ellen Wheeler) and Donna taking Jake and Victoria's children back to Bay City with them.


Post-''Another World''

In April 2002, Stuart filled in for former '' Another World'' co-star
Linda Dano Linda Dano (born Linda Rae Wildermuth; May 12, 1943, Long Beach, California) is an American actress and television host. She began her career appearing in film and prime time television before she was cast as Rae Cummings on the ABC daytime soap ...
as Gretel Rae Cummings on ''
One Life to Live ''One Life to Live'' (often abbreviated as ''OLTL'') is an American soap opera broadcast on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television network for more than 43 years, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and then on the internet as ...
'' while Dano was on sick leave. Immediately following this, Stuart began the role of Mary Smythe (Greenlee's neglectful and self-centered mother) on ''
All My Children ''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 2 ...
'' where she played opposite former Another World castmate Mark Pinter. She is one of the few actors to have appeared on three soap operas in one calendar year. Intended to be written in for only a short length of time, the character became integral in a plotline in which Mary revealed that Jackson Montgomery was Greenlee's natural father, making her the latest in the long line of rivals to that show's reigning queen, Erica Kane. Mary had a brief romance with Adam Chandler before disappearing off the canvas in 2005. She returned to the show for two episodes in 2009. In 2010, Stuart debuted on the internet based soap opera ''Gotham''.


Personal life

Stuart married actor James Cromwell on January 1, 2014, at the home of her former ''Another World'' co-star Charles Keating.


Filmography


Film


Television


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stuart, Anna American soap opera actresses 1948 births Living people Actors from Bluefield, West Virginia 21st-century American women