Eileen Fulton is an American soap opera actress, best remembered as Lisa Grimaldi in the long-running TV series “As the World Turns”, which she portrayed for 50 years from 1960 until 2010. She became a national star while portraying Lisa – though it caused a few personal problems, she managed to overcome all of them and continue her career.
Where is Eileen Fulton Today?
Eileen’s last appearance was in the 2011horror film “The Life Zone” portraying Katherine Wise, and starring Robert Loggia, Lindsey Haun and Martin Kove.
Since then, Eileen has been out of the picture and out of the media; she has given a few interviews, talking about her experience on “As the World Turns”. This September 13 she will celebrate her 87th birthday; she resides in New York and has two dogs as pets, named Rosemary Clooney and Ella Fitzgerald.
Eileen Fulton Wiki- Age, Childhood, and Education
Born as Margaret Elizabeth McLarty in Asheville, North Carolina USA, she is the daughter of a Methodist minister, and so moved a lot during her childhood, as her father changed churches often, and took his family with him.
Eileen started singing at a young age, but wan
ted to become a Broadway actress. She sang beside the church choir “Shortening Bread”, and though she was spanked later, still she continued to seek her place in the choir. As she got older, she pursued acting as well, and after majoring in music at the College of Greensboro, she moved to New York where she enrolled at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of Theater to study acting.
Career Beginnings
Before she obtained the role of Lisa, Eileen made an appearance with the choir in the play “The Lost Colony”, and also made her on-screen debut as a receptionist in the TV series “Nero Wolfe” (1959).
Rise to Stardom
In 1960, Eileen auditioned for the part of Lisa and was immediately hired; she felt that Lisa and she were the same person. At first she remained in the show until 1963, when she left for several months and was replaced by actress Pamela King. Two years later, she again left the show, but only to play Lisa in her own spin-off “Our Private World”. However, the show lasted only for around 30 episodes before being canceled, and Eileen returned to the primary series. The third time she left the series was in 1983, having entered into a dispute with the executive producer Mary-Ellis Bunim over her new contract .H
owever, she returned the following year – while she was absent, the role of Lisa was played by Betsy von Furstenberg.
Eileen became extremely popular during the first decade of her portrayal of Lisa, and was rendered as one of the leading soap opera stars. She even had to hire a publicist, becoming the first soap opera star to need one. Revered by many, she caused a few controversies which made fans hate her, not just her character Lisa, but Eileen herself.
CBS had to hire a bodyguard to keep a watch on crazy fans; one time the audience became so furious with a scene in “As the World Turns” that they stopped Eileen on the street and slapped her.
Eileen featured in 1622 episodes of the popular series, and received a Lifetime Achievement Award by Daytime Emmy Awards. Her character married eight times, three of those marriages ended in divorce, while she buried four of her husbands, and her last marriage was annulled, so the eventual full name of her character was Lisa Miller Hughes Eldridge Shea Colman McColl Mitchell Grimaldi Chedwyn.
Work in Theater
Eileen never gave up on her dream of becoming a Broadway star; she started with the off-Broadway production of “The Fantasticks”, and then played Honey in the play “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”. During these times, she worked both in the theater and on the screen, in the morning filming “As the World Turns”, and then later on the stage in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”, and in the evening would appear in the musical “The Fantasticks”. She subsequently worked on other plays, including “Abe Lincoln in Illinois”, “Mane Loves”, “Nite Club Confidential”, and “Summer of the Seventeenth Doll”, all off-Broadway, but also in regional theatre productions, such as “It Had To Be You”, “Goodbye Charlie”, “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”, and “Plaza Suite”, among others.
Eileen has also nurtured her singing talents and has performed a number of cabaret and nightclub acts.
An Accomplished Writer
In addition to her work as an actress, Eileen is a published author, having released two memoirs – “How My World Turns” and “As My World Still Turns”. Furthermore, she has written a mystery novel “Soap Opera”, and also six murder mystery novels, under the title “Take One for Murder”.
Eileen Fulton Net Worth, Height, Weight, and Appearance
Eileen Fulton enjoyed fame throughout her portrayal of Lisa, and during this time was one of the highest-paid soap opera actresses. According to sources, her wealth has been estimated to be around $1.5 million, as of mid-2020.
Eileen Fulton the Queen of Daytime
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Eileen stands at 5ft 7ins (1.7m) tall, while her weight is unknown, but she has kept a slim figure. She has blonde hair and brown eyes.
Personal Life, Marriage, Husband, Children
Eileen resides in New York, and though she was married three times, she doesn’t have children. She married her first husband, Bill Cochrane in 1957, but there is no information when they divorced. Her second husband was Danny Fortunato, and their marriage lasted for nine years, from 1971 until 1980. Nine years later she married architect Rick McMorrow, but their marriage lasted only for three months, again no details of the break-up.