Deidre Ann Hall (born October 31, 1947) is a Daytime Emmy-nominated
American actress best known for her role as Dr.
Marlena Evans on the
NBC daytime
soap opera Days of our Lives, which she played from 1976 to 1987 and from 1991 to 2009.
Biography
Hall and her twin sister,
Andrea Hall, were born in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin and raised in
Lake Worth, Florida. She is a graduate of
Lake Worth High School, Class of 1965.
At age 12, Hall was elected Junior Orange Bowl Queen.
Hall has two sons, David Atticus Sohmer, born August 23, 1992, and Tully Chapin Sohmer, born January 19, 1995. Both boys were born via a surrogate mother known as Robin B.
Career
Along with her sister,
Andrea, Hall appeared in press materials for the 1952 Hudson Twin-H-Power engine.
In the 1970s, she appeared as the superheroine Electra Woman in "
ElectraWoman and DynaGirl", a Sid and Marty Krofft children's show.
Hall appeared on a number of shows, including
Emergency! (as Nurse Sally Lewis), and
The Young and the Restless (as Barbara Anderson), before joining
Days of our Lives in 1976 as Dr.
Marlena Evans.
In 1986, Hall began playing Jesse Witherspoon on the family drama,
Our House, which ran for two seasons. Hall exited
Days of our Lives in 1987 when it became too difficult to co-ordinate her prime time and daytime schedules.
Hall continued to make guest appearances on a variety of prime time shows until 1991, when she made a dramatic return to
Days of our Lives. Hall has remained on the show since then, and has been involved in some of the most controversial storylines of the show's history.
In 1995, Hall produced and starred in
Never Say Never: The Deidre Hall Story, a made for TV movie about her personal struggles to become a mother.
According to
Soap Opera Digest, as of November 17th, 2008, she, along with
Drake Hogestyn (her on-screen husband), have been dismissed from the show. NBC renewed the show for a few more seasons but significantly dropped the amount of money they would pay for the show. Both Hall and Hogestyn were dropped as a result of the large budget cut by NBC.
Since at least early 2009, Hall has occasionally guest-hosted
Clout, a talk radio program syndicated through
Air America Media.
Personal life
Hall has donated $1,000 to the campaign of Representative
Dennis Kucinich for President.
She has been married 3 times. Her husbands were:
- Keith Barbour (1972-1977)
- Producer/Writer, Michael Dubelko (1987-1989)
- Author/Screenwriter, Steve Sohmer (1991-2006). Hall and Sohmer have two sons, David and Tully.
She also dated
Richard Dean Anderson and Ned Randolf, former mayor of Alexandria, LA and had an affair with Drake Hogestyn (1985-86)
Awards, honors and nominations
- Daytime Emmy Award - Nominated, Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role for a Daytime Drama Series (1980)
- Soapy-Winner, Outstanding Actress (1982)
- Soapy - Winner, Outstanding Actress (1983)
- Soap Opera Digest Award - Winner, Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Soap Opera (1984)
- Daytime Emmy Award - Nominated, Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series (1984)
- Soap Opera Digest Award - Winner, Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Serial (1985)
- Daytime Emmy Award - Nominated, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (1985)
- Soap Opera Digest Award - Winner, Outstanding Contribution by an Actor/Actress to the Form of Continuing Drama who is currently on a Daytime Serial (1986)
- Soap Opera Digest Award - Winner, Outstanding Lead Actress (1995)
- Soap Opera Digest Award - Nominated, Hottest Romance (1998)shared with Drake Hogestyn
- Soap Opera Digest Award - Nominated, Outstanding Lead Actress (1999)
- Soap Opera Digest Award - Nominated, Outstanding Lead Actress (2005)
- TV Land Awards - Nominated, Superest Super Hero (2005) shared with Judy Strangis
- Soap Opera Digest Award - Winner, Favorite Couple (2005) shared with Drake Hogestyn
Roles
