Susan Lucci (audio)

In 1969, Susan Lucci was an unknown aspiring actress when she auditioned for a role on a new daytime television drama, All My Children. In an attempt to appeal to a younger audience than the prevailing daytime dramas, All My Children originally revolved around the lives of four high school students. Lucci, just out of college herself, won the role of 15-year-old Erica Kane. Unlike the innocent ingénues who had taken center stage in the soap operas of earlier years, Erica, as portrayed by Lucci, was strong-willed, calculating and ambitious. From the beginning, audiences were fascinated, and their fascination has never waned. More than 40 years later, Lucci is still playing the role. Erica Kane and Susan Lucci have matured before the eyes of their loyal audience, year after year, five days a week. From the beginning the program attracted an audience both younger and more male than that of other daytime dramas. As the only remaining original cast member, Susan Lucci receives a large share of the credit for the program's enduring success. Although she famously received her first Emmy Award (in 1999) after 18 previous nominations, she had long since won acclaim as the Queen of Daytime Drama. This podcast was recorded during the 1991 International Achievement Summit in New York City.