Andrea Evans, a Daytime Emmy-nominated actress and veteran of four daytime soaps, died on Sunday, July 9, of cancer. She was 66.
Evans death was announced by casting director Don Carroll.
Born in Aurora, Illinois, Evans had appeared in beauty pageants and regional theater when she appeared as an extra in Brian De Palma's 1978 horror classic The Fury. An appearance that same year in the miniseries The Awakening Land caught the attention of legendary soap casting director Mary Jo Slater, who hired Evans for the role of Tina Lord on One Life to Live.
Evans made her first appearance 45 years ago this month -- on July 2, 1978. Evans was an immediate hit with viewers for her portrayal of bad-girl Tina. She remained with the ABC soap for three years before exiting the show in 1981.
After One Life to Live, Evans jumped to CBS' The Young and the Restless where she played Patty Williams from 1983 to 1984. Y&R's Twitter account paid respect to Evans with a post praising her talent.
Our deepest condolences on the passing of Andrea Evans who graced Y&R with her talents as "Patty Williams" from 1983-1984. #OLTL #boldandbeautiful #Passions pic.twitter.com/8W4dqiNjQ0
ó Young & The Restless (@YRInsider) July 10, 2023
In 1985, Evans returned to One Life to Live. In 1988, Evans received a Daytime Emmy nomination in the Outstanding Ingénue category, later renamed Outstanding Younger Actress. Two years later, Evans seemingly inexplicably left One Life to Live and remained out of public view for nearly a decade. Evans eventually revealed that she'd been the victim of a stalker.
In a 2008 People magazine interview, Evans shared that she'd abandoned her career and New York City when the stalker's actions grew increasingly violent. In 1987, Evans revealed, she'd been accosted by the stalker in the lobby of One Life to Live's Manhattan studio. A short time later, the stalker slashed his wrists on the front steps of the studio. The stalker was taken to a psychiatric hospital, where he listed Evans as his next of kin. The man began sending Evans death threats written in blood.
Several years after that incident, the man was detained outside the Secretary of State's office in Washington, DC, carrying a meat cleaver and a picture of Evans, according to People. Of the situation, Evans said it "forever changed" her. She returned to acting but remained terrified of making public appearances.
From March 1999 to June 2000, Evans appeared as Tawny Moore on The Bold and the Beautiful. She returned to the CBS soap from December 2010 to June 2011. Evans did take Tawny to Y&R in 2010, which allowed her to encounter her former role Patty Williams. "Not only did Patty have surgery to completely alter her face, she's also an entire foot taller these days," Evans told TVGuide with a laugh. "Apparently, if you want some really strange plastic surgery, Genoa City is the place to go!"
In between the B&B gigs, Evans played Rebecca Hotchkiss on the NBC soap Passions from 2000 to 2008.
Evans returned to One Life to Live in 2008 and 2011, saying, "It's time to give the audience what they want. And it's time for me to get closure on why I left in the first place."
Ron Carlivati, the head writer of One Live to Live during that time, took to Instagram to share that he was "absolutely heartbroken to learn of the untimely passing of Andrea Evans." Carlivati said Evans was "one of the reasons I fell in love with soap operas in the first place. Andrea brought such a sense of guilelessness and fun to a selfish and scheming character and made you fall in love with her. After watching her as a fan for many years, I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to write for her and it was one of the most satisfying experiences of my professional career. I will treasure the memories of Tina trying to misappropriate the Crown Jewels of Mendorra with her beloved dog David Vickers under her arm. She survived a trip over the Iguazu Falls and made her way back to Llanview to crash Cord's wedding to Kate Sanders with a stolen baby in her arms, and that's how I will always remember both the character and the actress: resilient and resourceful, but also so warm and kind. My thoughts and prayers are with her family. Rest in peace, dear Andrea."
In 2015, Evans received a second Daytime Emmy nomination for her performance in the web series DeVanity.
Evans recently completed work on her forthcoming memoir My One Life To Live.
Evans is survived by husband Steve Rodriguez and daughter Kylie.
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