New Jersey native Marla Adams, who starred as Dina Abbott Mergeron in the CBS soap opera “The Young and the Restless” over the span of nearly 40 years, has died at the age of 85.
Matt Kane, the director of media and talent for the series, announced the news Friday night, confirming that Adams died in Los Angeles on Thursday. No cause of death was disclosed.
An outpouring of love and support quickly followed online.
“On behalf of the entire company of ‘The Young and the Restless,’ we send our deepest sympathies to Marla’s family,” Josh Griffith, executive producer and head writer of ‘Y&R,’ said in a statement. “We’re so grateful and in awe of Marla’s incredible performance as Dina Mergeron as both Marla and Dina made an unforgettable mark.”
“The earth stopped turning for a moment when my Marla passed to eternity,” wrote follow ‘Y&R’ star Beth Maitland, who portrays Traci Abbott, one of Dina’s daughters on the show.
“Marla Adams, you will be greatly missed. Thankful to be a part of this sweet Abbott family,” wrote Melissa Ordway, who plays Dina’s granddaughter, Abby. Eileen Davidson — Abby’s mom and Dina’s other daughter, Ashley — shared Melissa’s post on her own Instagram Story.
Adams, who starred in more than 50 screen projects over the course of her career, first got her start in 1961, working alongside Natalie Wood and Warren Beatty in Elia Kazan’s Oscar-winning film “Splendor in the Grass.”
She went on play small roles in TV series including “General Hospital,” “The Secret Storm,” “Starsky and Hutch” and “The Love Boat,” before landing the gig that would eventually define her career.
Adams joined “The Young and the Restless” in 1982, acting in roughly 70 episodes until 2008. She returned for a fulltime role in 2018, and went on to appear in more than 230 episodes.
Following her return, her character was revealed to be suffering from Alzheimer’s. In 2021, Adams’ work in the role earned her a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.
“I was the b—h of daytime,” she said in a 2016 interview with OC Daily, citing the scheming Dina and her villainess character Belle Clemens on “The Secret Storm.”
Prior to her TV work, Adams starred on Broadway in 1958’s “The Visit,” alongside Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne.
In the late 1980s through the 1990s, she appeared in series such as “Generations,” “The Bold and the Beautiful,” and “Golden Girls.”
In 1999, she starred in 50 episodes of “Days of Our Lives” as Claire, the mother of Ali McIntyre.
Adams is survived by her children Pam Oates and Gunnar Garat, her grandchildren Gefjon and Stone, and great-grandson Remi.