Many daytime TV fans and Hollywood A-listers are mourning the loss of actress Andrea Evans, who died at age 66, her former manager Don Carroll confirmed to PEOPLE and several outlets on Jul. 10. The late One Life To Live star’s current manager, Nick Leicht, also released a statement to PEOPLE in light of her passing. “I’ve been working with Andrea for the past 7 years. She was such a tremendous talent and an absolute joy to work with,” he said. Andrea died after a battle with breast cancer at her home in Pasadena, California, on Jul. 9.
The late soap star was widely known for her role as Tina Lord on One Life to Live. Andrea is also remembered for her role as Patty Williams on The Young and the Restless. During her long career, Andrea was nominated for two Daytime Emmy Awards for her work on DeVanity and her work on OLTL, per her IMDb page. Other notable shows and films she worked on include The Bold and the Beautiful, Passions, and many more.
One of the very first people to react to her passing was Frank Valentini, who was the former executive producer of OLTL and is the current EP of General Hospital. Upon hearing the news, the EP took to Twitter to share a somber message about Andrea’s death, along with throwback photo of her days on the show. “I am so sorry to learn of Andrea Evans’ passing. Andrea was already a huge star when my career began at OLTL. She was always kind, gracious, and so fun to work with,” his tweet began. “A daytime legend who will be missed very much. My sympathies to her friends and family.”
Andrea took a step back from OLTL in the 1990s and exited the show “abruptly,” per PEOPLE. During a 2008 chat with the mag, the late 66-year-old revealed that her exit was due to a scary experience with a stalker. “It’s forever changed me,” she said at the time. “There’s no way it could not.” Andrea later appeared in a few movies including A Low Down Dirty Shame, Ice Cream Man and Hit List. Some of her notable co-stars include soap legend Erika Slezak, Charlie’s Angels alum Jaclyn Smith, DeVanity alum Katie Caprio, and others.
General Hospital alum Nancy Lee Grahn, 67, was another friend of Andrea’s who took to Twitter on Jul. 10 to react to the somber news. “I’m so sorry to hear about Andrea Evans. Kim Zimmer, Andrea and I came to NYC via Chicago per ABC Daytime Television back in the day together. Lovely woman,” she penned. “Donated to Cancer foundation today. We’ve got to fund the hell out these orgs so they can kill cancer and not our friends.”
The late TV starlet is survived by her second husband, Stephen Rodriguez, and their daughter, Kylie, 19. Andrea married Stephen in 1998, about 15 years following her divorce from singer Wayne Massey, 76. The 76-year-old and Andrea were married from 1981 to 1983. The late mother-of-one most recently took to Instagram in May 2022 to gush over her daughter who had just graduated high school. “And this happened yesterday. My baby is all grown up. So proud #classof2022,” Andrew gushed in the photo‘s caption.