Holly portrayed Carla Benari until 1980 and returned to the role from 1983 to 1985. Holly’s character was a white-passing woman who wasn’t revealed to be Black until the end of her first season.

Ellen Holly, a stage and screen actor who became the first Black star of a daytime television series with her role as Carla Gray in ABC’s soap opera “One Life to Live,” died Wednesday at ...

Ellen Holly, the first Black actor to have a leading role on a daytime soap opera, died peacefully in her sleep on Wednesday at Calvary Hospital in the Bronx. She was 92. Holly joined ABC’s One ...

Ellen Holly, whose role in the soap opera “One Life to Live” made her the first Black actor to play a lead role in a daytime TV show, died Wednesday in New York. She was 92.

Holly portrayed Carla Benari until 1980 and returned to the role from 1983 to 1985. Holly’s character was a white-passing woman who wasn’t revealed to be Black until the end of her first season.