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Today, Soap Central celebrates the legendary actress, Erika Slezak!
Happy Birthday, Erika Slezak!
Slezak, born on August 5, is best known for her portrayal of Victoria (Vicki) Lord on One Life to Live, but now, General Hospital fans are anxiously awaiting her upcoming arrival to Port Charles.
Born in Hollywood and raised in Connecticut, it could be said that Erika Slezak was destined for a life in the performing arts. Her father, Walter, was a Tony Award-winning actor, her aunt, Margarete, was an actress, and her grandfather, Leo, was an acclaimed opera singer. She has been quoted as saying, "I can't recall a time when I didn't want to act. When I was a sophomore in high school, my father talked to me about training for a career in acting. One thing my father did for me was not discourage my ambitions. But he made sure I had no illusions about the acting profession, explaining that it was going to be harder for me because I had a famous father. I would have to prove myself more than others and, as usual, he was right."
Graduating from London’s prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1966, Slezak moved back to the United States to begin a successful career in theatre, which she continued until 1974. In 1971, she auditioned for a role on All My Children for which she was not cast. Instead, ABC ended up offering her the role of Victoria Lord on One Life to Live, which she would go on to portray for over 40 amazing years!
As one of the longest-running characters in the history of American daytime television, Victoria Lord endured an exorbitant amount of challenges, crises, traumas, losses, and heartaches, with happier times sprinkled in between. As a child, she was molested by her father and later developed Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) with six alternate personalities that were eventually integrated but wreaked havoc on her life numerous times. She experienced multiple marriages, divorces, and widowhood, and had five children – three of whom were kidnapped when they were babies and one whom she lost to lupus. She survived breast cancer, a stroke, a heart attack, a heart transplant, and a rape, which resulted in one of her fraternal twins being fathered by her rapist.
For her career-defining portrayal of this iconic character, Slezak earned the praise and respect of both fans and critics alike. She’s won an impressive six Daytime Emmys for Outstanding Lead Actress and still holds the record for most Daytime Emmy wins for an actress. In 2002, she was also honored with an induction into the Silver Circle Honor Society of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, which recognizes exceptional individuals who have made an enduring impact on the industry for at least 25 years.
Since One Life to Live ended in 2013, Slezak has continued to act in TV and film and is set to make her General Hospital debut sometime this fall. There has been much speculation about her character, but it has recently been revealed that she will not be playing Victoria Lord. Instead, she will be portraying a new character whom many suspect will somehow be related to Monica Quartermaine.
Could the letter written to Monica Quartermaine (Leslie Charleson) that Martin Grey (Michael E. Knight) recently found be a clue to Slezak’s new character? It likely is, but we may have to wait a while to find out for sure. Will she be Monica’s sister? Will she arrive before or after Monica passes away? Will she be friendly or come to wreak havoc on the Quartermaines? How will Tracy (Jane Elliot) react? So many unknowns and so many possibilities. Whatever the writers are cooking up, the new character is bound to shake things up for the Qs and Port Charles and General Hospital viewers are excited to watch the brilliantly talented Slezak light up our daytime screens again.
Soap Central would like to wish the happiest of birthdays to the esteemed Erika Slezak and sends its best wishes for the year to come!
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