After 41 Years of Daytime Drama, Susan Lucci Pulls a Dopple Double on ‘All My Children’

(SoapOperaNetwork.com) — Erica Kane has done it all. The cosmetics mogul has famously faced down a bear and won, married eleven times (although only seven of the marriages were valid), staged a prison escape, became a world famous model, served a prison sentence or two, kidnapped a child, cheated on a husband or two, married three generations of men from the same family, slapped a whole lot of people, stabbed men, and became Las Vegas' shortest show-girl and she still made time to embrace her children's children after all that drama. On Thursday, May 12, Susan Lucci stepped into new territory for the diva who had appeared to have done it all – Lucci began playing the role of Jane Campbell on "All My Children." Fans need not fret, Lucci will continue to play the infamous and currently imprisoned Erica Kane simultaneously as she plays the Erica fan that went through an extreme makeover to take over her idol's life.

Though it is a first for Lucci, it isn't the first time that "AMC" has gone down the dual role route. Some of Pine Valley's most notable cases of double sightings include: David Canary who simultaneously played the oh, so bad Adam Chandler and his oh, so good twin brother Stuart Chandler from 1984 to 2010; Kate Collins simultaneously played the beautiful Natalie Dillon and her green-eyed monster sister Janet Green from 1991 to 1992; Michael E. Knight simultaneously played playboy Tad Martin and his rich and his homicidal look-alike Ted Orsini in 1993; Finola Hughes simultaneously played the street smart Anna Devane and her book smart sister Alex Devane from 1999 to 2001; Leven Rambin simultaneously played autistic Lily Montgomery and her naughty half-sister Ava Benton from 2007 to 2008.

Daytime superstar's including Kim Zimmer of CBS' "Guiding Light", Anthony Geary and Jon Lindstrom of ABC's "General Hospital, Eileen Davidson, Kristian Alfonso, Alison Sweeney, James Scott and Deidre Hall of "Days of Our Lives," Anne Heche of NBC's "Another World," Erika Slezak of "One Life to Live," Martha Byrne of CBS' "As the World Turns" and Michelle Stafford of CBS' "The Young and the Restless" have all played two or more roles at the same time on each of their respective daytime dramas.

64-year old Lucci has been with "AMC" since its January 1970 debut. In that time she has infamously earned no less than twenty-one Daytime Emmy nominations in the category of Outstanding Lead Actress. After a losing streak that brought her more fame than heartbreak, Lucci finally won the award in 1999. In between leaving her mark on daytime like no other individual ever has, Lucci has also starred and guest-starred on numerous prime time series and made-for-television movies, been the commercial pitch woman for products including Ford automobiles, starred on Broadway, co-headlined a Vegas-style cabaret act with Regis Philbin, hosted NBC's "Saturday Night Live" authored a memoir, and developed a successful second career as an entrepreneur selling health, beauty and fitness products under her name.

On the Thursday, May 19 episode of "AMC," look for the soap to take a look back at the lengths Jane took before and after her procedure to look like Erica.