Best known for her starring role as Lisa Miller (later Lisa Grimaldi) on CBS’ “As The World Turns,” soap opera icon Eileen Fulton has died. She was 91 years old.
Fulton passed away on July 14, 2025, following a period of declining health, in Asheville, North Carolina, her family announced.
Born Margaret Elizabeth McLarty in Asheville on September 13, 1933, Fulton received a bachelor’s degree in music in 1956, with performances in the outdoor drama “The Lost Colony” in Manteo, NC, before eventually moving to New York to pursue acting.
Fulton first made a name for herself as an actor in 1959, appearing in at least two episodes of the TV show “True Story.” However, it was her role as Lisa on “As The World Turns” that made her a star, playing the role off and on from 1960-2010, with only the show’s cancellation separating her from the character.
In 1988, Fulton received her first-ever Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Daytime Drama Series. Although she didn’t take home the coveted award, by 2004, Fulton was recognized for her work in daytime when she was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at “The 31st Annual Daytime Emmy Awards.”
In November 2021, Fulton made an appearance on “The Locher Room” to discuss her 50 years on “As The World Turns,” including how she helped establish the soap “vixen” role and playing one-half of the first-ever super couple with Don Hastings (Bob Hughes).
Services for Fulton will be held on August 9, 2025 at the Central United Methodist Church in Asheville, NC.
Fulton is survived by her brother, Charles Furman McLarty (Karen) of Black Mountain; niece Katherine Morris (David) and their children, Everly Ann Morris and Easton Lane Morris of Fort Mill, S.C.; and sister-in-law Chris Page McLarty of Camden, Maine. She was predeceased by her parents, James B. McLarty and Margaret Glenn McLarty, and her brother, James Fulton McLarty.
Watch Fulton’s appearance on “The Locher Room” below.