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‘Days of Our Lives’ actor Denise Alexander dead at age 85

Sun 11 May 2025 17:01, UK

Emmy-nominated actor Denise Alexander, known for her roles in General Hospital and Days of Our Lives, has passed away at the age of 85.

On May 9th, Variety reported that Alexander had passed away on March 5th. The first tribute came in from the executive producer of General Hospital, Frank Valentini. His post on X read: “I am so very sorry to hear of Denise Alexander’s passing. She broke barriers on-screen and off, portraying Dr. Lesley Webber – one of the first female doctors on Daytime Television – for nearly five decades.”

Born in New York in 1939, Alexander was raised on Long Island before moving to Los Angeles with her father, entertainment agent Alec Alexander.

Alexander began acting in the 1950s on Broadway’s The Children’s Hour. She also appeared in a 1955 TV movie adaptation of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn with Thomas Mitchell and John Carradine. She quickly made a name for herself, subsequently landing guest-starring roles on Father Knows Best, The Twilight Zone, and The Danny Kaye Show.

Alexander earned an Emmy nomination as an outstanding actress in a daytime drama series for her role in General Hospital, which she began after her seven-year stint on Days of Our Lives. However, the show decided to kill off her character in 1984 because of a contract dispute, only to bring her back from the dead in 1996. She last appeared on the show in 2021.

In an interview with TV Insider, Alexander’s on-screen daughter, Genie Francis, discussed their close bond. She said: “I loved her. She loved me. I stole her good stuff. When I look at myself sometimes on television, which I don’t do often because I don’t really like to watch myself, but I have seen myself do stuff and been kind of taken aback because I realised I just did Denise. So, when I say I stole her good stuff, I’m saying I was so young, she imprinted on me.”

The actor is survived by her stepdaughter Elizabeth Colla.