Soap star Andrea Evans, known for her roles as Tina Lord on One Life to Live and Rebecca Hotchkiss on Passions, has died at age 66.
Evans passed away on Sunday, July 9, at her home in Pasadena, California, after a battle with breast cancer, casting director Don Carell told The Hollywood Reporter on Monday, July 10.
Evans rose to prominence for her portrayal of Tina on One Life to Live, a role she played from 1978 to 1981 and from 1985 to 1990. She went on to appear in other daytime TV shows including The Bold and the Beautiful, Passions and The Young and the Restless.
Over the course of her career, the Illinois native earned two Daytime Emmy nominations — one for Outstanding Ingenue in a Drama Series in 1998 for One Life to Live and another for Outstanding Performer in a New Approaches Drama Series in 2015 for her portrayal of Vivian Price in the internet show DeVanity.
Evans is survived by her husband Stephen Rodriguez, whom she wed in 1998, and their daughter, Kylie, 19. She was previously married to her One Live to Live costar Wayne Massey from 1981 to 1983.
In May 2022, Evans shared an Instagram snap from her daughter’s high school graduation day. “And this happened yesterday. My baby is all grown up. So proud️ #classof2022,” she captioned the photo. Earlier that month, the mother-daughter duo got matching tattoos in honor of Kylie’s 18th birthday. “If you look closely mine has a K, hers has an A. Love my girl sooo much,” Evans captioned an Instagram picture of the matching ink at the time.
In addition to being a mom and an actress, Evans worked for various animal rescue organizations and recently completed a memoir, My One Life to Live, Carroll told the Hollywood Reporter. She also spoke out about the importance of preventative health care in 2009 when a government task force argued that routine mammograms aren’t necessary for women in their 40s.
Andrea Evans. Bei/Shutterstock
“I want to scream, ‘No! No! Don’t listen!’” Evans — who was first diagnosed with breast cancer at age 46 in 2002 — told CNN in 2009. “If I hadn’t had that mammogram, I wouldn’t be here today.”
After Evans’ death, Robin Strasser — who played Dorian Lord on One Life to Live from 1979 to 1987 and 1993 to 2013 — shared a heartfelt tribute to her former costar.
“This is sad to hear. My memories of #AndreaEvans are of a woman who was super smart & energized and a heat seeking missile. That’s a compliment, ” Strasser, 78, wrote via Twitter on Monday. “You knew when you worked with her, it’d be like going head to head with a champion. I admired her daring. I hate the disease that look her.”
