Margaret DePriest, actress and prolific soap writer for ‘General Hospital,’ ‘Days of Our Lives,’ and ‘All My Children,’ dies at 94

Margaret DePriest, an actress-turned-soap-opera writer who earned five Daytime Emmy nominations over a storied career spanning decades, she was 94.

She passed away of natural causes on September 29 at her home in Greenwich Village, her daughter Sara Kimbell confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter.

Born on April 19, 1931, in Bristow, Oklahoma, DePriest rose from Depression-era farm life to earn a drama scholarship at the University of Oklahoma. Her early career was rooted in acting, both on stage and television.

Among her first screen credits was a contract role as Abby Cameron on The Edge of Night from 1965 to 1966, followed by a recurring role as social worker Mrs. Berger on The Doctors.

Her writing career began in the mid-1960s when she teamed up with Lou Scofield as co-writer on The Edge of Night. By 1969, she co-created and served as co-head writer of CBS Daytime’s Where the Heart Is, launching a prolific career that would see her become head writer for some of television’s most beloved soap operas — including General Hospital, Days of Our Lives, All My Children, Another World, One Life to Live, and Sunset Beach.

As an actress, DePriest also made guest appearances on The Catholic Hour, True Story, and N.Y.P.D. during the late 1950s and 1960s.

Her writing talent earned her five Daytime Emmy Award nominations: two for Days of Our Lives (1984 and 1985), one for General Hospital (1985), one for All My Children (1990), and one for One Life to Live (1992).

She also received a Writers Guild of America Award nomination in 1998 for her work on Another World. Earlier in her career, she won an Obie Award for Best Actress in 1965 for her performance in The Place for Chance.

DePriest was married to writer Paul Price until his death in 2012.