# Elizabeth Lawrence (actress)

Elizabeth Lawrence (September 6, 1922 – June 11, 2000) was an American actress, best known for her role as Myra Murdock Sloane in the soap opera All My Children from 1979 to 1991.

## Life and career

Lawrence was born in Huntington, West Virginia, and obtained a bachelor's degree in science and a master's degree in special education. She made her acting debut in 1947 off broadway in Skin of our Teeth and her Broadway debut in 1954 in The Rainmaker and would go on to act in several other theatrical productions. She would also work on the daytime soap operas The Road of Life, The Edge of Night, A World Apart, The Doctors, Guiding Light, and All My Children from 1979 to 1991 where she played Myra Murdock Sloane. She earned three Daytime Emmy Award nominations in 1981, 1982 and 1985 for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. Her other notable acting work includes roles in the movies Four Friends, We're No Angels, Sleeping with the Enemy, The Butcher's Wife and The Crucible as well as guest starring roles on television series such as Law & Order, Oz and Third Watch. In the 1970s and 1980s, she also worked as an auxiliary police officer in Manhattan, New York.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1964 | Lilith | Patient (uncredited role) | Feature film |
| 1981 | Four Friends | Mrs. Prozor | Feature film |
| 1989 | We're No Angels | Mrs. Blair | Feature film |
| 1991 | Sleeping with the Enemy | Chloe | Feature film |
| 1991 | The Butcher's Wife | Grammy D'Arbo | Feature film |
| 1996 | The Crucible | Rebecca Nurse | Feature film |
| 2000 | Isn't She Great | Minsey Hastings | Feature film |
| 2000 | Unbreakable | School nurse | Feature film |
| 2000 | The Ride Hone | Clara (age 80) | Short film |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1954 | The Philco Television Playhouse | Unknown role | Episode: "Smoke Screen" |
| 1954 | The Road of Life | Francie Brent | Daytime serial (recurring role) |
| 1955 | Frontiers of Fatih | Unknown role | Episode: "The Biggest Yes in the World" |
| 1961-1963; 1967 | Edge of Night | Constance Johnson | Daytime serial (contract role 1961-1963) |
| 1961-1963; 1967 | Edge of Night | Vera Turek | Daytime serial (recurring 1967) |
| 1963 | East Side West Side | Emily Mooney | Episode: "The Sinner" |
| 1965-1966 | Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre | Unknown role | Episode: "The Admiral" (1965) |
| 1965-1966 | Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre | Mrs. Cunningham | Episode: "Guilty or Not Guilty" (1966) |
| 1970 | A World Apart | Betty Kahlman | Daytime serial (only appeared in pilot episode (#1.1); Augusta Dabney played the character for the remaining 324 episodes) |
| 1974; 1998 | As the World Turns | Marsha Davidson | Episode: #4595 (1974) |
| 1974; 1998 | As the World Turns | Mrs. Foerter | Episode: "October 12, 1998" (1998) |
| 1976-1978 | The Doctors | Virginia Dancy | Daytime serial (contract role) |
| 1979-1991 | All My Children | Myra Murdoch Sloan | Daytime serial (contract role) For Daytime Emmy info, see Awards and nominations section below for details |
| 1991 | Law & Order | Miss Elsie Hatch | Episode: "Asylum" |
| 1993-1994 | Guiding Light | Bess Lowell | Daytime serial (recurring role) |
| 1998 | Oz | Beecher's Grandmother | Episode: "Family Bizness" |
| 2000 | Third Watch | Mary Stiverson | Episode: "Young Men and Fire..." Final role |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
| 1981} | Daytime Emmy Award | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series | All My Children | Nominated |
| 1982 | Daytime Emmy Award | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series | All My Children | Nominated |
| 1985 | Daytime Emmy Award | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series | All My Children | Nominated |

## Death

Lawrence died of cancer on June 11, 2000, at age 77. M. Night Shyamalan's Unbreakable was dedicated to her memory.