Margo Hughes is a fictional character on the daytime soap opera As the World Turns, a show about working life in the fictional town of Oakdale. She was first played by Margaret Colin, and then by Hillary B. Smith for six years. However the actress most recognized for the role is Ellen Dolan, who played the character from December 18, 1989 until 2010, with a break from January 1993 to June 1994. Margo's storylines often focus on family dramas and police matters. The character is portrayed as a stoic, hard-nosed, determined and level-headed character, who in later years has begun interfering in the lives of her children. A pivotal storyline for the character came in 1992 when the character was raped by two criminals she was attempting to arrest during a holdup. The storyline was continually re-hashed by the show in the years after. Margo's only marriage in her 30-year history on the show was with that of lawyer Thomas "Tom" Hughes. The couple met during their investigation of Mr. Big and married in 1983. The super couple endured many trials and tribulations over their 27 years of marriage, most notably when Margo had an affair with Hal Munson, and Tom cheated on Margo with Emily Stewart. For her work on the show, Dolan won Soap Opera Digest's Outstanding Supporting Actress award in 1993, and was nominated for a Daytime Emmy the same year.