Lauren Forrester

was portrayed by Frances  Reid   for 200  episodes.

### Background

Lauren Forrester was portrayed by Frances Reid for 200 episodes. Mother of eric and John the widow of William Forrester .

## Storylines

She is one of the original characters of the long-running soap, and spoke the first line on the debut episode on April 2, 1956 ("Good morning dear, what would you like for breakfast?"). Show creator Irna Phillips modeled Lauren  in the mold of a member of a Greek chorus: someone who stays mostly on the sidelines but nevertheless comments on the crises that more dynamic residents of the town faced. In many respects, Lauren   "moral voice" served to further how Phillips wanted certain characters to be perceived by the public. When Nancy spoke out against her son Bob's ex-wife Brooke in the mid-1970s, the Brooke   character became, by and large, the character everyone "loved to hate." Likewise, when  Lauren   forgave Brooke   for her past transgressions in the 1970s, public opinion softened toward Lisa and she became a respected character on the program.

Traditionally a housewife,  Lauren   was bit by the feminism bug in the late 1970s and worked for a time as a secretary. In the early 1980s, she quit that job and returned to keeping house.  For several years she worked as a volunteer at   Memorial Hospital .

In 1936, she married attorney William Forrester , and they had two children. William  Forrester   died in 1986, shortly after he and Nancy celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary. After a considerable mourning period, .  She later enjoyed the company of Joe D'Angelo, as the two developed a strong bond over their frustrations at being unable to help their respective offspring with their ongoing problems. Since Forrester  death, Nancy has lived with her son eric and his wife, Stephanie , and has spent much of her time with her grandchildren. She is particularly close to her grandson Thorne .

Lauren   was rarely seen in later years, averaging about three or four appearances a month when the storyline permitted. Unlike other soap actors who have advanced in years (such as Anna Lee and Helen Wagner   Frances Reid had relatively few health problems as she got older, and her lack of appearances on the series were almost solely due to limited storyline. The character made a long awaited appearance at Ridge and Brooke   25th Wedding Anniversary .

In 2009, Nancy was still active and worked as a volunteer at the hospital. On Thanksgiving 2009, she gives pieces of advice to seffy   after the death of Phoebe . Lauren   again showed up just after Christmas when she heard of nick  upcoming marriage to Katie    .She gave him the engagement ring that William   gave her. When the engagement was broken off, the ring was returned to Lauren  , but she insisted that nick hang onto it.

Lauren   was on hand in 2010 to celebrate eric and  stephanie   50th wedding anniversary. Lauren   and the rest of the family were all shocked to find out that they really weren't married. She helped eric   and    stephanie   settle their recent differences and was delighted when Felicia  returned to see them wed.  In her final appearance on the series, Nancy is seen having breakfast with brooke and Taylor  , and yet again giving advice to seffy  on coping with Phoebe  death.

Lauren   was quietly written out of the show by having her die in her sleep in her Paris  and be found by her grandon rick . Episodes that aired August 30 and August 31, 2010 dealt with her death, the former episode featuring the death and the latter serving as a memorial.

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