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Erika Slezak Pays Tribute to ‘One Life to Live’ TV Sister Lynn Benesch Upon Learning of Her Passing

By Michael Fairman

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Photo: ABC and IMDb

When Erika Slezak joined One Life to Live in 1971 as the third Victoria Lord (following Gillian Spencer and Joanne Dorian), longtime fans of the beloved soap remember that Viki had a younger sister, Meredith, who was played by Lynn Benesch (born Lynn Benish, and who later was also known as Lynn Chester). Benesch was the second actress to take on the part of Meredith Lord following the exit of Trish Van Devere.

Now, Erika has posted a touching remembrance after having recently found out that Lynn Benish Chester had passed away. Obituary records detail that Lynn died back in 2023 at the age of 82. The obit shares, Lynn was the mother to two daughter, Jennie and Annie, and wife of Larry Tucker (who passed away in 2024).

Lynn appeared on One Life to Life from 1969-1973 until Meredith was killed-off when she suffered a massive brain trauma, but before succumbing to her injuries, tells Viki how happy the love of her life, Dr. Larry Wolek (Michael Storm) made her. Benesch appeared one more time in 1987 when Viki traveled to heaven and saw her sister. Throughout her career, Lynn also appeared on other soap operas including: General Hospital, The Doctors, and The Young and the Restless.

Courtesy/ErikaSlezak.com/ABC

In q heartfelt post on her website on January 19, 2026, Erika expressed, “I recently learned that Lynn Benish, who portrayed my sister Meredith on One Life to Live, has passed away. After she left California, Lynn and I had lost touch. Lynn was incredibly supportive during my early days on the show, providing invaluable help throughout my first year on OLTL. She led me by the hand and told me where everything was and what the schedule was. She and Syd Andrews, our stage manager and Ernie Graves who was Victor, literally walked me through that first day. Lynn’s kindness will always be remembered. May she rest in peace.”

It’s pretty incredible to hear those words from the six-time Daytime Emmy winning legend, and for those of us who watched One Life to Live from the very beginning and who remember the relationship between Viki and Meredith.

When Erika mentions Ernest Graves, he was the first Victor Lord of One Life from 1968-1974, and at that time the character was not the monster he later became when the writers wrote into the story of Viki’s sexual abuse by her father as a young child; which caused her to split into multiple personalities: Tori, Tommy, Jean, Princess, Niki, and Victor.

Share your remembrances of Lynn Benesch as she was known during her run on One Life to Live as Viki’s sister’s Meredith Lord via the comment section below, and your reaction to Erika Slezak’s sentiments on her former co-star.

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Lynn was great as Meredith as was Ernest Graves as Victor, hated what they did with the character later. Both he and later Shepard Strudwick played Victor as a difficult man but one who was devoted to his daughters.

I am very sorry to hear this news. I most definitely remember Lynn as Meredith Lord Wolek. Lynn played Meredith longer than the originator of the role. I was very sorry when they killed off the character. It bothered me that in later years, Meredith was completely forgotten. Meredith was a much better sister to Viki than perpetual trouble maker Tina.

May Lynn Benesch rest in peace.

My watching of OLTL was kind of akin to being a fair weather fan. I loved OLTL but could not afford the time it took to juggle AMC, ( my first soap)OLTL and GH. It was embarrassment of riches back in the day. But my spotty watching of OLTL afforded me the pleasure of watching the brilliant Erika Slezak interact with the incredibly talented and charismatic May Lynn. She was so good that she had the ability to piss me off on behalf of Vicki.

I always liked watching Lynn as Meredith. I probably didn’t see Trish Can Devere as I started watching OLTL in 1970.

I remember her scenes with Dr Joyce Brothers, in the hospital. I believe Meredith was experiencing postpartum depression and Dr Brothers was helping her through it.

Didn’t Larry call her Mery?

I always thought it was unfortunate that Meredith was killed off so early in the show’s run. She could have had terrific storylines.

R.I.P. That is THE Meredith I remember. First time I was devastated when a soap character was killed off.

I’m shocked that the soap world is just now learning of Lynn’s passing. I always thought she deserved a larger television presence after leaving One Life to Live. Had I known of her turns on The Young and the Restless and General Hospital, I may have tuned in. Her seven episodes on The Doctors can be viewed on the free streaming service, It’s Real Good TV, which hosts episodes from December 1967 to September 1980. Lynn’s episodes were in 1968.

It was unfortunate that Lynn’s swan song of episodes had to play out during the regular disruption of the Senate Watergate Hearings.I also always thought Agnes Nixon erred in killing Meredith off (and Jenny on All My Children too) because there ought to have been so much more to their stories. In both cases, it had an unfortunate effect of neutering Larry’s character (and Greg’s). Larry perhaps got better treatment than Greg, but still, there was really nowhere to go without their true loves.

Beyond the Gates

53rd Annual Daytime Emmy Nominations Announced: ‘The Young and the Restless’ Tops With 18, ‘Beyond the Gates’ With 15

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The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) today announced the full list of nominees for the upcoming 53rd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards, and it was CBS daytime’s The Young and the Restless and broadcast television newest soap opera, Beyond the Gates that racked up the most nominations with 18 and 15, respectively.

General Hospital was next with 13 overall nominations, followed by Days of our Lives with 8 and The Bold and the Beautiful with 7 nods. The full reveal on Tuesday, follows the announcement of several major categories including Lead Actor and Actress on Monday via Extra and Entertainment Tonight and The View today revealing Daytime Drama Series and more.

The 53rd Annual Daytime Emmys ceremony are set to take place on Friday, October 30 at the historic Hollywood Palladium in Hollywood, California. The ceremony is currently planned to stream via watch.theemmys.tv and its associated apps. For the second year in a row, both the main Emmys and the Creative Arts will be presented together in one night.

Photo: CBS

In a statement, Adam Sharp, President and CEO of NATAS expressed, “We’re proud to honor the extraordinary talent and creative teams whose work continues to define and elevate daytime television, As the Daytime landscape evolves and new forms of storytelling emerge, we remain committed to recognizing the innovation happening across the industry.”

“Each year, the Daytime Emmy Awards celebrate the creativity, passion, and dedication that drive this vibrant community of storytellers,” said Rachel Schwartz, Head of the Daytime Emmy Awards. “Congratulations to this year’s nominees, whose work continues to entertain, inspire and connect with audiences every day. We look forward to celebrating their remarkable achievements in Hollywood this October.”

The Daytime Emmy Awards have recognized outstanding achievement in television programming and crafts since 1974, honoring work in a variety of genres, including daytime dramas, talk series, entertainment news, culinary, adventure, instructional and legal/courtroom programming. This year’s Lifetime Achievement Honoree, Gold & Silver Circle Inductees, and ceremony host will be announced at a later date.

Now below, check out the nominees in the daytime drama, talk show, entertainment news series and creative arts categories. Congratulations to all!

Photo: JPI

Outstanding Daytime Drama Series

Beyond the Gates
Days of Our Lives
General Hospital
The Young and the Restless

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Daytime Drama Series

Stacy Haiduk (as Kristen DiMera), Days of Our Lives
Karla Mosley (as Dani Dupree), Beyond the Gates
Michelle Stafford (as Phyllis Summers), The Young and the Restless
Heather Tom (as Katie Logan), The Bold and the Beautiful
Tamara Tunie (as Anita Williams Dupree), Beyond the Gates

Photo: ABC

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Daytime Drama Series

Eric Braeden (as Victor Newman), The Young and the Restless
Steve Burton (as Jason Morgan), General Hospital
Scott Clifton (as Liam Spencer), The Bold and the Beautiful
Thorsten Kaye (as Ridge Forrester), The Bold and the Beautiful
Christian Jules Le Blanc (as Michael Baldwin), The Young and the Restless

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Daytime Drama Series

Linsey Godfrey (as Sarah Horton), Days of Our Lives
Camryn Grimes (as Mariah Copeland), The Young and the Restless
Beth Maitland (as Traci Abbott), The Young and the Restless
Trisha Mann-Grant (as Leslie Thomas), Beyond the Gates
Amanda Setton (as Brook Lynn Quartermaine), General Hospital

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Daytime Drama Series

Sean Dominic (as Nate Hastings), The Young and the Restless
Timon Kyle Durrett (as Bill Hamilton), Beyond the Gates
Michael Graziadei (as Daniel Romalotti), The Young and the Restless
Roger Howarth (as Matt Clark), The Young and the Restless
Mike Manning (as Bradley “Smitty” Smith), Beyond the Gates
Lawrence Saint-Victor (as Carter Walton), The Bold and the Beautiful

Photo: ABC

Outstanding Emerging Talent in a Daytime Drama Series

Braedyn Bruner (as Emma Scorpio-Drake), General Hospital
Al Calderon (as Javier Hernandez), Days of Our Lives
Alice Halsey (as Rachel Black), Days of Our Lives
Giovanni Mazza (as Gio Palmieri), General Hospital
Ambyr Michelle (as Eva Thomas), Beyond the Gates
Arielle Prepetit (as Naomi Hamilton Hawthorne), Beyond the Gates

Outstanding Guest Performance in a Daytime Drama Series

Jasmine Burke (as June Hughes), Beyond the Gates
Jeff Kober (as Cyrus Renault), General Hospital
Eva LaRue (as Natalia Rogers-Ramirez), General Hospital
Christopher Sean (as Paul Narita), Days of Our Lives
Ray Wise (as Ian Ward), The Young and the Restless

Outstanding Writing Team for a Daytime Drama Series

Beyond the Gates
The Bold and the Beautiful
Days of Our Lives
General Hospital

Photo: CBS

Outstanding Directing Team for a Daytime Drama Series

Days of Our Lives
General Hospital
The Young and the Restless

Outstanding Casting for a Daytime Program

Beyond the Gates
General Hospital
The Young and the Restless

Outstanding Daytime Talk Series

3rd Hour of TODAY
The Drew Barrymore Show
The Kelly Clarkson Show
Live With Kelly and Mark
TODAY With Jenna & Friends
The View

Photo: ABC

Outstanding Daytime Talk Series Host

Joy Behar, Whoopi Goldberg, Alyssa Farah Griffin, Sara Haines, Sunny Hostin & Ana Navarro, The View
Kelly Clarkson, The Kelly Clarkson Show
Tamron Hall, Tamron Hall
Jennifer Hudson, The Jennifer Hudson Show
Sherri Shepherd, Sherri

Outstanding Entertainment News Series

Access Hollywood
Entertainment Tonight
Extra

Outstanding Daytime Personality (Daily)

Mona Kosar Abdi, Derek Hough & Terri Seymour, Extra
Cassie DiLaura, Denny Directo, Kevin Frazier, Rachel Smith & Nischelle Turner, Entertainment Tonight
Scott Evans, Zuri Hall, Kit Hoover & Mario Lopez, Access Hollywood
Star Jones & Corey Jovan, Divorce Court

Photo: WBTV

Outstanding Arts and Popular Culture Program

Beyond the Gates: Welcome to the Neighborhood — An Entertainment Tonight Special
Off Script With The Hollywood Reporter
Variety & CNN Actors on Actors
Variety Studio: Actors on Actors
Working In the Theatre

Outstanding Music Direction and Composition for a Daytime

Beyond the Gates, Episode 103
Have Guitar Will Travel World
The Kelly Clarkson Show Episode 5033
Let Frankie Cook,” Getting the Band Back Together
Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

Outstanding Technical Direction and Video for a Daytime Program

Beyond the Gates, Episode 104
The Bold and the Beautiful,” Episode 9511
Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Parade”
The Jennifer Hudson Show, ” Episode 4041
Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade”

Photo: CBS

Outstanding Hairstyling and Makeup for a Daytime Program

Beyond the Gates, Episode 103
General Hospital, Episode 15719
The Kelly Clarkson Show,” Episode 5033
The Young and the Restless,” Episode 13273

Outstanding Costume Design / Styling for a Daytime Program

The Jennifer Hudson Show, Episode 4140
The Kelly Clarkson Show
Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
The Young and the Restless Episode 13149
The Young and the Restless Episode 13273

Outstanding Sound Mixing and Sound Editing for a Live Daytime Program

The Bold and the Beautiful, Episode 9658
The Jennifer Hudson Show Episode 4039
The Kelly Clarkson Show Episode 5007
Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
The Young and the Restless,” Episode 13260

Outstanding Lighting Direction for a Daytime Program

Beyond the Gates Episode 104
General Hospital Episode 15624
The Jennifer Hudson Show Episode 4010
The Kelly Clarkson Show Episode 6169
Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade”

Outstanding Art Direction/Set Decoration/Scenic Design for a Daytime Program

The Kelly Clarkson Show Episode 5033
Live with Kelly and Mark Episode 250414
The View Episode 6280
The Young and the Restless Episode 13145
The Young and the Restless Episode 13244

So, what do you think of the 53rd annual Daytime Emmy nominations? Who are you happy to see receive a nomination and who do you think was snubbed? Weigh-in via the comment section.

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Beyond the Gates

53rd Annual Daytime Emmy Nominations: Outstanding Lead Actress Drama Series

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Monday on Entertainment Tonight, the second set of nominations for the 53rd annual Daytime Emmy Awards were announced which included the highly-coveted Outstanding Lead Performance in a Daytime Drama Series – Actress and Outstanding Daytime Talk Series.

ET followed suit after Extra announced the nominees, as previously reported, in the Outstanding Lead Performance in a Daytime Drama Series – Actor and Outstanding Daytime Talk Host.

Now, five leading ladies of the soaps are vying for the gold for Lead Actress and the category marked the first-ever nominations for CBS daytime’s Beyond the Gates when two actresses made the final cut. Only General Hospital is not represented among the actresses this year after Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis Davis) took home the trophy last year.

Photo: NATAS

THE FIVE LEADING LADIES OF THE SOAPS ARE …

The 2026 Lead Actress nominees are: Stacy Haiduk (Kristen DiMera), Days of Our Lives, Karla Mosley (Dani Dupree), Beyond the Gates, Michelle Stafford (Phyllis Summers), The Young and the Restless, Heather Tom (Katie Logan), The Bold and the Beautiful, and Tamara Tunie (Anita Dupree), Beyond the Gates.

This marks the first Daytime Emmy nominations for Karla Mosley and Tamara Tunie. In addition, this marks the first-time in her career that Stacy Haiduk had received a Lead Actress nod after two Supporting Actress nominations.

Meanwhile, Michelle Stafford had previously won 3 Emmys – 2 for Lead Actress and 1 for Supporting, but this recognition makes it her 11th overall nomination.

Heather Tom currently is tied for the most all-time Daytime Emmy wins with One Life to Live alum and General Hospital guest star, Erika Slezak. The B&B star has 19 nominations throughout her career.

Photo: ABC

DAYTIME TALK SERIES

In the Outstanding Daytime Talk Series category, the nominees are: 3rd Hour of Today, The Drew Barrymore Show, The Kelly Clarkson Show, Live with Kelly and Mark, Today with Jenna and Friends and The View.

“We’re proud to honor the extraordinary talent and creative teams whose work continues to define and elevate daytime television,” NATAS president and CEO Adam Sharp said in a statement on the nominations. “As the Daytime landscape evolves and new forms of storytelling emerge, we remain committed to recognizing the innovation happening across the industry.”

The rest of the nominations will be revealed tomorrow on Tuesday July 14 starting on The View and then the full list of nominees in both the main and creative arts will be released by NATAS. The 53rd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards are slated for October 30th in Hollywood, California.

So, what do you think about the women who are vying for the Lead Actress Daytime Emmy? Happy with who got in? Who do you feel got snubbed? What do you think of the nominees for Daytime Talk Series? Weigh-in via the comment section.

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Breaking News

53rd Annual Daytime Emmy Nominations: Outstanding Lead Actor Drama Series

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Monday afternoon, Extra kicked-off the 53rd annual Daytime Emmy nominations with the reveal of two major categories. First, Outstanding Lead Performer in a Daytime Drama Series — Actor, and second, Outstanding Daytime Talk Series Host.

Previous Emmy winners all, the men who will be vying for daytime’s most coveted prize are: Eric Braeden (Victor Newman), The Young and the Restless, Steve Burton (Jason Morgan), General Hospital, Scott Clifton (Liam Spencer), The Bold and the Beautiful, Thorsten Kaye (Ridge Forrester), The Bold and the Beautiful, and Christian Jules Le Blanc (Michael Baldwin), The Young and the Restless.

Let’s take a look at the actors Emmy resumes: Eric Braeden has been nominated nine times for Lead Actor and won once in 1998. Steve Burton is a two-time Daytime Emmy winner, both in the Outstanding Supporting Actor category for GH as Jason Morgan and Y&R as Dylan McAvoy. Today’s nomination makes it his 10th overall, and his third time in the the Lead Actor category.

Photo: NATAS

Scott Clifton has won three times previously in 2011, 2013 and 2017 and has the distinction of being the only actor to win in Younger Actor, Supporting and Lead. This is his 8th nomination.

Thorsten Kaye is a two-time Lead Actor winner in 2023 and 2024. Christian LeBlanc has also won three times as Lead Actor in 2005, 2007 and 2009 and this is his first nod in over a decade.

Photo: NBCUniversal

TALK SHOW HOSTS

In the Outstanding Daytime Talk Series Host, the nominees are: Joy Behar, Whoopi Goldberg, Alyssa Farah Griffin, Sara Haines, Sunny Hostin, and Ana Navarro, The View, Kelly Clarkson, The Kelly Clarkson Show, Tamron Hall, Tamron Hall, Jennifer Hudson, The Jennifer Hudson Show, and Sherri Shepherd, Sherri.

Both The Kelly Clarkson Show and Sherri have come to their conclusions as Sherri was canceled after 4 seasons and Kelly Clarkson decided to end her talk show after 7 seasons.

The 53rd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards are set to be handed out in a ceremony on October 30 in Hollywood with more details forthcoming. The complete list of 2026 Daytime Emmy nominations will be revealed tomorrow on July 14 beginning at 12pm ET/9am PT via The Emmys.TV social channels and website.

So, what do you think of the race for Lead Actor in a Drama Series? Surprised by any of the nominees? Who are you rooting for? What do you think about the the talk show host category? Weigh-in via the comment section below.

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