Beloved Soap Star Andrea Evans Defies Odds in Uplifting Battle Against Breast Cancer at 66

Soap opera actress Andrea Evans, famous for playing Tina Lord on One Life to Live and Rebecca Hotchkiss on Passions, sadly passed away at the age of 66. She lost her fight against breast cancer at her residence in Pasadena, California, on Sunday, July 9, as confirmed by casting director Don Carell to The Hollywood Reporter on Monday, July 10.

Evans gained fame for her depiction of Tina on the television series One Life to Live, a character she portrayed from 1978 to 1981 and 1985 to 1990. She subsequently appeared in various other daytime dramas, including The Bold and the Beautiful, Passions, and The Young and the Restless.

Throughout her career, the actress, who hails from Illinois, garnered two Daytime Emmy nominations. One came in 1998 for Outstanding Ingenue in a Drama Series for her role on One Life to Live, while the other was in 2015 for Outstanding Performer in a New Approaches Drama Series for her portrayal of Vivian Price on the web series DeVanity.

Evans is survived by her husband, Stephen Rodriguez, whom she married in 1998, and their 19-year-old daughter, Kylie. She was previously married to her One Live to Live co-star, Wayne Massey, from 1981 to 1983.

In May 2022, Evans shared a photo on Instagram from her daughter's high school graduation day, expressing her pride and joy. Just before that, the mother-daughter duo got matching tattoos to celebrate Kylie's 18th birthday, with Evans sharing the meaningful moment on Instagram.

Evans, besides her roles as a mother and actress, devoted herself to multiple animal rescue organizations and recently finished writing a memoir called My One Life to Live, as Carroll revealed to the Hollywood Reporter. Furthermore, she expressed her views on the significance of preventive healthcare in 2009, countering a government task force's argument that routine mammograms are not necessary for women in their forties.

Andrea Evans, a breast cancer survivor diagnosed in 2002 at the age of 46, expressed her desire to scream and urge others not to listen. In an interview with CNN in 2009, she emphasized the life-saving importance of her mammogram, emphasizing that it played a crucial role in her survival.

Following Evans’ passing, Robin Strasser, known for portraying Dorian Lord on One Life to Live from 1979 to 1987 and 1993 to 2013, paid a heartfelt tribute to her former co-star. Expressing her sadness, Strasser, aged 78, took to Twitter on Monday and shared her memories of Andrea Evans. She described Evans as a highly intelligent and driven individual, comparing her to a heat-seeking missile and praising her tenacity and fearlessness. Strasser concluded her tribute by expressing her disdain for the disease that took Evans away.