Jennifer Harmon Dies: ‘One Life to Live’ Star Was 82

Alyssa Norwin May 12, 2026, 11:40 am

Jennifer Harmon, an actress known for starring in soap operas and on Broadway, has died. She was 82 years old at the time of her death at her home in New York City, according to Soap Opera Digest.

Harmon’s acting career began on Broadway with a role in the 1965 production of You Can’t Take It With You. She made her soap opera debut in How to Survive a Marriage, which she starred in from 1974 to 1975.

One year after exiting How to Survive a Marriage, Harmon joined the cast of One Life to Live. She played Cathy Craig on the show, becoming the fifth and final actress to take on the role before she exited the show in 1978. The character of Cathy had previously been played by Catherine Burns, Amy Levitt, Jane Alice Brandon and Dorrie Kavanaugh.

Harmon received a Daytime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 1978 for her work as the villainous character.

In 1991, Harmon returned to One Life to Live and played an attorney for a multi-episode arc. That same year, she played Jean Wetherwill on four episodes of Guiding Light. She had a three-episode run on Loving in 1995, as well.

Jeff Probst's Brother, Scott Probst, Dies

Harmon’s most recent acting role was on an episode of The Good Wife in 2010, where she played a character named Ruth. Some of her other credits include Oz, Rescue Me, Law & Order, Dallas, and Another World.

On Broadway, she’s starred in more than 20 productions, including The School for Scandal, The Little Foxes, The deep Blue Sea, the Dinner Party, The Glass Menagerie, Barefoot in the Park, and more.

Harmon was born in Pasadena, California, and raised in New Orleans. She attended college at the University of Mississippi and University of Michigan, then moved to New York, where she began her Broadway career.