Marla Adams, best known for her 37 years in the role of Dina Abbott Mergeron on the daytime drama by CBS, The Young and the Restless, passed away on Thursday in Los Angeles. She was 85 and the cause of the death was not disclosed.
She was born in Ocean City, New Jersey, on August 28, 1938, and her love for the stage was ignited after winning the Miss Ocean City and Miss Cape May pageants. Adams also finished as a runner up in the Miss New Jersey pageant and was the Diamond Jubilee Queen during the 1954 celebration of the 75th anniversary of Ocean City’s founding.
While she was a student at American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Adams appeared on Broadway in the 1958 production of The Visit at the Morosco Theatre with Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne. She also starred as June in the 1961’s film Splendor in the Grass.
Over the years, she appeared on and off as Diana Abbott Mergeron in The Young as the Restless, until she returned to Y&R as full time in 2017. She also bagged a daytime Emmy for her work on the show in 2021, while being previously nominated in 2018.
Her other works include The Secret Storm, The Bold And The Beautiful, Days of our Lives, and so on.
