Asheville, N.C. – Eileen Fulton, a pioneering figure in daytime television whose portrayal of Lisa Miller on As the World Turns redefined the soap opera genre, died on July 14, 2025, in Asheville after a period of declining health. She was 90.
Fulton was born Margaret Elizabeth McLarty on September 13, 1933, in Asheville, North Carolina. Her early life was shaped by the values of faith and education—her father, Rev. James B. McLarty, served as a Methodist minister in western North Carolina, while her mother, Margaret Glenn McLarty, taught in public schools.
After earning a bachelor’s degree in music from Greensboro College in 1956, she began performing in The Lost Colony, an outdoor historical drama staged in Manteo, N.C. With her parents’ full support, she soon relocated to New York City, setting the stage for a career that would span six decades across television, stage, and print.
In New York, she studied under renowned acting coaches Sanford Meisner and Lee Strasberg, and trained in dance with Martha Graham. She adopted the professional name Eileen Fulton and made her film debut in 1960’s Girl of the Night, appearing opposite Anne Francis.
That same year, she landed the role that would define her career: Lisa Miller Hughes Eldridge Shea Colman McColl Mitchell Grimaldi Chedwyn—simply “Lisa” to millions of viewers—on the CBS daytime drama As the World Turns. Her dynamic performance, which saw Lisa evolve from ingénue to television’s first true soap villainess, captivated audiences for half a century. The character’s string of dramatic marriages and turbulent storylines became a staple of American television.
Fulton remained a central figure on As the World Turns from 1960 until the show’s cancellation in 2010, making her one of the longest-tenured actors in daytime television history. Her willingness to explore the darker sides of Lisa’s personality brought a fresh intensity to the genre. She was honored with a Daytime Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004 and was inducted into the Soap Opera Hall of Fame in 1998.
At the height of her fame, Fulton balanced live television with stage commitments, performing simultaneously on Broadway in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf and off-Broadway in the musical The Fantasticks—a rare feat even among veteran performers.
A multitalented artist, Fulton was also an accomplished singer and author. She performed her cabaret act in clubs across New York and Los Angeles, blending music and personal storytelling. In 1970, she co-wrote her first autobiography, How My World Turns, followed in 1995 by As My World Still Turns to commemorate her 35 years on the soap. She later authored a series of mystery novels, adding literary achievement to her wide-ranging legacy.
After retiring in 2019, Fulton returned to her native North Carolina, settling in Black Mountain. She remained connected to the arts and to the communities that shaped her.
She is survived by her brother, Charles Furman McLarty and his wife Karen, of Black Mountain; niece Katherine Morris, her husband David, and their children Everly Ann and Easton Lane, of Fort Mill, South Carolina; and her sister-in-law Chris Page McLarty, of Camden, Maine. She was preceded in death by her parents and her brother, James Fulton McLarty.
A service celebrating her life will be held at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 9, 2025, at Central United Methodist Church in Asheville, where she grew up in faith and family.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to:
- The Rev. James B. McLarty Music Scholarship at Brevard College, Brevard, N.C.
- Or the Margaret Glenn McLarty ’28 and Eileen Fulton Music Scholarship Fund at Greensboro College, Greensboro, N.C.
