Biography for
Darlene Conley More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

18 July 1934, Chicago Heights, Illinois, USA

Date of Death

14 January 2007, Los Angeles, California, USA (stomach cancer)

Birth Name

Darlene Ann Conley

Mini Biography

Darlene Conley has received two Emmy Award nominations as Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her portrayal of Sally Spectra on "The Bold and the Beautiful" (1987), a role she has played since December of 1988. She was also nominated for two Soap Opera awards from Soap Opera Digest as Outstanding Comic Performer in a Daytime Drama. She is of Irish-German heritage and grew up on Chicago's south side. At the age of 16, Darlene went on tour with the Chicago Uptown Circuit Players and the Playwrights Company. Her first leading man was Basil Rathbone, of Sherlock Holmes fame, and her first feature film was Alfred Hitchcock's masterpiece, The Birds (1963). She also appeared in prime-time series including "Gunsmoke" (1955) and "Mary Tyler Moore" (1970), and in the mini-series "Robert Kennedy & His Times" (1985). Darlene's feature film credits include Faces (1968/II) and Tough Guys (1986), and stage credits include "Cyrano de Bergerac" and "Night Of The Iguana." She began her daytime drama career as bad girl Rose DeVille in "The Young and the Restless" (1973) on CBS before moving onto "Capitol" (1982), "General Hospital" (1963), and "Days of Our Lives" (1965). Darlene has one son and two stepsons.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Anonymous

Spouse

Kurt Hensch	(June 1970 - 1981) (divorced)
William Woodson	(October 1959 - 1966) (divorced) 1 child

Trivia

Was discovered by Broadway impresario Jed Harris at age 15.

Only soap opera star to be chosen by Madame Tussaud's to have her "The Bold and the Beautiful" (1987) character Sally Spectra displayed in their gallery of wax, both in Las Vegas and Amsterdam.

Good friends with Phyllis Diller and Fabio, both appearing as guest stars on "The Bold and the Beautiful" (1987).

Mother of Raymond Woodson, sister of Carol Fontana and Sharon Wilson.

Began her acting career at 15 when she was cast in a touring production of The Heiress.

Darlene was part of the Conley family, which originated in Huntsville, Alabama.