Meg Bennett, an American television writer, actress, and model, left an indelible mark on the world of soap operas. Born Helen Bennett on October 4, 1948, she passed away on April 11, 2024, at the age of 75.
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Meg Bennett: Early Life
Meg was the eldest daughter Margaret, a psychologist. She grew up in Pasadena, California. She did her major in drama at Northwestern University, where she became homecoming queen, acted in summer stock during college breaks, and worked as a model, including an appearance in Life magazine.
Acting Career
In 1971, she was hired as the Cadillac Eldorado convertible girl for a New York auto show, which prompted her to move to Manhattan. She was an original cast member of the Broadway production Grease, which led to her being cast on the daytime soap opera Search for Tomorrow in 1974. She played the role of the good girl Liza for three years, then left New York for California. She also appeared occasionally as a panelist on Match Game.
Bennett was cast as Julia Newman on The Young and the Restless in 1980. She played the role on-and-off for six years, during which time she impressed William J. Bell, the creator of the show, with her on-set skills as a script doctor. He asked her to write for the show in 1981, and thereafter she began doing double duty as writer and actress on the show.
Writing Career
Her writing duties usurped her acting career, and she shared an Emmy award with the rest of the writing staff for General Hospital in 1995. She still acted occasionally, playing such roles as the villainous Allegra on General Hospital. She was fired in 2011 by Garin Wolf after his promotion to head writer.
Life and Death
Bennett met her husband, Robert Guza Jr., while they were both working on the soap opera General Hospital. Guza is a nine-time Daytime Emmy winner and co-creator of Sunset Beach. The couple got married in 2004 and remained together.
Meg Bennett’s family include her husband, two stepdaughters and four adored grandchildren, along with a brother and sister and a bevy of nieces and nephews.
According to Bennett’s obituary, she has been battling with cancer, which ultimately took her life at the age of 75 on April 11, 2024.
