In a sit-down with George Pennacchio for KABC, Jane Elliot looks back on an extraordinary 60-year career in television—one that spans nine different soap operas and countless unforgettable roles.
Jane Elliot Celebrates 60 Years In Daytime
“When I would fantasize about what I would be when I grow up, it would be an ice skater or a nurse. But I knew I was an actor,” Elliot shared.
Before daytime dominance, Elliot built an impressive résumé in primetime, including a guest role on Kojak. She also appeared as a nun opposite Mary Tyler Moore and Elvis Presley in Change of Habit—an experience that completely changed her view of Elvis.“He ended up being everything I never imagined he was—intelligent, kind, honorable, funny, professional,” Elliot recalled.
Her soap journey began with A Flame in the Wind in 1965—performed live—before moving on to Guiding Light and All My Children, where she mastered deliciously complicated, morally gray women.
But everything changed in 1978 when Elliot arrived in Port Charles on General Hospital as the indomitable Tracy Quartermaine—a role she would revisit again and again, even carrying it over to The City.
“It’s the easiest kind of role to play,” Elliot laughed. “There’s no crying, no heartbreak. You come in, you’re snarky and mean, you take your wardrobe off, and you go home—and you don’t take it home with you.”
Perhaps most iconic is Elliot’s fearless embrace of being unlikable.“I prefer to do what I do because it demands the ability to be comfortable not being liked… I don’t care what you think of me!”
Click here for the full video interview: KABC
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