All My Children told the stories of many powerful women throughout its run. Now, Susan Lucci, who played Erica Kane on the ABC soap opera, is honoring a very special woman for Women’s History Month!
All My Children, Susan Lucci pays tribute
“Women’s History Month—and I’m honoring my grandmother, Rosalie Sonner Granquist, my only American grandparent—she was way ahead of her time!” Lucci shared on Instagram.
“So many of you tell me about your own grandmothers and [how you] treasured time you spent with them—I want to tell you about mine,” the actress continued.
“When my Swedish grandfather went back to Sweden, he wrote to my grandmother to tell her that he didn’t want to be married anymore,” the Daytime Emmy winner reveals. “This left her with three small children (my mother was five years old, the youngest)—but my grandmother refused alimony and child support.
“Instead, she played the piano beautifully and started her own orchestra, which played in the hotels of the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania, where she lived,” reveals Lucci.
“She is pictured here [above] in front of the Milford Opera House, where she also played piano for the Broadway tryouts that came through,” the actress says. “Later, when I was a little girl, she lived with us until she died when I was eleven. She cooked and baked the most delicious things every day, was always ready with a warm smile—and I know the first time I ever heard Gershwin or Irving Berlin was my grandmother playing on our little upright piano.
“I think Women’s History Month exists because many of our grandmothers went before us—many as ‘rugged individualists,'” Lucci concludes. “Sometimes, it’s good to look into our own family history and understand that we are so lucky to have had them in our lives!💖💖. Sending Love, Susan.”
All My Children powerhouses
Lucci’s daytime pals responded to her post with supportive words. “What a beautiful way to honor the women who paved the way before us!❤️,” wrote Eva LaRue (ex-Maria, All My Children; ex-Natalia, General Hospital).
Shared Rebecca Budig (ex-Greenlee, AMC; now, Taylor, The Bold and the Beautiful): “I love this ❤️.”
Lucci recently shared other stories in her newest memoir, “La Lucci,” which is available now wherever books are sold.
Lucci has two Daytime Emmys on her mantel. She won the coveted award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 1999 on her 19th nomination. In 2023, she was awarded the Daytime Emmy for Lifetime Achievement Award.
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Edited by Michael Maloney