Meg Bennett, Famed Soap Opera Actress of ‘The Young and the Restless,’ Dies at 75

The soap opera star Meg Bennett, who made her mark equally as much as a writer as she did playing Julia Martin on CBS’ The Young and the Restless, died from cancer this month at 75, her family revealed in an obituary.

Bennett, a Southern California native, got her start in acting in 1975 on the Search For Tomorrow, which catapulted her into a decades-long career as one of the biggest names in daytime TV.

Her next role came on The Young and the Restless, where she made appearances in four different decades on the long-running show, and was also the show’s head writer for a period in the 1980s.

While instantly recognizable from her time on the screen, perhaps Bennett’s biggest contributions to the industry came from her role as the associate head writer at General Hospital, for which she penned 197 episodes. She was also known as a writer for The Bold and the Beautiful and Sunset Beach—a ’90s soap that was co-founded by her husband, Robert Guza Jr., that became a cult hit in the United Kingdom.

“They would have celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary this year,” her family wrote in her obituary.

Bennett still acted on occasion in the latter half of her career, playing roles like the villainous Allegra on General Hospital. She held her position at the show until 2011, when Garin Wolf cleaned house after his promotion to head writer.

She last featured in an episode on The Young and the Restless in 2020.

Bennett’s obituary said she is survived by her husband, two stepdaughters, four grandchildren, and two siblings.

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