Marla Adams, best known for her 37 years in the role of Dina Abbott Mergeron on the CBS daytime drama The Young and the Restless, died Thursday in Los Angeles. She was 85 and the cause was not disclosed.
Born in Ocean City, New Jersey, on August 28, 1938, Adams’ love for the stage was ignited after winning the Miss Ocean City and Miss Cape May pageants. She also finished as a runner-up in the Miss New Jersey pageant and was the Miss Diamond Jubilee Queen during the 1954 celebration of the 75th anniversary of Ocean City’s founding.
A student at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Adams appeared on Broadway in the 1958 production of The Visit at the Morosco Theatre with Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne. She also starred as June in the 1961 feature film, Splendor in the Grass.
Adams starred as Belle Clemens on The Secret Storm from 1968-1974¸and joined the cast of The Young and the Restless in 1982 as the Abbott family matriarch, Dina Abbott Mergeron, who returned to Genoa City to reunite with her estranged family.
She appeared on and off in the role though the years, returning full time to Y&R in 2017. She won a Daytime Emmy Award for her work on the show in 2021 and was previously nominated in 2018.
Adams also appeared on The Bold and the Beautiful, Days of our Lives, Generations, and Capitol. Over the span of her career, Adams starred in more than 40 productions including The Golden Girls, Hart to Hart, The Love Boat, and the feature film, Beneath the Leaves.
She is survived by her daughter, Pam Oates, son, Gunnar Garat, grandchildren, Gefjon and Stone, and her great grandson, Remi. No information on memorial plans has been revealed.
