Bold and the Beautiful Actress Darlene Conley Dies at Age 72

Darlene Conley, who played redheaded spitfire Sally Spectra on the daytime show "The Bold and the Beautiful", passed away in Los Angeles Sunday, January 14. She was 72 years old. She joined the cast of The Bold and the Beautiful in 1988, and also appeared on another daytime show, "The Young and the Restless" as Rose DeVille. Other daytime shows Conley appeared on included Days of our Lives and General hospital.

Conley was born on July 18, 1934 in Chicago, Illinois. She got her acting debut at age 15 in a production of "The Heiress" and played in several other Broadway productions before getting her start in movies. She was cast in Alfred Hitchcock's movie, "The Birds" and starred in various movies such as, "The Valley of the Dolls", "Play It as It Lays", and "Tough Guys". She later split her acting career between prime-time shows, daytime television, and mini series. Some shows she guest starred on included The Cosby Show, Cagney and Lacey, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Murder, She Wrote, Little House on the Prairie and Highway to Heaven.

She started off on daytime soaps with "The Young and the Restless", where she played Rose DeVille from 1979 to 1980 and 1986 to 1987. She also played Edith Baker on Days of Our Lives, Trixie Monohan on General Hospital, and Louie on the now-cancelled show, Capitol.

She joined the cast of "The Bold and the Beautiful" in 1988 as redheaded spitfire, Sally Spectra/Alexander, the rival owner of Forrester Creations and Stephanie Forrester. Sally was known for being bold, dramatic, very brazen and was infamous for her wacky antics, which included dressing up in various costumes that included Mae West. She was usually aided by her onscreen and real life pal, Phyllis Diller.

Darlene Conley received several Emmy nominations for Supporting Actress in 1991 and 1992. She also received she received nominations from Soap Opera Digest for Outstanding Supporting Actress in 1991 and Outstanding Female Showstopper in 1996.

She was diagnosed with stomach cancer in November of 2006. She immediately underwent surgery and was given a positive prognosis by doctors, but unfortunately succumbed to cancer on January 14, 2007. Show producers were trying to figure out the fate of Sally Spectra at the time of her passing. She is survived by one son and two stepsons, all of whom she raised.