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Jennifer Bassey (born July 22, 1939) is an American actress who has worked on both stage and screen. She is perhaps best known for her role as Marian Colby in the ABC soap opera All My Children which she played on and off from 1983 until the show's cancellation in 2011.
After appearing in Love of Life, The Edge of Night, and Somerset, Bassey changed her professional name from "Joan Bassie" to "Jennifer Bassey." She chose the name Jennifer from Dr. Jennifer Stark, the role she had played on Love of Life. In the early 1990s, Bassey was one of several actresses brought in briefly to replace Eileen Fulton as Lisa on As the World Turns while Fulton was ill.
She began playing Marian Colby on ABC's soap opera All My Children (1983-1987, 1989, 1995-2009, 2011). She has appeared on All My Children for over 20 years and was a favorite among fans.
A libidinous wealthy widow with a penchant for forbidden romantic trysts, Marian was featured in a variety of storylines, allowing Bassey to showcase a variety of talents in both comedy and drama. In 1998, Bassey won the Soap Opera Digest Award for "Favorite Scene Stealer," and in 1999, alongside co-star David Canary, won the same award for "Favorite Couple". Also, in 1999, Bassey received her first Daytime Emmy nomination in the "Outstanding Supporting Actress" category. Bassey appeared on All My Children in both contract and recurring capacities until the show's 2011 network cancellation, but did not appear on the show's short-lived online incarnation.
Bassey did not participate in the February 2, 2017 All My Children reunion on the Hallmark Channel's Home & Family show. Home & Family. Hosts: Mark Steines and Debbie Matenopoulos. Hallmark Channel. February 2, 2017. However, Home & Family did utilize footage of Bassey with actor Michael E. Knight from an infamous All My Children storyline wherein Knight's youthful Tad Martin had affairs with both Marian Colby and her daughter Liza Colby (played by Marcy Walker).
Bassey also has appeared in a number of prime time television shows, including recurring roles on Falcon Crest and Grey's Anatomy, and well as guest shots on In the Heat of the Night, Who's the Boss?, Murphy Brown, Matlock, L.A. Law, and Law & Order. Her film credits include Waxwork (1988), The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990), Dunston Checks In (1996), and 27 Dresses (2007).
In 2017, Bassey returned to daytime television in both its traditional and new media incarnations, joining the casts of ABC soap opera General Hospital playing Quinn Danvers, and Daytime Emmy-winning digital soap opera Anacostia as Beverly Newman. For her performance as Beverly on Anacostia, Bassey received her second Daytime Emmy nomination in the "Outstanding Guest Performer in a Digital Drama" category in 2018.
In June 2015, Bassey made headlines when she was forced off a commercial airliner after a dispute with a flight attendant.
Bassey resides in Manhattan and West Palm Beach, Florida.
| 1988 | Side by Side | Jennifer Benson | TV film |
| Waxwork | Mrs. Loftmore | ||
| Goddess of Love | Mrs. Wilson | TV film | |
| 1989 | Charlie | Betty Wald | TV film |
| 1990 | The Platinum Triangle | Mrs. Farber | |
| The Bonfire of the Vanities | Diplomat's Wife | ||
| 1992 | Twogether | Mrs. McKenzie | |
| Stepfather III | Dr. Brady | TV film | |
| Ruth | TV film | ||
| Singles | Uncredited | ||
| 1994 | Illicit Dreams | Real Estate Woman | |
| 1996 | Dunston Checks In | Angela Dellacroce | |
| 2000 | It Had to Be You | Mrs. Allen | |
| 2008 | 27 Dresses | Jane's Aunt | |
| 2011 | The Brothers Sinclair | Vivian Sinclair | |
| 2017 | The Depths | Mrs. Peters | |
| 2020 | Kombucha Cure | Hanna Nowacki | |
| Until We Meet Again | Linda Davis Thompson | ||
| Magic in Mount Holly | Mrs. Halsen |
| 1969-1971 | Love of Life | Dr. Jennifer Stark | |
| 1975 | Somerset | Dorothy Conrad | |
| 1976-1977 | The Edge of Night | Abby Wolcott | |
| 1983-2011 | All My Children | Marian Colby Chandler | Series regular |
| 1984 | Paper Dolls | Anna Crane | 1 episode |
| 1985 | ABC Weekend Special | Mrs. Waterford | Episode: "Columbus Circle" |
| 1987 | L.A. Law | Rita Stenheiser | Episode: "The Grace of Wrath" |
| 1988 | In the Heat of the Night | Eugete Davenport | Episode: "A Necessary Evil" |
| Duet | Mrs. Paxton | Episode: "Oh Boy!" | |
| Dear John | Eleanor Guthrie | Episode: "Politics as Usual" | |
| 1989 | Who's the Boss? | Beverly Fiske | Episode: "Party Double" |
| The Robert Guillaume Show | Martha | Episode: "Hello Again" | |
| Falcon Crest | Cynthia Wallace | 4 episodes | |
| Matlock | Evie Malone | Episode: "The Good Boy" | |
| 1990 | Murphy Brown | Nancy | Episode: "On the Road Again" |
| Over My Dead Body | Clarice | Episode: "A Passing Inspection" | |
| 1991 | Jake and the Fatman | Sara Fairchild | Episode: "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" |
| Pros and Cons | Episode: "Murder Most Perfect" | ||
| 1993 | Reasonable Doubts | Dr. Nagel | 2 episodes |
| Matlock | Gloria Morrell | Episode: "The Debt" | |
| Tropical Heat | Polly | Episode: "Slumming It" | |
| L.A. Law | Judge Helen Caplan | Episode: "Foreign Co-respondent" | |
| 1994 | The Byrds of Paradise | Sylvia Paton | Episode: "Back in the Saddle |
| Silk Stalkings | Brooke Dupree | Episode: "Time Share" | |
| 1995 | Robin's Hoods | Cynthia Hollings | Episode: "The Heartbreaker" |
| Coach | Alice | Episode: "Fool for Lunch" | |
| Hudson Street | Betsy Clifford | Episode: "Contempt" | |
| 1996 | ABC Afterschool Special | Mrs. Hanff | Episode: "Educating Mom" |
| 1997 | Silk Stalkings | Meg Gordon | Episode: "Night of the Parrot" |
| 2002 | Law & Order | Mrs. Conley | Episode: "Access Nation" |
| 2007 | 30 Rock | Old Vibrant Lady | Episode: "Cleveland" |
| 2012 | Body of Proof | Female Guest #2 | Episode: "Falling for You" |
| 2013 | Grey's Anatomy | Nancy Dawson | 3 episodes |
| 2017 | Woman of a Certain Age | Older Kate | Mini-series |
| General Hospital | Quinn Danvers | 4 episodes | |
| Greenport | Jean | ||
| Anacostia | Beverly Newman | 2 episodes | |
| 2020 | Quarantine | Joyce | 3 episodes |
| The Church of Mike | Mrs. MacAuley | Episode: "The Church of Mike" |
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