Rebecca Balding death: Charmed and Soap actor dies from ovarian cancer, aged 73

Rebecca Balding of Charmed and Soap fame has died following her diagnosis with ovarian cancer. She was 73.

News of Balding’s death was confirmed by the veteran actor’s husband, writer-director James L Conway in a statement to People on Wednesday (20 July).

Conway told the publication Balding died on Monday 18 July in Park City, Utah.

Balding and Conway met when she auditioned for his 1981 film The Boogens.

He told People: “We chatted, she read and when she left, I turned to the associate producer and said, ‘I could marry that girl.’

“Somehow she got cast. The first week of shooting we went out. That Saturday night, she proposed. And four weeks later, while still shooting, we got married,” he continued, adding, “Of course, no one thought it would last. That was 41 years ago.”

Balding was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, on 21 September, 1948. Before setting her sights on Hollywood and moving to Los Angeles, she was a well-regarded theatre actor in Chicago.

One of her most memorable on-screen roles was that of Carol David on Soap, in which she played an attorney trying to seduce Billy Crystal’s gay character Jodie Dallas. She appeared in a total of 19 episodes between 1978 until 1980.

She has also appeared in shows like Makin’ It, Lou Grant, Melrose Place, Beverly Hills 90210, Home Improvement and Family Ties.

In addition to appearing with Ed Asner for three episodes on Lou Grant, Balding also played his daughter in the Christmas TV movieThe Gathering in 1977 as well as its 1979 sequel.

The late actor first appeared on Charmed during season one of the iconic fantasy series about three sisters who discover they’re descended from a line of powerful witches. During her first stint on the show, she played the character of Aunt Jackie and only made a single appearance that season.

However, she returned as a different recurring character, playing Phoebe Halliwell’s (Alyssa Milano) boss, newspaper editor-in-chief Elise Rothman.

Her final acting credit was for the 2006 Charmed episode titled “Kill Billie: Vol 2”.

Balding is survived by Conway, her daughters Sarah and Kathleen as well as her grandchildren.