Her death was announced by a family spokesperson.
She recurred on soapGeneral Hospitalas the character Edith Fairchild, and also appeared inDays of Our LivesandCapitol.
In an interview, she once said, The theatre for me is like being in church.
Joan Benedict SteigerDonna G. Bachman
When you feel the audience, and feel that communication with other souls, its like music.
In the late 90s, she reconnected with Steiger through mutual friends.
I got a call from him out of the blue, she recalled years later in an interview.
Benedict and Steiger were married from 2000 until his death in 2002.
She subsequently was in a relationship withOnce Life To Liveactor Jeremy Slate until he died in 2006.
Benedict is survived by daughter Claudia Myhers Tschudin and granddaughters Hanna Tschudin and Ashley Tschudin.
