Susan Lucci, 79, on Aging With Audacity: ‘Keep On Keeping On’

Susan Lucci, 79, has a problem with the expression “aging gracefully.”

“That sounded to me like you throw up your hands. You stop being yourself,” the All My Children Emmy winner said on Today on April 17.  Her replacement: “Aging with audacity means getting out of your comfort zone. Keep on going forward. Keep on looking your best and feeling your best. Just keep on keeping on. Be you!”

The philosophy is earned. Her husband of 52 years, Helmut Huber, died in March 2022 at age 84 after suffering a stroke. Grief nearly ended her career. “I frankly never thought I would go in front of a camera again or step on the stage again,” Lucci told People in April. When a film script arrived, she almost turned it down. “I didn’t think I could do it.”

She did. Lucci plays Keanu Reeves’ mom in Outcome, now streaming on Apple TV.

Her body demanded that same tenacity. In October 2018, doctors found two blocked arteries, one 90 percent and the other 75 percent, and placed two stents. She later became an ambassador for the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women campaign, using her story to warn women about the signs of heart disease. Then, in January 2022, she had another cardiac episode: a coronary artery was found to be 80 percent blocked, and she received another stent. Two months later, Huber was gone. 

Susan Lucci played Erica Kane on “All My Children.”

Ann Limongello/ABC/courtesy Everett Collection

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in women in the U.S., and by 2050, nearly 60 percent of women are projected to have high blood pressure, according to a report published in February in Circulation. Lucci is not waiting for bad news and continues to prioritize her health.

“I’m doing great,” Lucci told USA Today in February. “I just had my yearly checkup, actually, and just a couple weeks before that I had the (echocardiogram) and the stress test and my doctor said to me, ‘You’re not just good – it’s perfect.’ So my heart is in very good shape and I’m glad to say that.”

Her advice for what comes next: “Dream your dreams. Get your manicure. Buy some new shoes. Do you,” she told Tamron Hall in February. 

Heart disease is the nation’s No. 1 killer. AARP has the latest cardiovascular news, expert advice and tips to help keep your heart healthy.