- - Susan Lucci’s 2026 Net Worth Reveals Just How Much She Really Earned on 'All My Children'

Patti GrecoJanuary 17, 2026 at 5:00 AM

0

For decades, Susan Lucci electrified daytime television as Erica Kane, All My Children’s wickedly scheming fashion-model-turned-cosmetics-mogul. But for all of her character’s over-the-top storylines—faking amnesia, shooting her husband, kidnapping a baby—Lucci’s real-life net worth is perhaps the most jaw-dropping reveal of all.

"Erica Kane was a spectacular role for any actress to play, and I felt so lucky to be the one who got to do it," Lucci once said of her good fortune. She originated the role in 1970 when she was 22 and fresh out of college (Erica, meanwhile, was introduced as a tempestuous 15-year-old), and played the character until ABC canceled the program in 2011.

When the series came to an end, Lucci was hardly left without an income. By then, she’d already established herself as a familiar face on home-shopping television, launching jewelry, fragrance, beauty and later fitness products. In 2011, she also published a memoir—All My Life—before acting in other TV series and movies. (Her second memoir, La Lucci, comes out Tuesday, February 3, 2026 and can pre-ordered on Amazon now.)

Keep reading to learn more about Lucci’s net worth and career—including how she was cast to play Erica Kane—a woman TV Guide once called "unequivocally the most famous soap opera character in the history of daytime TV."

🎬SIGN UP for Parade’s Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox 🎬

What is Susan Lucci’s backstory?

Born in 1946 in Scarsdale, New York, Lucci grew up in Garden City with her older brother, Jim, and their parents: Victor, a contractor, and Jeanette, a nurse.

In her 2011 memoir, All My Life, Lucci described herself as a “painfully shy” child, but one who opened up when she was playing make-believe. “I was a totally different kid when I would perform,” she wrote. “The stage was where I wanted to be, and when you're a little girl with a vivid and active imagination, all the world is a stage.” At 11, she was cast to play the lead in her Girl Scout chapter’s production of Cindy Ellen, a retelling of Cinderella (“I was absolutely thrilled because this was going to be my first legitimate stage appearance,” she wrote.) By high school, she was regularly booking student shows.

After graduating, Lucci studied drama at Marymount College in Tarrytown, New York, but moved to Manhattan in 1968 in order to pursue acting full-time. Like many aspiring stars, she supported herself with day jobs, including a stint working in the office of a grout company—despite having no idea what grout even was. “People would call asking questions and I’d always have to ask the person to hold on while I went and found out because I knew nothing!” she told Backstage Magazine. But the gig allowed her to make time for auditions, and that’s all that mattered.

The hustle led to small film roles in Me, Natalie and Goodbye, Columbus, but her big break came in 1969, when she was cast as troubled teenager Erica Kane on the new daytime drama All My Children.

Related: Susan Lucci Marks 56th Anniversary of ‘All My Children’ Premiere with Star-Studded Set Photos

What was Susan Lucci’s first role?

Lucci’s first on-screen role was a small part in the 1969 film Me, Natalie, starring Patty Duke.

She followed that with another minor film appearance in Goodbye, Columbus the same year, but her first major and career-defining role came shortly afterward—when she was cast as Erica Kane on All My Children, which premiered in January 1970.

What is Susan Lucci’s net worth in 2026?

As of 2026, Lucci’s net worth is estimated around $80 million. She earned her fortune primarily from portraying Erica Kane on All My Children for 40+ years, at times making over $1 million annually. But she also appeared in TV movies, guest roles (Hot in Cleveland, Army Wives) and series like Devious Maids. She also made a pretty penny through endorsements and QVC product lines. According to a 1993 article in The New York Times, one of Lucci’s QVC haircare lines raked in over $1 million in a single day. And that was over 30 years ago!

Lucci at a QVC event in 2008Photo by Matthew Peyton on Getty ImagesHow much money did Susan Lucci make on All My Children?

It’s unknown exactly how much Lucci made on All My Children, but by 1991 (20-plus years after she first booked the show), she was reportedly earning $1 million a year to play Erica Kane, making her the highest-paid actor on daytime television. Assuming she kept that salary for all but the last year of the show (more on that in a moment), she made about $20 million for just half her tenure on All My Children.

That said, according to a New York Times article from March 2011, Lucci accepted a pay cut at the time in order to avoid seeing “a lot of people out of work—a lot of really good people—which was the way it was presented to me.” That turned out to be her final contract for the show: A month later, ABC announced its cancellation.

How did Susan Lucci get the role of Erica Kane?

Lucci landed the role of Erica Kane through a straightforward audition. “I just thought, ‘Whoever wrote this is brilliant,’” she recalled of the script in an interview with the Archive of American Television. “‘This is real, this is how real mothers and daughters when they’re 15 talk to each other.’”

She caught the eye of casting director Joan D’Incecco, who then brought Lucci to creator Agnes Nixon’s attention—and that was it. "She had an innocence but with a little bit of vixen. And she understood Erica's vulnerability,” Nixon told The New York Timesin 1993. “Through the years, Susan has created Erica as much as the writers. If she left the show, we would never recast the part. It would be impossible."

Related: Susan Lucci: 'I Don't Feel My Age'

Who was the longest running actor on All My Children?

That would be Susan Lucci. She played Erica Kane from the start of the show in 1970 until its cancellation in 2011. And if the fans had it their way, she'd have played the character for even longer.

“When All My Children went off the air, I was told by many people, including Agnes, the fans blew up and shut down the computer lines at ABC,” Lucci said on an episode of Soapy Hosted by Rebecca Budig and Greg Vaughan. “She said there was one number that you could call, and so I did. I called it just to see if it was really true, because that’s kind of unbelievable to crash the lines at a corporation. I wanted to see myself, and actually the recording said, ‘To state your displeasure or your upset at All My Children being canceled, press one … for all other ABC business press two.’ So it was true.”

Related: ‘All My Children’ Alum Susan Lucci, 78, Shares ‘Flashback’ Photos with ‘Beloved’ Cast Mates

Did Susan Lucci ever win an Emmy?

Lucci famously received 18 nominations without a win before finally taking home a Daytime Emmy Award in 1999.

For years, her shutout was a sore subject (she reportedly lost her temper more than once when she didn’t win in the early ‘80s). But eventually, she leaned into the snub, poking fun at her Emmy drought in a memorable Saturday Night Live sketch and a Sweet One commercial that cast her as a mock-diva who had everything she could ever want—except for one thing.

When she finally did hear her name called at the Emmys, she accepted the award tearfully. “I truly never believed that this would happen,” she said to the laughter of her peers.

What has Susan Lucci been in besides All My Children?

After All My Children ended, Lucci starred or guest-starred in a number of projects, including Devious Maids, Deadly Affairs (as host), Hot in Cleveland, Army Wives and the Jennifer Lawrence movie Joy.

What is Susan Lucci doing now?

At 79 years old, Lucci is as busy as ever. She has her activewear line on QVC, brand partnerships with the likes of Pilates Pro Chair and Tiary, and her second memoir—La Lucci—comes out Feb. 3. (The book is expected to focus on the past 15 years of Lucci’s life, tapping into themes of love, loss—including the 2022 death of her husband of 53 years, Helmut Huber—as well as reinvention and resilience.)

She’s also teased more than once the possibility of an All My Children reboot. "It's been bubbling for several years,” she told CBS’s Soapy podcast. “And then just when I think that it probably isn't bubbling anymore, it's bubbling. It's bubbling as we speak.”

According to Lucci's IMDB profile, she has a "rumored" series called Pine Valley (the fictional setting of All My Children) in pre-production.

"Still to this day, people will ask me, 'Do you miss it?'” she told Soapy. “Yeah, I miss the character, of course. And I miss being part of that fantastic team.”

Next: Soap Queen Susan Lucci Makes Unexpected Comment About Status of ‘All My Children’ Return

This story was originally published by Parade on Jan 17, 2026, where it first appeared in the Celebs section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”