Trivia

One of her performances on One Life to Live (1968) - "Karen Wolek on the Stand" - was so powerful and is remembered so vividly that, to this day, it is used as a model in acting classes through the nation. Additionally, it was recently honored as being one of TV Guide's "100 Most Memorable Moments on Television".

Born and raised in Trenton, New Jersey, her parents nurtured her interest in acting through her childhood and supported her decision to study in a summer program at Carnegie-Mellon University between her junior and senior years of high school. This experience prompted her to enroll in that institution where she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.

Shaved her head completely to star as Vivian Bearing (a literary academic dying of ovarian cancer) in the off-Broadway show "Wit" (1999).

For her outstanding performance in the off-Broadway tour of "Wit", Judith received the Helen Hayes Award in Washington, D.C., as well as the Elliot Norton Award in Boston.

Judith Light met her husband Robert Desiderio when they were both on the soap opera One Life to Live (1968).

She stated the reason she never had children was not because she did not want them, it was because if she wanted to have children, she wanted to be a full-time mother and with an acting career, she would not have been able to do that.

She was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Live Theatre at 6200 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on September, 12, 2019.

Nominated for the 2013 Tony Award as Best Featured Actress for her role in Richard Greenberg's drama, "The Assembled Parties", on stage at the Samuel E. Friedman Theatre/Manhattan Theatre Club in New York City.

Nominated for the 2018 Emmy Award in the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie category for her role as Marilyn Miglin in American Crime Story (2016), but lost to Merritt Wever from Godless (2017).

She played Jeanne White in the television movie The Ryan White Story (1989). She also spoke at the 20th anniversary of Ryan's death at Clowes Hall.

While on One Life to Live (1968), Judith received two Emmy Awards, two Soapy Awards and a Soap Opera Hall of Fame Award.

As a strong supporter of gay rights, she and husband Robert Desiderio honored with the Matthew Shepard Foundation's 1st Annual "Making a Difference" Award for their Longstanding Commitment to Erase Hate.

She has Austrian Jewish ancestry.

Attended and graduated from Carnegie Mellon University (1971).

Although she is only three years older than Mitch Pileggi, she played his mother in Dallas (2012).

Attended St. Mary's Hall in Burlington, New Jersey.

For three straight years, she has been nominated for Broadway's Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play, and has won twice for "Other Desert Cities" (2012) and "The Assembled Parties" (2013).

Alumna of the College of Fine Arts (CFA) at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU); School of Drama, class of 1970.

Judith is one of 6 performers who received acting Tony Awards in back-to-back years. She won in 2012 for "Desert Cities" and in 2013 for "The Assembled Parties", both in the category of Featured Actress in a Play. The others are Shirley Booth (1949/50), Gwen Verdon (1958/59), Sandy Dennis (1963/64), Stephen Spinella (1993/94), and Laurie Metcalf (2017/18).

Friends with Jill Eikenberry and Tony Danza.