Judith Barcroft

Judith Barcroft is an American actress from Washington, D.C. whose career spans Broadway and daytime television. Her stage work on Broadway ran from 1965 to 1979 and included productions such as The Elephant Man, Dinner at Eight, Mating Dance, Plaza Suite, All God's Chillun Got Wings, Betrayal, and Shimada.

Barcroft entered daytime television in 1966 when she originated the role of Lenore Moore on Another World, a character she continued to portray until 1971. Lenore's storyline centered on a murder case in which attorney Walter Curtin, played by Val Dufour, defended her against charges of killing Wayne Addison, portrayed by Robert Milli, while concealing his own guilt in the crime. Lenore also carried an adversarial relationship with Liz Matthews, then played by Nancy Wickwire, who held Lenore responsible for drawing away Wayne's affections. In 1970, Barcroft made a brief appearance as Lenore on Somerset, a spin-off of Another World.

Following her departure from Another World, Barcroft took over the role of Ann Tyler on All My Children. Ann, the daughter of the wealthy Phoebe and Charles Tyler, married lawyer Paul Martin, and her storyline included the sudden death of her infant child and a subsequent mental breakdown that led Paul and Phoebe to have her committed to a psychiatric facility. Barcroft held the role for six years, leaving the series in 1977. The next year she appeared on The Edge of Night as Louise Cavanaugh, the mother of Miles and April, in dream sequences across several episodes. Also in 1978, she temporarily assumed the role of Dr. Susan Burke Stewart on As the World Turns, stepping in for Marie Masters during Masters's emergency leave.

Barcroft then took a three-year break from acting before returning to daytime television in 1981 on Ryan's Hope, playing Barbara Wilde, a soap actress seeking publicity. Barbara briefly dated Dr. Seneca Beaulac and subsequently sued him for malpractice after holding him responsible for proceeding with a medical procedure she believed threatened her career. In 1983 and again the following year, Barcroft returned to As the World Turns in the role of District Attorney Sara Comstock. She also returned to The Edge of Night in a separate role, portraying Dr. Eleanor Prentice, a psychiatrist treating Laurie Karr, until the series ended in the winter of 1984. In 1986, the producers of One Life to Live asked her to fill in temporarily for Erika Slezak in the role of Victoria Lord Buchanan. Her final soap opera appearance came in 1988, when she played a pharmacist in a single episode of Another World.

Barcroft has been married to soap opera writer Wisner Washam since June 15, 1969. The couple have two children, a son named Ian Washam and a daughter named Amy Masterson.