Louise Shaffer

Louise Shaffer, born July 5, 1942, in Woodbridge, Connecticut, is an American actress, scriptwriter, and author. She demonstrated an early interest in performing and went on to study at Connecticut College for Women before training at Yale Drama School. A coloratura soprano, she also received vocal training at Juilliard.

Shaffer's Broadway career spanned from 1966 to 1973. She starred in Two Gentlemen of Verona and appeared in three additional productions: The Old Women, Keep It In the Family, and First One Asleep, Whistle. Alongside her stage work, she built an extensive television career in daytime drama. Her early soap opera appearances included Hidden Faces, which ran from 1968 to 1969, Search for Tomorrow, and Where the Heart Is. From 1975 to 1976, she portrayed the split-personality character Serena Faraday/Josie on The Edge of Night.

Her most prominent television role came on Ryan's Hope, where she played journalism magnate Rae Woodard from 1977 to 1984, later returning to reprise the character for the series finale in 1989. The role earned her two Daytime Emmy Award nominations, and she won the award in 1983. In the summer of 1987, she joined the cast of All My Children as Goldie Kane, Erica's evil stepmother. She also appeared in Norman Lear's short-lived serialized sitcom All That Glitters. Later television work included a role as Mrs. Humphreys on Guiding Light in 1993 and a stint as a judge in the Peter Lewis custody storyline on the same series in 1994.

Beginning in the late 1980s, Shaffer transitioned into scriptwriting for daytime television, contributing to Ryan's Hope, Loving, General Hospital, and As the World Turns, among others. She also pursued a parallel career as a novelist, publishing works including All My Suspects (1995), Talked to Death (1996), The Three Miss Margarets (2004), The Ladies of Garrison Gardens (2006), Family Acts (2007), Serendipity (2009), and Looking for a Love Story (2010). Shaffer was formerly married to actor Toby Tompkins and is currently married to Roger Crews, who also worked as a writer on Ryan's Hope and Search for Tomorrow.