Veleka Gray

Veleka Gray is an American actress born on March 22, 1951, in New Orleans, Louisiana, where she was raised before building a career across stage, television, and radio.

Gray made her Broadway appearance in 1970 in Dylan. That same year, she entered daytime television by taking over the role of Laura Donnelly Elliott on Love is a Many Splendored Thing, replacing Donna Mills in the part. In 1974, she joined the cast of How to Survive a Marriage as Susan Pritchett. The following year, she was cast on Somerset as Victoria Paisley, a character whose storyline paired her with actor Joel Crothers, who played Julian Cannell. Gray and Crothers became engaged off-screen, though Crothers died in 1985 before they married.

In 1977, Gray was cast as Mia Marriott on Love of Life, a role she held until 1980. In April of that year, she originated the role of nurse Lyla Montgomery on As the World Turns. Her work on The Young and the Restless in 1983 produced a notable distinction in soap opera history: she first appeared in February as Ruby Collins, a hotel manicurist, and then in April began a contract role as Dr. Sharon Reaves, a psychiatrist treating Patty Williams. Playing two unrelated, non-lookalike characters simultaneously on the same series made her the only actor in soap history to have done so.

In 1986, Gray returned to New York City and joined the regular cast of the CBS Radio Mystery Show, produced by Himan Brown. She has also taught acting, speech, and business classes, and has worked with incarcerated individuals on public speaking skills. Her additional work includes commercials and voice projects. She is sometimes credited as Velekka Gray.