Peggy McCay, longtime star of ‘Days of Our Lives,’ dies at 90

Peggy McCay, who played Caroline Brady on “Days of Our Lives” for 30-plus years, died Sunday of natural causes. She was 90.

Her “Days” co-star and close friend Deidre Hall made the announcement on Facebook, writing:

McCay studied with Lew Strasberg in New York and later assisted in setting up his west coast acting studio, which was attended by such luminaries as Marilyn Monroe, James Dean and Paul Newman. Early in her theater career she won an OBIE for Best “Off-Broadway” Young Actress of the Year for her performance in “Uncle Vanya.”

Although she appeared in countless television shows, including “Maverick,” “The Andy Griffith Show,” “Perry Mason,” “Gunsmoke,” L.A. Law,” “Cold Case,” “Lou Grant” and won a primetime Emmy for for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for her performance in “The Trials of Rosie O’Neill,” she is best remembered for her role as family matriarch Caroline Brady on the NBC soap opera, “Days of Our Lives.”

McCay joined the cast of the daytime drama in 1983, during which time she was nominated four times for Daytime Emmys, most recently in 2016 at the age of 88.

Members of her soap opera family paid tribute: Check our their emotional messages in the gallery below.