Diana Van Der Vlis

Diana Van der Vlis (June 9, 1935 - October 22, 2001) was a Canadian stage, screen and television actress best known for her characters ‘Dr. Nell Beaulac’ on the ABC soap opera Ryan's Hope and 'Kate Hathaway Prescott’ on the CBS soap opera Where the Heart Is. Two other roles on soap operas that she played were Sherry Rowan on Ryan's Hope and Susan Ames Carver on The Secret Storm when she was a substitute for Judy Lewis in the role.

Van der Vlis studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA) in London and acted in Canada before moving to New York in the spring of 1956. She made her Broadway debut opposite Walter Pidgeon in the hit The Happiest Millionaire. Her subsequent Broadway productions include leading or featured roles in Comes a Day, A Mighty Man is He, A Shot in the Dark, On an Open Road, and The Waltz of the Toreadors.

Diana appeared in the movies The Girl in Black Stockings, The Man with the X-Ray Eyes, The Incident, The Swimmer and Lovespell. She also appeared in the TV film, Ghostbreakers.

Miss Van der Vlis has guest starred on numerous primetime TV shows, including Kraft Theatre, Naked City, Tactic, U.S. Steel Hour, Dupont Show of the Month, Dupont Show of the Week, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Great Ghost Tales, Brenner, Checkmate, East Side/West Side, Route 66, Dr. Kildare, Flipper, Mr. Broadway, The Defenders, 12 O'Clock High, The Invaders, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., T.H.E. Cat, The FBI, and The Fugitive.

She was a naturalized U.S. citizen and mother of actor Matthew Powers.

On October 22, 2001 she died due to a cardiac arrest caused by a pulmonary embolism following a brief illness.