I got really lucky because I married somebody who is smart and handsome, and he’s very confident and he has a great sense of humor, and, fortunately, he’s not only been supportive, which is a lovely word. He’s been with me, really with me hands-on and right there. He’s really been a rock, and I got lucky because how could I know all that going in? I was 22.

Susan Lucci

I love spaghetti and meatballs... I eat a lot.

Susan Lucci

spaghetti ice-cream food

It took awhile for me to get used to speaking candidly about my own life. I got into it, and it turned out to be a wonderful experience.

Susan Lucci

my-own used wonderful

I somehow instinctively knew it would be much better to win.

Susan Lucci

would-be winning

I want you to know how I feel about my Italian heritage, so I'd like to say a few words in Italian: Verdi, Pavarotti, DiMaggio, Valentino, De Niro, Giuliani. . .

Susan Lucci

pavarotti family italian

People always ask me, how do you do everything you do?

Susan Lucci

ask-me asks people

My grandsons really love my apple cake, which is from my grandmother's recipe.

Susan Lucci

apples cake grandmother

I married somebody who is very secure. He's been in my corner from the time we met, and we grew in this together.

Susan Lucci

mets married together

I am the luckiest actress on the planet.

Susan Lucci

planets actresses

Erica Kane was a spectacular role for any actress to play, and I felt so lucky to be the one who got to do it.

Susan Lucci

roles lucky play

I really always felt that I was going to be an actress. I had a lot of confidence in the fact that I would do well from a very early age. I didn't know how tough the business is.

Susan Lucci

confidence age facts

My parents were both from extremely different backgrounds. My father's Italian, my mother was of Swedish descent. They're both first-generation Americans.

Susan Lucci

italian mother father

Life goes on, and I'm moving on to the next thing, but I hope the soaps that are still running will thrive. They have millions of loyal viewers.

Susan Lucci

goes-on running moving

It is hard sometimes to look into the future, you never know what twist and turn the school of life is going to take.

Susan Lucci

twists looks school

You know what my greatest personal stumbling block is? My shyness.

Susan Lucci

stumbling block shy

No one should have to die of a heart attack -- they just need to listen to their symptoms and act on them, my hope in telling my story is that I can help at least one wife, mother, sister and friend.

Susan Lucci

entertainment

On a late October afternoon, I had a wakeup call, narrowly missing a severe heart attack, I realized how vulnerable life is and how incredibly grateful I am to be here today.

Susan Lucci

entertainment

My father had calcium build up in his arteries, it's my DNA.

Susan Lucci

entertainment

It’s the same things we know about, eating well and exercising.

Susan Lucci

entertainment

In 1949, when I was 2, my family moved from Yonkers, NY, to a development of brick houses in Elmont, a Long Island suburb of New York City. What I remember most about the house was the glider on our porch. I used to sit there evenings close to my father, Victor, as he talked about the moon and the stars. He taught me to dream big.

Susan Lucci

me family stars father

Overcoming my shyness has been a lifelong struggle.

Susan Lucci

been shyness struggle overcoming