Nancy Frangione, who played villain Cecile DePoulignac on NBC’s “Another World,” died Aug. 18 at the age of 70, according to a public obituary.
People reports that she died in Barnstable, Massachusetts. No cause of death was revealed.
The actress previously played Tara Martin ABC’s “All My Children” from 1977 to 1979. She joined “Another World” in 1981 as the scheming Cecile, appearing regularly until 1984 and occasionally returning to reprise the role into the 1990s.
Frangione won the Soap Opera Digest award for outstanding villainess in 1984 for her part in the “Another World” love triangle with Blaine Ewing (Laura Malone) and Alexander “Sandy” Cory Sr. (Christopher Rich).
She and Rich were married from 1982-96 and share a daughter, Mariel.
Frangione’s “Another World” run overlapped with Anne Heche, Morgan Freeman, Christine Baranski, Kelsey Grammer and Jackée Harry all appearing on the soap.
In 2011, her c0-star Les Brandt, who played Rafael Santierro on the show, remembered her as “larger than life” in an interview for the Another World Today blog.
“Nancy and Charles [Keating] are both interesting, larger than life people, which is why Cecile and Carl were such interesting characters,” Brandt said. “Nancy was a spitfire on and off camera, and she was very witty and full of life and just funny, a very funny lady. We became good friends.”
Brand added, “She was more than just a co-star, she became a true friend. Even though we lost touch over the years, she’s in my heart and she knows it.”
Frangione guest starred in two episodes of the ’90s CBS sitcom “The Nanny” as Fran Drescher’s cousin Marsha. She also guested on “Buck Rogers in the 25th Century,” “Highway to Heaven” and “Matlock.”
She appeared in the TV movies “In the Line of Duty: A Cop for the Killing,” with James Farentino and Steven Weber, and “Sharing Richard” with Eileen Davidson of “The Young and the Restless.”
