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Deidre Hall | Source: Getty Images | Instagram.com/deidrehall_official
Deidre Hall | Source: Getty Images | Instagram.com/deidrehall_official

Deidre Hall at 75 Trains Every Day & Cooks for Her Kids - Men Call Her 'Beautiful' Yet She's Still Single after 17 Years

Dorcus Osongo
Jun 04, 2023
09:00 A.M.
  • Deidre Hall from "Days of Our Lives" wanted to be a hairdresser but ended up being an iconic soap opera actress.
  • The actress, who has been married four times, opened up about her struggles with infertility and welcoming two kids via a surrogate.
  • Hall still looks stunning at 75, and she gets lots of compliments from online male users. However, the actress said she wasn't looking forward to getting married again and is happy with her life.
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Deidre Hall from "Days of Our Lives" was born on October 31, 1947, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and grew up in Lake Worth, Florida.

She revealed that her parents had a great level of integrity and hard work, which rubbed on her. Hall was one of the five children in her family. The actress added that they all had a responsibility, which they took seriously, leading to her strong sense of family and fairness.

Deidre Hall on "Days of Our Lives" in 1980 | Source: Getty Images

Deidre Hall on "Days of Our Lives" in 1980 | Source: Getty Images

Hall's dream career wasn't to become an actress, but she ended up being one and was named Best Television Role Model and won five best actresses awards from Soap Opera Digest.

The actress revealed that she wanted to be a hairdresser, but life had other plans for her as she tried her hand at acting to make more money and became a soap opera legend:

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"When I came to California to visit friends, I enrolled in college out here, and then I thought I needed to support myself somehow, so I thought I'd try modeling here, I did, and it worked."

Deidre Hall on "Days of Our Lives" in 1992 | Source: Getty Images

Deidre Hall on "Days of Our Lives" in 1992 | Source: Getty Images

After modeling was successful, Hall tried doing commercials to add to her income, and soon she ventured into acting. The actress noted:

"I thought if you're going to do this even for fun, you need to study, So I studied for nine to ten years, everything from dance to voice to movement to comedy, all of it, and then I ended up on a soap opera…and I've been here ever since its destiny, I couldn't have stopped it."

After putting in the work, Hall landed a role in the iconic soap opera "Days of Our Lives." She auditioned for the role with several other popular actresses.

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When her agent told her she got the role, Hall turned it down because she thought the other famous actress did not want the part. However, she accepted it when it turned out she was their first choice.

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"Days of Our Lives" was first released on November 8, 1965, on NBC, and it ran on the channel until 2022. In 2022 it was picked by Peacock, and the long-running soap opera is still ongoing 58 years since it premiered.

Hall made her debut on "Days of Our Lives" in 1979 as Dr. Marlena Evans, a psychiatrist at University Hospitals in fictional Salem, III.

She has played the role for four decades and counting, a period in which her character was possessed by the devil twice, kidnapped several times, and mind-controlled into believing she was a serial killer.

The actress found it funny that she studied psychology in college and took classes to become a therapist, only to end up being a therapist on TV.

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Hall remained a favorite through generations of the soap opera's fans. She revealed that fans always told her how nice it was to watch her over the years:

"I hear it all the time from fans, I watched the show with my grandmother when she was babysitting for me, it's sweet."

The actress has also been in several relationships throughout the time she has portrayed Dr. Evans in "Days of Our Lives."

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Before she was well known, Hall was married to William Hudson from 1966 to 1970. Two years after she was officially divorced from Hudson, the actress married her second husband, Keith Barbour, a singer, songwriter, and actor. The ex-couple divorced in 1978.

Hall's third marriage was in 1987 to film producer Michael Dubelko. The two kept their marriage lowkey and divorced in 1989.

Deidre Hall and Michael Dubelko in Beverly Hills, California on October 25, 1987 | Source: Getty Images

Deidre Hall and Michael Dubelko in Beverly Hills, California on October 25, 1987 | Source: Getty Images

The soap opera's star's fourth marriage was to Steve Sohmer, an author and Shakespearean scholar. The two tied the knot in 1991 and divorced in 2006. The couple had two children, David Atticus Sohmer and Tully Chapin Sohmer. When Sohmer and Hall divorced, the actress released a statement which read:

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"My primary concern is for my children and their well-being. I am deeply grateful for the sensitivity I have seen in many of your comments. Thank you for your caring and for continuing to respect our privacy."

Hall struggled with infertility over the years and was open about her journey. For 20 years, during two of her marriages, the actress tried to have kids via artificial insemination, surgery, and in-vitro fertilization.

Deidre Hall and Steven Sohmer on their wedding day in 1991 | Source: Getty Images

Deidre Hall and Steven Sohmer on their wedding day in 1991 | Source: Getty Images

Her attempts to have children caused her physical and emotional side effects, that eventually, Hall and Sohmer chose to use a surrogate. The couple hired a surrogate named Robin.

When the actress turned 48, Robin gave birth to Hall's first child David on August 23, 1992, and on January 19, 1995, she gave birth to the actress's second child Tully. Hall said the experience of having her first child was life-changing:

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"In the moment that baby is placed in your arms, it doesn't matter how they got there… When a life comes into this world, the air in the room changes."

Deidre Hall and Steven Sohmer in Westwood, California on May 10, 1993 | Source: Getty Images

Deidre Hall and Steven Sohmer in Westwood, California on May 10, 1993 | Source: Getty Images

After Hall and Sohmer divorced, the actress did not marry again, and she said she had no interest in being married again.

She said the secret to her beauty is doing an hour every day on her treadmill, staying out of the sun, and never going to bed with makeup.

Deidre Hall and Tully Sohmer in Beverly Hills, California on November 12, 1995 | Source: Getty Images

Deidre Hall and Tully Sohmer in Beverly Hills, California on November 12, 1995 | Source: Getty Images

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At First, She Became a Mom, Then - A Single and Fired Mom

Hall opened up more about her infertility when she played herself in the film "Never Say Never: The Deidre Hall Story."

The actress was the executive producer of the film, and Sohmer wrote the script under the pseudonym Bill Tyndale.

Hall had been unwilling to play herself in the film but was persuaded by Sohmer. She revealed that she wasn't sure she could reenact or recreate the moments of her life. Hall also said casting another actress would have complicated the movie:

"The film was a great joy, but casting was too hard. We had footage of when my son was born that we wanted to use, and it wasn't going to work having another actress play me and then have 'the real' me in the birth room."

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The actress noted that the most frightening part of playing herself was depicting the day David was born, as on the same day Robin was giving birth to her son, Hall's dear friend, and attorney was dying in the same hospital.

After the movie was released, Hall revealed intricate details of her surrogacy journey on "The Oprah Winfrey Show." She noted that Sohmer was cool when she asked him if they could have their baby via a surrogate.

The mother of two also said she knew immediately when she met Robin that she was going to be their surrogate. As per Hall, the first insemination wasn't successful, but the second one worked as Robin got pregnant.

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Hall's sons are now grown. In 2019, she disclosed that Tully was in college and David, who had been in college in Paris, was graduating.

The "Lucky In Love" star dotes on her sons, and in 2022, she shared a picture of her kids as boys. The picture featured the boys' faces touching inside a heart.

Hall said in the caption that she had taken an echocardiogram, which showed the pictures of his son inside a heart. She said the picture showed that her children live in her heart.

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Hall and Sohmer divorced when David was 12, and Tully was 10. When asked if she regretted anything about her previous marriages, the actress noted:

"A friend of mine says, you've got a bad picker, and I think that's not entirely untrue. But when I look at the growth in my life, everything got me to where I am."

Hall said that one of her marriages got her to move from Florida to California, which opened for her a thousand doors. She added that she had taken great lessons from her previous marriages and made some great friendships from them.

Diedre Hall, Tully Sohmer, and David Sohmer in Westwood, California on April 18, 1996 | Source: Getty Images

Diedre Hall, Tully Sohmer, and David Sohmer in Westwood, California on April 18, 1996 | Source: Getty Images

Aside from her marriages, Hall also went through great changes in her career when the executives of "Days of Our Lives" cut her from the show. The executive announced that due to budget cuts, they had to let go of Hall and Drake Hogestyn:

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"The couple will be happily reunited after a long period of angst and separation and will be off-screen after January for an unknown period of time."

At this time, the show was also at the risk of being canceled. Hogestyn and Hall's last episode aired in January 2009, and the couple returned in September 2011 as the executive noted that they wanted to return to the core values of the show in response to viewers' demands.

Diedre Hall, Tully Sohmer, and David Sohmer in Burbank, California on October 2, 1995 | Source: Getty Images

Diedre Hall, Tully Sohmer, and David Sohmer in Burbank, California on October 2, 1995 | Source: Getty Images

The "My Christmas Dream" actress still enjoys her time on "Days of Our Lives" after she was reinstated. She has starred in the soap opera for more than 45 years. She noted that the thing she was most proud of in her career was its longevity:

"…that is such a gift in any field, but in television, to have been around this long, doing it this long, is extraordinary."

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Hall said she still has no plans to retire. She revealed that every time "Days of Our Lives" is renewed each years, she gets a flooding sense of relief:

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"I joke with my castmates that whenever I pull up to the studio security gate with my key card, I hold my breath for a moment, and think, Oh, it opened — I guess I get to come in today!"

Men compliment Deidre Hall on Instagram : Source: instagram.com/deidrehall_official

Men compliment Deidre Hall on Instagram : Source: instagram.com/deidrehall_official

The actress added that she would only retire when the keys to the gate do not work anymore.

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Her Beauty, Strength, and Grace Now at 75

At 75, a working Hall still looks stunning. She said the secret to her beauty is doing an hour every day on her treadmill, staying out of the sun, and never going to bed with makeup.

Deidre Hall on the set of "Battle of the Network Stars" | Source: Getty Images

Deidre Hall on the set of "Battle of the Network Stars" | Source: Getty Images

Hall's beauty is recognizable to her fans, especially male online users who never cease to compliment her looks. In one picture shared by the actress online, male online users flocked to the comments to praise her.

Men compliment Deidre Hall on Instagram : Source: instagram.com/deidrehall_official

Men compliment Deidre Hall on Instagram : Source: instagram.com/deidrehall_official

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One user said Hall was "so beautiful," while a man called Larry also complimented Hall's beauty. "You are sexy as ever. Omg," another man commented.

Deidre Hall and Marine Toys in Hollywood, California on November 27, 2022 | Source: Getty Images

Deidre Hall and Marine Toys in Hollywood, California on November 27, 2022 | Source: Getty Images

Another man told Hall that she looked "smashing," while another noted that the actress was "as beautiful as ever." A man named Jonathan said the actress was "beautiful and distinguished." More men commented that Hall was beautiful even in her 70s.

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Hall now spends her time taking care of her family and cooking with her sons. In one post shared on Instagram, Hall was with one of her sons in the kitchen preparing a colorful dish.

Men compliment Deidre Hall on Instagram : Source: instagram.com/deidrehall_official

Men compliment Deidre Hall on Instagram : Source: instagram.com/deidrehall_official

The actress also revealed in an interview that she doesn't really like cooking, but she makes for her sons brisket and barbeque sauce.

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The "Wiseguy" star had revealed that the best thing she has taught her sons was to be generous. She noted that her sons are incredibly generous with their time and emotions.

Deidre Hall on the set of "Battle of the Network Stars" | Source: Getty Images

Deidre Hall on the set of "Battle of the Network Stars" | Source: Getty Images

The actress added that one time she and Tully were on the subway, and her son ordered extra subs for a guy who didn't have food. Hall said her sons were:

"…empathic, and that's a source of great pride for me… I'm always moved by the little things. They're always giving, being conscious, and invested with the people they love."

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When asked if she has any projects coming up, the actress noted that she is now focused on her garden, which she uses to make her gazpacho:

"I love my garden. I plant everything. I like to experiment, and whatever isn't producing, I make something else out of it."

Men compliment Deidre Hall on Instagram : Source: instagram.com/deidrehall_official

Men compliment Deidre Hall on Instagram : Source: instagram.com/deidrehall_official

Hall said she was grateful where she is in life as her kids and family are doing well, she is healthy, and her garden is thriving.

Hall is beyond grateful for her life now, which includes a job she loves, people she cares about, and a home she adores. She added that she is sublimely happy.

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