Agnes Nixon created Carla Benari/Clara Gray and her famous storyline on One Life to Live, but Ellen Holly (1931–) brought the character and her actions to life. As a light-skinned Black woman, Holly struggled to find work as an actress, particularly in television. She’d enjoyed more success in theater, making her 1956 Broadway debut as Stephanie in Robert Yale Libott’s Too Late the Phalarope—a role for which she darkened her complexion. (Her father, a chemist, created the makeup she wore because the products she purchased at Gray’s Drug Store in New York “did not work” for her.) Then in 1968, television came calling and she was hired on One Life to Live, becoming the first Black actress to play a central role on a U.S. daytime soap opera. Adrienne Faillace conducted the interview on May 29, 2018 in White Plains, New York.

艾格尼丝·尼克松（Agnes Nixon）创作了卡拉·贝纳里（Carla Benari）/克拉拉·格雷（Clara Gray），她著名的故事情节是《活着的一生》，但艾伦·霍莉（Ellen Holly，1931年-）将角色和她的举止变为现实。作为一个皮肤白皙的黑人妇女，霍莉努力寻找女演员的工作，尤其是在电视上。她在剧院取得了更大的成功，她在1956年百老汇作为罗伯特·耶鲁·利伯特（Robert Yale Libott）的《法老王朝太晚》中的斯蒂芬妮（Stephanie）出道，这使她的肤色黯淡。（她的父亲是化学家，她化妆是因为她在纽约Gray's药店购买的产品“对她没用”。）然后在1968年，电视开始播音，她被聘为One Life to Live，成为首位在美国白天肥皂剧中扮演中心角色的黑人女演员。Adrienne Faillace于2018年5月29日在纽约怀特普莱恩斯进行了采访。