Lanna Saunders

Who was Lanna Saunders?

Svetlana Nikolaevna "Lanna" Saunders was an American actress, best known for her role as Marie Horton on the television soap opera Days of our Lives, on which she appeared from 1979 to 1985. She also played the character Betty Andrews on the daytime soap opera The Young and the Restless.

Saunders came from a prominent Russian acting family; her father was actor Nicholas Saunders and her grandfather was actor Nicholas Soussanin, who both emigrated from the Ukrainian SSR in the 1920s. Saunders first started in acting at age 13, studying under Elia Kazan and later joining his Lincoln Center Company. She met her future husband, actor, Lawrence Pressman, while performing on Broadway, and they were married from 1973 until her death. They have one son, actor, David Pressman . Her father died August, 2006 at 92 years old. She is also survived by her mother and brother Theo Saunders.

Saunders was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1982 and she left Days of our Lives three years later when she became too ill to continue in the role. She died on March 10, 2007 from undisclosed complications from MS.