to both the actress and the character. In an interview with We Love Soaps, co-star Kathryn Hays commented on her death. "I saw her a couple days before she passed on and she was still herself. She knew how she wanted to be. She was definitely an original. She loved her job, loved her position, and loved her character. Even at the end, when she was in the hospital, she knew she had a call to appear on the show the following week. She asked the doctor if they could get her well enough to be there for her call," Hays said. Legacy Wagner, as well as her character, often garnered positive reviews from critics. New York Times writer Melinda Henneberger described her in 1984 as an "icon for a generation of women". "Nancy was Donna Reed with real problems in the days before soap characters traveled through time, engaged in espionage or almost routinely were reunited with evil twins," she said. "She's a beloved presence in the soap world," Jason Bonderoff, managing editor of Soap Opera Digest told the Times, who also called her "daytime's answer to Angela Lansbury." Upon her death, New York Times reporter Dennis Hevesi detailed the reason for the actress' longevity. "Ms. Wagner’s Nancy lasted precisely because she remained solid; she wouldn’t join the country club because she considered it elitist, and insisted on cleaning her house because she felt uncomfortable being bossy." References As the World Turns characters Fictional schoolteachers Fictional writers Television characters introduced in 1956 Female characters in television