What happened to Lara Parker? The ABC soap opera actress has been confirmed dead at age 84. How she died, her fortune, and her career explored.
Lara Parker had a successful career in the entertainment industry that spanned decades.
Born Mary Lamar Rickey, she was a legendary actress with a number of iconic movie roles.
She was best known for her role as Angelique on the ABC-TV serial Dark Shadows, which aired from 1966 to 1971.
She played Angelique Bouchard, a witch who was the love interest of protagonist Barnabas Collins, a vampire.
Sadly, the world learned about her death in October 2023, and following that many want to know more about her cause of death, career, movies and TV shows, and net worth. Read on to learn more.
What was Lara Parker’s cause of death?
Dark Shadows star Lara Parker was reported dead on October 12, 2023, at her Los Angeles home.
At the time of her death, she was 84 years old.
Parker died in her sleep at her Los Angeles home on Thursday, her daughter Caitlin told The Hollywood Reporter.
RIP, Lara Parker. If only you'd been as immortal as Angelique.
— Stephen Whitty (@StephenWhitty) October 16, 2023
Tributes for the star quickly poured in on social media.
“If only you’d been as immortal as Angelique,” one user said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
“We met actress and writer Lara Parker at an event a couple of years ago, and she was incredibly warm and gracious,” another user said.
“I’m sorry to hear about her passing.”
A different X poster said their “childhood is officially over” with her death.
We met actress and writer Lara Parker at an event a couple of years ago, and she was incredibly warm and gracious. I’m sorry to hear about her passing.
— Ross Johnson (@Rosserford) October 16, 2023
In addition to her daughter Caitlin, Parker is survived by her husband Jim Hawkins, her sons Rick and Andy, her grandson Wesley, and her dog Pearl.
What was Lara Parker’s net worth?
Lara Parker (real name: Mary Lamar Rickey) died a millionaire with an impressive fortune.
Per reports, she had an estimated net worth of between $1 million and $5 million at the time of her death.
Parker accrued hefty sums from her primary career as an actress as well as other endeavors.
Lara Parker had an impressive career
Lara Parker was an iconic actress best known for her role on the ABC soap opera Dark Shadows.
The thespian played Angelique Bouchard, a witch who was the love interest of protagonist Barnabas Collins, a vampire.
The Tennessee native got an audition with Dark Shadows creator Dan Curtis just days after arriving in New York City in 1967.
In the show, Angelique was a servant girl whom Barnabas seduced and abandoned in 1795.
But the character played by Jonathan Frid didn’t realize she was a witch.
Angelique cursed the man to eternal life as a vampire, kicking off a major plotline in the second year of the show, which took place in several different time periods.
“He just dallied with her and then dismissed her, and she was not to be dismissed,” Parker said in an interview for a Dark Shadows home release tape.
“I played her as somebody who was much more of a tragic figure, who was desperately, desperately in love,” Parker told Den of Geek in 2016.
“Her heart was broken. That’s much more sympathetic than just being a mean old witch. I felt that her acts were acts of desperation, not acts of evil.”
The actress is also remembered for her roles in the 1973 drama film Save the Tiger and the 1975 horror flick Race With the Devil.
After leaving the film industry to get a creative writing degree, she penned four Dark Shadows novels: 1998’s Angelique’s Descent, 2006’s The Salem Branch, 2013’s Wolf Moon Rising, and 2016’s Heiress of Collinwood.
