Deidre Hall Net Worth

What is Deidre Hall's Net Worth and Salary?

Deidre Hall is an American actress who has a net worth of $12 million.

Deidre Hall is best known for playing Dr. Marlena Evans on the long-running soap opera "Days of Our Lives," a role she originated in 1976 and turned into one of the most recognizable characters in daytime television history. For generations of viewers, Marlena became a signature soap heroine: a psychiatrist, mother, romantic lead, survivor, and emotional anchor of the fictional town of Salem.

Hall's career has been defined by extraordinary longevity. While many actors spend years searching for one defining role, Hall built a television legacy by playing the same character across five decades. Her work on "Days of Our Lives" made her one of daytime TV's most enduring stars, and her pairing with Drake Hogestyn's John Black became one of the genre's classic romances. Away from Salem, Hall also appeared in primetime dramas, television movies, guest roles, and personal projects that made her a familiar face far beyond the soap world.

Contracts & Salary Per Episode

Deidre Hall's exact salary for "Days of Our Lives" has not been publicly disclosed in recent years, and there is no confirmed current per-episode number. However, around the time of her 2009 exit from the series, Hall was widely reported to have been earning approximately $720,000 per year, or about $60,000 per month. That made her one of the better-paid performers in daytime television, which was fitting given her status as one of the defining stars of "Days of Our Lives."

Soap opera compensation is not always structured as a simple flat fee per episode. Veteran stars can be paid through annual contracts, monthly guarantees, minimum episode commitments, or other negotiated arrangements. With that caveat, Hall's reported $720,000 annual salary can be used to estimate a rough per-episode range. If she appeared in eight episodes per month, that would equal roughly $7,500 per episode. If she appeared in 10 episodes per month, the number would be closer to $6,000 per episode. If she appeared in 12 episodes per month, it would work out to around $5,000 per episode.

Hall's contract history also reflects the changing economics of daytime television. She first joined "Days of Our Lives" in 1976, left the show for a period, and then returned in 1991 after reportedly agreeing to an initial six-month contract to resume playing Marlena Evans. In 2008, during a major cost-cutting period for the show, Hall and longtime co-star Drake Hogestyn were released from their contracts, with their characters written out in early 2009. Hall later returned again, reinforcing how central Marlena Evans remained to the identity of the series.

Real Estate

One of Deidre Hall's most notable known real estate transactions involved a Bel-Air estate she owned with her then-husband, writer-producer Steve Sohmer. In 1992, Hall and Sohmer bought the property from comedian Bob Newhart for approximately $3 million. The home was a walled and gated compound on about half an acre and was originally built in 1932. The residence was designed by architect Gerald Colcord and featured more than 6,800 square feet of living space, six bedrooms, 11 bathrooms, a den with a pub, a swimming pool, a detached guesthouse, and a sports court.

In 2006, Hall and Sohmer listed the Bel-Air property for just under $8.5 million. The home later sold for a reported $6.6 million. Based on the original $3 million purchase price, that represented a gross gain of approximately $3.6 million before factoring in renovations, commissions, taxes, and carrying costs.

The same property later resurfaced in real estate coverage when it sold again in 2010 for $10.5 million. By that point, it was identified as the Horton House and noted for its Hollywood pedigree, including its past ownership by Bob Newhart and Deidre Hall.

Early Life

Deidre Hall was born on October 31, 1947, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She was raised in Lake Worth, Florida, and has a twin sister, Andrea Hall, who also became an actress. Before pursuing entertainment full-time, Deidre studied psychology at Palm Beach Junior College and initially considered a career outside show business.

Hall began modeling and soon moved into acting, landing small television parts as she built experience in front of the camera. Her early career included the kind of guest roles and supporting appearances that helped many young actresses of the era break into network television.

Early Acting Career

Before becoming synonymous with "Days of Our Lives," Hall appeared in several television series during the 1970s. Her early credits included roles on "Adam-12," "Emergency!," and "The Young and the Restless." She also played Lori/Electra Woman in the children's superhero series "Electra Woman and Dyna Girl," which aired as part of "The Krofft Supershow."

Those early roles established Hall as a poised and camera-ready television performer, but her career changed permanently when she was cast as Dr. Marlena Evans on "Days of Our Lives." What began as a soap opera role eventually became a lifetime association.

"Days of Our Lives"

Hall joined "Days of Our Lives" in 1976 as Dr. Marlena Evans, a psychiatrist brought into the show's storylines through Salem's core families. Marlena quickly became one of the show's central characters, giving the series a calm, intelligent, and emotionally grounded heroine who could support both realistic domestic drama and wildly theatrical soap plots.

Over the decades, Marlena endured nearly every kind of soap opera twist imaginable, including kidnappings, presumed deaths, romantic triangles, mind control, family upheaval, and one of the most famous storylines in daytime history: her demonic possession. That storyline became a pop culture landmark and helped push "Days of Our Lives" into mainstream conversation beyond its regular audience.

Hall's performance helped make even the show's most outrageous plotlines emotionally accessible. Marlena could be glamorous and vulnerable, professional and maternal, heroic and haunted. That versatility allowed Hall to remain vital to the series as the show evolved through multiple eras of daytime television.

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John and Marlena

One of Hall's most important professional partnerships was with Drake Hogestyn, who played John Black. Together, John and Marlena became one of the signature couples of "Days of Our Lives." Their romance, often interrupted by danger, mistaken identity, death, and resurrection, gave the show one of its most dependable emotional engines.

Hogestyn joined the series in the 1980s, and his chemistry with Hall helped define both characters for decades. Their on-screen relationship became so central to the show that many fans viewed John and Marlena as one of the great couples in all of daytime television. Hogestyn's death in 2024 gave the later chapters of Marlena's story an added real-life poignancy, and the show continued to treat John and Marlena's bond as a defining part of its history.

Primetime and Television Movies

Although "Days of Our Lives" remained Hall's career foundation, she also crossed over into primetime. In 1986, she starred opposite Wilford Brimley in the NBC family drama "Our House," playing Jessie Witherspoon. The series gave Hall a prominent primetime role while she was already one of daytime's biggest stars.

Hall also appeared in television movies and miniseries, including "And the Sea Will Tell," "For the Very First Time," "Woman on the Ledge," and "Never Say Never: The Deidre Hall Story." The latter was based on Hall's own experiences with infertility and surrogacy, bringing a deeply personal chapter of her life to television.

Her other credits include appearances on shows such as "Murder, She Wrote," "Hotel," "Wiseguy," and "Columbo." She also appeared in holiday and family-themed TV movies, maintaining a steady presence across different television formats.

50 Years as Marlena

In 2026, "Days of Our Lives" celebrated Hall's 50th anniversary as Marlena Evans. Hall made her debut on the show in June 1976, and the milestone underscored just how rare her career has been. Few performers in television history have been so closely associated with one character for such a long period of time.

That longevity is especially remarkable in daytime television, where demanding production schedules, shifting creative teams, budget changes, and cast turnover can make long runs difficult. Hall's continued popularity speaks to both the loyalty of the show's audience and the durability of Marlena as a character.

Honors and Legacy

Hall has received multiple Daytime Emmy Award nominations and has been honored by soap opera publications and fan-voted award organizations throughout her career. In 2016, she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, a fitting tribute to her status as one of daytime television's most recognizable performers.

Her influence on the soap genre is significant. Hall helped prove that a daytime actress could become a mainstream television figure, headline primetime work, and maintain a fan base over multiple generations. For many viewers, she is not merely a soap star but one of the faces of American daytime television itself.

Personal Life

Hall has been married several times. Her former husbands include William Hudson, Keith Barbour, Michael Dubelko, and writer-producer Steve Sohmer. She has two sons, David and Tully, who were born via surrogate. Hall has spoken publicly about her struggles with infertility, and her openness about the subject helped bring wider attention to surrogacy and reproductive challenges at a time when those topics were discussed less frequently in public.

Outside acting, Hall has also been associated with charitable work, including support for Operation Smile. Her public image has long been that of a polished, gracious, and deeply professional performer, qualities that helped her maintain one of the longest and most beloved careers in soap opera history.

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