‘All My Children’ Star Reveals Death of Husband: Sydney Penny Mourns Robert Powers

All My Children alum Sydney Penny is mourning the death of her husband. The actress, known as Julia Santos Keefer on the soap opera, took to Facebook to say she was “heartbroken to share the news” that her husband of 29 years, Robert Powers, had “passed away early in the morning on New Year’s Eve. He hadn’t widely shared that he had been fighting cancer for several months, so I know this will be a surprise to many. He loved seeing all of your activities here on FB and I know he would want you to speed through your sadness and shock and continue to celebrate life as he always did.”

According to TV Insider, Powers passed away just a day before his 60^th birthday. Per his website, Powers was born on Jan. 1, 1965 in Okinawa, Japan. After his father died in combat during the Vietnam War, Powers, his mother, and his younger sister moved to Laguna Beach, California, where he developed a passion for art. He worked painted watercolors and acrylic and oil on canvas, and his artwork appeared in TV shows like Gilmore Girls and Curb Your Enthusiasm.

It’s unknown how Powers and Penny met each other, but they met after she was cast as B.J. Walker on NBC’s Santa Barbara in 1992. The two tied the knot in 1995 in California. They later moved to New York, Canada, and France throughout Penny’s acting career, and Powers discovered his love of cooking while studying at the Cordon Bleu in Paris. Penny eventually returned to LA in 2003 after landing the role of Samantha on long-running soap Bold and the Beautiful.

Meanwhile, Powers bought a café in Wilmington, North Carolina in 2016 and ran it until 2024 due to his illness. Sydney Penny has continued to act, and credits include Heritage Falls, Running Away, It’s Magic, Charlie Brown, The Thorn Birds, St. Elsewhere, The Twilight Zone, The New Gadget, Hyperion Bay, Beverly Hills, 90210, and Pretty Little Liars. Her most recent project being the 2022 short film The Dishwasher, which she wrote and directed. Along with Penny, Powers is survived by their 17-year-old son, Chasen. Friends who want to remember the artist and honor him can donate to his favorite charity, Paws Place, which is a non-profit dog rescue in North Carolina.