--- description: Irna Phillips is one of the leaders, innovators, activists, entertainers, athletes and artists who defined the last century. title: Irna Phillips: 100 Women of the Year image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt09c9219aa243b8de/698a0af0457a52b262d639cb/social-1957_Irna-Phillips.jpg?branch=production --- * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # 1957: Irna Phillips Mar 5, 2020 11:36 AM CUT  Buy the cover art→ Buy the cover art→Illustration by Anita Kunz for TIME; NBCU Photo Bank/Getty by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 5, 2020 11:36 AM CUT Forbidden love, hidden children, tragic deaths, tearful reunions. For Irna Phillips, creator of the [soap opera](https://time.com/3978998/1940-soap-opera-secrets/ "undefined"), nail-biters and heartbreak were all in a day’s work. Phillips pioneered the genre when she wrote, produced and starred in a radio serial called _Painted Dreams_ in the early ’30s. By 1957, her newest TV project, _As the World Turns,_ was making soap-opera history. The show broke boundaries, expanding soap operas’ length and scope. With its focus on the residents of fictional Oakdale, Ill., _As the World Turns_ privileged character over plot—a method still seen in today’s prestige TV. Phillips popularized cliff-hangers and swelling organ music to ratchet up tension, and commercials for household goods like margarine and, yes, soap to wash it away. Within two years of its release, _As the World Turns_ became America’s top daytime show. Eventually 10 million viewers tuned in every afternoon. Dismissed by critics, the show was beloved by women who saw their preoccupations and power reflected. Its popularity proved to advertisers that women’s stories were worth investment. _As the World Turns_ ran for 54 years, the third longest TV run of any daytime soap. Another Phillips creation, _Guiding Light,_ was canceled in 2009 after 72 years on radio and television. _—Erin Blakemore_ _Blakemore is a journalist and the author of_ [The Heroine’s Bookshelf](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0061958778/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=time037-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0061958778&linkId=90176c94ffa8bd78c7b61c4134d84959 "undefined") [**Buy the cover art→**](https://fineartamerica.com/featured/irna-phillips-1957-time.html "undefined") --- _This article is part of_ [_100 Women of the Year_](https://time.com/100-women-of-the-year/ "undefined")_, TIME’s list of the most influential women of the past century. Read more_ [_about the project_](https://time.com/5793734/time-100-women-of-the-year-issue/ "undefined")_, explore the_ [_100 covers_](https://time.com/5793732/time-100-women-of-the-year-covers/ "undefined") _and sign up for our_ [_Inside TIME newsletter_](https://cloud.newsletters.time.com/newsletters?newsletter%5Fname=INSIDE%5FTIME&source=article-woy-footer "undefined") _for more._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5793568/irna-phillips-100-women-of-the-year/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5793568/irna-phillips-100-women-of-the-year/"},"headline":"1957: Irna Phillips","datePublished":"2020-03-05T11:36:30.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T08:20:55.628Z","description":"Irna Phillips is one of the leaders, innovators, activists, entertainers, athletes and artists who defined the last century.","url":"https://time.com/5793568/irna-phillips-100-women-of-the-year/","keywords":["Women of the Year"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt09c9219aa243b8de/698a0af0457a52b262d639cb/social-1957_Irna-Phillips.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt09c9219aa243b8de/698a0af0457a52b262d639cb/social-1957_Irna-Phillips.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"SOCIAL - Women of the Year: 1957_Irna-Phillips","caption":"","creditText":"","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5793568/irna-phillips-100-women-of-the-year/","name":"1957: Irna Phillips"}}]}] ```