Maree Cheatham

Maree Cheatham — Biography

Maree Cheatham is one of the familiar faces of American daytime soap opera. She made her name as Marie Horton, the first heroine of Days of Our Lives, went on to long-running parts on Search for Tomorrow and General Hospital, and in 2013-2014 played Nona on Nickelodeon's comedy series Sam & Cat. Her birth name is Bettie Marie Hatcher.

She graduated from high school in Bellaire, Texas, in 1958, and trained at Baylor University, the Alley Theatre and the Dallas Theater Center. In 1965 she was part of the original cast of Days of Our Lives and played Marie until 1973. After moving to New York she originated the sarcastic, vampy Stephanie Wilkins on Search for Tomorrow in 1974 and stayed until 1984. In 1987 she joined General Hospital as Lucy Coe's fun-loving Aunt Charlene Simpson; she was let go in 1991 and returned briefly in 1998 on the spin-off Port Charles. She played the scheming blackmailer Mary Robeson in the last two seasons of Knots Landing and Mona on Passions in 2002. As Marie Horton she came back to Days of Our Lives for tribute episodes in 1994 and 2010, and again in 2024.

She guest-starred on shows including Gunsmoke, The Nanny, The West Wing and Desperate Housewives. Her film work includes Soul Man, Hanging Up, Labor Pains and Letters to God, and she is remembered for a short cameo in The Wedding Singer.