Attractive, dithery character lead and supporting player of stage, TV and film best remembered for the role of Jessica Tate in the cult sitcom "Soap". She was also memorable as the free-spirited mother on the long-running sitcom "Who's the Boss?"

A native of Galveston, TX, who began acting in local and regional theater, Helmond went to New York in the early 1950s and worked with some of the Northeast's most prestigious repertory companies. Helmond owned and operated a summer theater in the Catskills for three seasons and soon established enough of a reputation to win teaching posts in several