# Lisa Loring
**Lisa Loring** was an American actress best known for originating the role of [Wednesday Addams](https://www.edgepedia.org/wednesday-addams) onscreen in the ABC television series *The Addams Family*, which ran from 1964 to 1966[1](https://addamsfamily.fandom.com/wiki/Lisa_Loring). Born Lisa Ann DeCinces in 1958 in Kwajalein, Marshall Islands, she was a working child model before she was old enough to attend school and remained associated with the character for the rest of her life[2](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/jan/30/lisa-loring-the-original-wednesday-addams-dies-at-age-64) • [3](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Radio-Album/Who%27s-Who-in-Television-No-15.pdf). She died on 28 January 2023, at the age of 64, after a stroke[4](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2023-01-30/lisa-loring-dead-wednesday-addams-family-stroke).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name | Lisa Ann DeCinces[1](https://addamsfamily.fandom.com/wiki/Lisa_Loring) |
| Born | 1958, Kwajalein, Marshall Islands[1](https://addamsfamily.fandom.com/wiki/Lisa_Loring) |
| Signature role | Wednesday Addams, *The Addams Family* (ABC, 1964–1966), 64 episodes[1](https://addamsfamily.fandom.com/wiki/Lisa_Loring) |
| Reprise | Wednesday Sr in the 1977 TV special *Halloween with the New Addams Family*[1](https://addamsfamily.fandom.com/wiki/Lisa_Loring) |
| Other work | Soap opera *As the World Turns* in the 1980s; films including *Blood Frenzy* (1987) and *Iced* (1989)[5](https://abcnews.com/GMA/Culture/lisa-loring-actress-played-original-wednesday-addams-dies/story?id=96756065) • [1](https://addamsfamily.fandom.com/wiki/Lisa_Loring) |
| Death | 28 January 2023, aged 64, after a stroke[4](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2023-01-30/lisa-loring-dead-wednesday-addams-family-stroke) |
| Family | Two daughters; married four times[5](https://abcnews.com/GMA/Culture/lisa-loring-actress-played-original-wednesday-addams-dies/story?id=96756065) |
## Early life and casting
Loring was born Lisa Ann DeCinces in Kwajalein, Marshall Islands, and later moved with her mother to Hawaii and then Los Angeles[1](https://addamsfamily.fandom.com/wiki/Lisa_Loring) • [2](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/jan/30/lisa-loring-the-original-wednesday-addams-dies-at-age-64). A contemporary television profile described her as a professional model since the age of 2[3](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Radio-Album/Who%27s-Who-in-Television-No-15.pdf), and a later account says she began pursuing modeling at three years old[6](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2023/01/lisa-loring-the-original-wednesday-addams-dies-at-64).
**Casting as Wednesday.** According to a retrospective on the series' cast, Loring beat out 75 other little girls for the role of the pigtailed daughter of Gomez and [Morticia Addams](https://www.edgepedia.org/morticia-addams), without even knowing how to read[7](https://www.looper.com/404657/what-the-cast-of-the-addams-family-did-after-the-show-ended/). Accounts differ slightly on how old she was when the series began: obituaries in *The Guardian* and *Vanity Fair* put her at five[2](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/jan/30/lisa-loring-the-original-wednesday-addams-dies-at-age-64) • [6](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2023/01/lisa-loring-the-original-wednesday-addams-dies-at-64), while ABC News wrote that she starred on ABC at just 6[5](https://abcnews.com/GMA/Culture/lisa-loring-actress-played-original-wednesday-addams-dies/story?id=96756065).
## The Addams Family
*The Addams Family* was the first screen adaptation of [Charles Addams](https://www.edgepedia.org/charles-addams)' macabre cartoon strip published in *The New Yorker*, and it aired on ABC for two seasons, from September 1964 to September 1966[5](https://abcnews.com/GMA/Culture/lisa-loring-actress-played-original-wednesday-addams-dies/story?id=96756065) • [8](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/History/The-Complete-Encyclopedia-of-Television-Programs-Vol-1-Terrace.pdf). Loring appeared as Wednesday Addams in all 64 episodes[1](https://addamsfamily.fandom.com/wiki/Lisa_Loring), alongside [John Astin](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-astin) as Gomez, Carolyn Jones as Morticia, Jackie Coogan as [Uncle Fester](https://www.edgepedia.org/uncle-fester), Ted Cassidy as Lurch, and Ken Weatherwax as Pugsley[9](https://www.aol.com/articles/inside-lives-addams-family-cast-100000000.html).
Her performance set the character's tone for decades[2](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/jan/30/lisa-loring-the-original-wednesday-addams-dies-at-age-64). In 1977 she reprised the role as "Wednesday Sr" in the television special *Halloween with the New Addams Family*, which reassembled much of the original cast[1](https://addamsfamily.fandom.com/wiki/Lisa_Loring).
## Later career
After the series ended, Loring appeared in episodes of *The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.* (1966) and *The Phyllis Diller Show* (1966), and had an early credit on *Dr. Kildare* in 1964[1](https://addamsfamily.fandom.com/wiki/Lisa_Loring) • [5](https://abcnews.com/GMA/Culture/lisa-loring-actress-played-original-wednesday-addams-dies/story?id=96756065). In the 1980s she had a yearslong stint on the soap opera *As the World Turns* and appeared on *Fantasy Island*[5](https://abcnews.com/GMA/Culture/lisa-loring-actress-played-original-wednesday-addams-dies/story?id=96756065).
Her film work was mostly in lower-budget genre pictures: *Blood Frenzy* (1987) as Dory, *Savage Harbor* (1987) as Roxey, *Iced* (1989) as Jeanette, *Way Down in Chinatown* (2014) as Vera, and *Doctor Spine* (2015) as Miss Rhonda[1](https://addamsfamily.fandom.com/wiki/Lisa_Loring). Her acting credits span 1964 to 2015[1](https://addamsfamily.fandom.com/wiki/Lisa_Loring).
## Personal life and death
Loring was married four times: to Farrell Foumberg (1973–1974), Doug Stevenson (1981–1983), [Jerry Butler](https://www.edgepedia.org/jerry-butler) (1987–1992), and Graham Rich (2003–2014)[1](https://addamsfamily.fandom.com/wiki/Lisa_Loring). She was the mother of two daughters[5](https://abcnews.com/GMA/Culture/lisa-loring-actress-played-original-wednesday-addams-dies/story?id=96756065).
She died on Saturday, 28 January 2023, after a stroke, at 64[4](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2023-01-30/lisa-loring-dead-wednesday-addams-family-stroke). Her daughter Vanessa Foumberg confirmed the death to *Variety*, saying, "She went peacefully with both her daughters holding her hands"[4](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2023-01-30/lisa-loring-dead-wednesday-addams-family-stroke). Her agent said she died surrounded by family[10](https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/lisa-loring-who-played-wednesday-addams-in-1960s-the-addams-family-dies-at-64/).
## Legacy
Loring's portrayal of Wednesday Addams laid the groundwork for later iterations of the character, including [Christina Ricci](https://www.edgepedia.org/christina-ricci)'s performances in the 1991 *Addams Family* film and its sequels[5](https://abcnews.com/GMA/Culture/lisa-loring-actress-played-original-wednesday-addams-dies/story?id=96756065) • [11](https://elpais.com/gente/2023-02-12/christina-ricci-el-regreso-silencioso-de-la-nina-prodigio-que-ha-redescubierto-toda-una-generacion.html). Her portrayal received renewed attention in 2022 thanks to the hit Netflix series *Wednesday*, starring [Jenna Ortega](https://www.edgepedia.org/jenna-ortega), and Ricci, who appears in that series, reacted to Loring's death by posting a broken-heart emoji on Instagram[5](https://abcnews.com/GMA/Culture/lisa-loring-actress-played-original-wednesday-addams-dies/story?id=96756065) • [4](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2023-01-30/lisa-loring-dead-wednesday-addams-family-stroke). Her friend Laurie Jacobson wrote after her death that Loring "is embedded in the tapestry that is pop culture and in our hearts always as Wednesday Addams"[4](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2023-01-30/lisa-loring-dead-wednesday-addams-family-stroke).
## References
1. [Lisa Loring, Addams Family Wiki (Fandom)](https://addamsfamily.fandom.com/wiki/Lisa_Loring)
2. [Lisa Loring, the original Wednesday Addams, dies at age 64, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/jan/30/lisa-loring-the-original-wednesday-addams-dies-at-age-64)
3. [Who's Who in Television No. 15, worldradiohistory.com](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Radio-Album/Who%27s-Who-in-Television-No-15.pdf)
4. [Lisa Loring, original Wednesday Addams, dies at 64, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2023-01-30/lisa-loring-dead-wednesday-addams-family-stroke)
5. [Lisa Loring, actress who played original Wednesday Addams, dies at 64, ABC News](https://abcnews.com/GMA/Culture/lisa-loring-actress-played-original-wednesday-addams-dies/story?id=96756065)
6. [Lisa Loring, the Original Wednesday Addams, Dies at 64, Vanity Fair](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2023/01/lisa-loring-the-original-wednesday-addams-dies-at-64)
7. [What The Cast Of The Addams Family Did After The Show Ended, Looper](https://www.looper.com/404657/what-the-cast-of-the-addams-family-did-after-the-show-ended/)
8. [The Complete Encyclopedia of Television Programs, Vol. 1, worldradiohistory.com](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/History/The-Complete-Encyclopedia-of-Television-Programs-Vol-1-Terrace.pdf)
9. [Inside the Lives of "The Addams Family" Cast After the Show Ended, AOL](https://www.aol.com/articles/inside-lives-addams-family-cast-100000000.html)
10. [Lisa Loring, who played Wednesday Addams in '60s series 'The Addams Family,' dies at 64, CBS Los Angeles](https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/lisa-loring-who-played-wednesday-addams-in-1960s-the-addams-family-dies-at-64/)
11. [Christina Ricci, el regreso silencioso de la niña prodigio, El País](https://elpais.com/gente/2023-02-12/christina-ricci-el-regreso-silencioso-de-la-nina-prodigio-que-ha-redescubierto-toda-una-generacion.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Child and youth screen performers › Child performers born before 1986*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license