Light was born in Trenton, New Jersey of Jewish heritage, the daughter of Pearl Sue (née Hollander), a model, and Sidney Light, an accountant. After graduating from Carnegie-Mellon University with a degree in drama, she started out on stage, making her professional debut in Richard III at the California Shakespeare Festival in 1970, before moving to Broadway to star in A Doll's House in 1975. Read more...

She first found television fame after being recast in the role of Karen Wolek on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live. (The Karen Wolek role had previously been portrayed by actresses Kathryn Breech and Julia Duffy). This role was quite lucrative for Light and spawned one of the show's most-remembered storylines; Light's character became a prostitute after she became bored with her life as a housewife. Read more...

Light is a gay rights activist and helped former Who's the Boss? co-star Danny Pintauro to come out of the closet. She has done work for many LGBT charities. She sits on the board of the Matthew Shepard Foundation and spoke at the 1993 March on Washington. In 1998, she had a library named after her at the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center. She is also a prominent AIDS activist and played Ryan White's Read more...