Soap star Andrea Evans has died aged 66

Andrea's manager Nick Leicht paid tribute to the late star, describing her as "an absolute joy to work with".

He told PEOPLE: "I've been working with Andrea for the past seven years.

"She was such a tremendous talent and an absolute joy to work with."

Andrea's former manager Don Carroll added: "People often think she must be very like the characters she played on television.

"In reality, her greatest days were spent with no makeup, her hair in pigtails, and a ballcap on her head at Disneyland with her daughter Kylie."

Several stars have paid tribute to the 'Young and the Restless' actress - who starred as Patty Williams in the series - including her 'One Life to Live' co-star Melissa Archer.

She wrote on Facebook: "This is heartbreaking news. Andrea was a kind woman, fun to work with, and such a pro. I feel so fortunate that I was able to play with her on OLTL and The Bay the Series. Sending love to all our soap family and Andrea's real family. World lost a good one."

'General Hospital' ex ecutive producer Frank Valentini, the former 'One Life to Live' boss, wrote on Twitter: "I am so sorry to learn of Andrea Evans' passing. Andrea was already a huge star when my career began at OLTL. She was always kind, gracious, and so fun to work with. A daytime legend who will be missed very much. My sympathies to her friends and family."

Andrea also starred as Rebecca Hotchkiss in US soap 'Passions' from 2000 to 2007, and her former co-star Eric Martsolf admitted he will miss the late actress' "sparkle".

He wrote on Facebook: "We lost Andrea Evans. I will miss the sparkle in her eyes when she smiled, which was seemingly all the time. Rest in peace Andrea, and thank you for all you gave."

Andrea also appeared in 'The Bold and the Beautiful' as Tawny Moore, portraying the character from 1999 to 2000, and again from 2010 to 2011.