Sweet, uncomplicated Liz Talbot came to Oakdale from England at the suggestion of her friend, Penny Hughes. Penny had stayed at the Talbots when she moved to England and suggested that Liz make the move to her hometown of Oakdale. Upon her arrival, Liz was welcomed into the home of Chris and Nancy Hughes, Penny's parents, and secured a job as a clerk at the Wade Book Shop. In no time, Liz found herself being pursued by Paul Stewart. At the same time that she was dating the sweet Paul, Liz formed a friendship with his brother, Dan. Dan was unhappily married to the career driven Susan who, sensing an attraction between Dan and Liz, pushed Paul to date Liz. However, despite Susan's efforts, Dan and Liz fell in love and had an affair. When Liz became pregnant, she kept the news from everyone. However, when Paul overheard a conversation with her doctor, he offered to marry her without needing to know who fathered her child. Liz accepted Paul's noble offer and, months later, gave birth to a girl who was called Betsy. Eventually, Liz consummated her marriage to Paul and became pregnant again. Unfortunately, Susan was still jealous of Liz and flat out accused Liz of sleeping with Dan. Liz was so distraught at the false accusation that she suffered a miscarriage. Afterwards, Liz suffered a nervous breakdown and was committed to a sanitarium. While she was away, Paul began to resent caring for another man's child and sent Betsy to Dan and Susan's. When Liz returned home, she was chagrined to discover that Susan was pregnant. Unwilling to destroy Dan's marriage when a baby was on the way, Liz resigned herself to staying with Paul. However, she quickly realized that she couldn't stay in a marriage with someone she did not love and asked Paul for a divorce. However, before it was finalized, Paul died of a brain tumor never learning that Betsy's father was his own brother.

In the meantime, Susan had given birth to a baby girl, Emily, and finally agreed to divorce Dan. Dan, at long last, married Liz. Sadly, the union was to be short-lived. Bitter and resentful of Dan's happy marriage, one day, after an argument with Liz, Susan accidentally left the baby gate open at Dan's house. Liz saw Betsy teetering at the top of the stairs and, in the rush to shut the gate, fell and ruptured her spleen. Although she was rushed to Memorial, the injury proved fatal and, days later, she died. However, she did live long enough to tell Dan that he was Betsy's father.