Meg Bennett -- an actress and writer on popular soap operas like "General Hospital" and "The Young and the Restless" -- has died ... according to her family.

Bennett passed away on April 11 after a battle with cancer, her family wrote in an online obituary.

Bennett, who grew up in Pasadena, got her start on "Search For Tomorrow" back in 1975 where she starred as Liza Walton for a few episodes.

However, her big break came nearly a few years later when she played Julia Martin on "The Young and the Restless" ... a role she reprised sporadically over the next four decades.

Bennett also has acting credits for "General Hospital" and "The Paper Chase" and contributed to many of the shows she worked on via the writer's room too.

In fact, Meg was more prolific as a writer ... working her way up to associate head writer at "General Hospital" and penning 197 episodes according to IMDb.

Bennett's survived by her husband, "Sunset Beach" co-creator and writer Robert Guza, Jr., her two stepdaughters, four grandchildren and two siblings.

She was 75.

RIP