Top 25 Favorite Actors Who've Begun Their Careers on Soaps
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Demi Moore was born 1962 in Roswell, New Mexico. Her father Charles Harmon left her mother Virginia Guynes (née King) before Demi was born. Her stepfather Danny Guynes didn't add much stability to her life either. He frequently changed jobs and made the family move a total of 40 times. The parents kept on drinking, arguing and beating, until Guynes finally committed suicide. Demi quit school at the age of 16 to work as a pin-up girl. At 18 she married rock musician Freddy Moore; the marriage lasted four years. At 19 she became a regular on the soap opera General Hospital (1963). From the first salaries she started partying and sniffing cocaine. That lasted more than 3 years, until director Joel Schumacher threatened to fire her from the set of St. Elmo's Fire (1985) when she turned up high. She got a withdrawal treatment and returned clean after a week, and stayed clean. With determination and a skill for publicity stunts, like the nude appearance on cover of Vanity Fair while pregnant, she made her way to fame. Since the huge commercial success of Ghost (1990) and the controversial pictures Indecent Proposal (1993) and Disclosure (1994) she's one of Hollywood's most sought-after and most expensive actresses.Played Jackie Templeton on "General Hospital" from 1982 to 1983.- Actor
- Producer
- Music Department
John Phillip Stamos was born in Cypress, California, to Loretta (Phillips), a model, and William Stamos, a restaurateur. His father was of Greek descent, with the family surname originally being "Stamotopoulos". John has two younger sisters, Janeen and Alaina, both school teachers. His first professional role was as Blackie Parrish on the daytime soap General Hospital (1963) from 1982-1984, for which he won two Soap Opera Digest Awards (1982 and 1983). In 1987 he began the role of Jesse on Full House (1987), which is his best-known role to date, spanning eight years. At his request, the writers of Full House (1987) gave his character the last name of Katsopolis, instead of the original character's name, Cochran, in order to highlight John's Greek heritage. He has played drums occasionally with The Beach Boys since 1985, and directed their "Hot Fun in the Summertime" video. He expanded his career to include the role of J. Pierrepont Finch in Broadway's production of "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying!" in 1995, showcasing not only his musical talents, but his dancing ability, as well. On September 19, 1998, he married model Rebecca Romijn, of MTV's House of Style (1989), which was the first marriage for both. They were officially divorced on March 1, 2005.Played Blackie Parrish on "General Hospital" from 1982 to 1984.- Producer
- Actress
- Writer
Kelly Ripa had been performing in her senior high school play, The Ugly Duckling, when she was approached by her current manager, Cathy Parker, who encouraged her to pursue acting. After attending new Jersey's Camden County Community College, she performed in local theater productions before joining All My Children (1970) in November, 1990. Kelly has received nominations for a 1993 Daytime Emmy Award and a 1993 Soap Opera Award. Kelly, is the first in her family to enter the acting profession. She had studied ballet since age three, plays the piano and, in her words, is "no Barbra Streisand", but can carry a tune.Played Hayley Vaughan on "All My Children" from 1990 to 2002.- Actress
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Julianne Moore was born Julie Anne Smith in Fort Bragg, North Carolina on December 3, 1960, the daughter of Anne (Love), a social worker, and Peter Moore Smith, a paratrooper, colonel, and later military judge. Her mother moved to the U.S. in 1951, from Greenock, Scotland. Her father, from Burlington, New Jersey, has German, Irish, Welsh, German-Jewish, and English ancestry.
Moore spent the early years of her life in over two dozen locations around the world with her parents, during her father's military career. She finally found her place at Boston University, where she earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.) degree in acting from the School of the Performing Arts. After graduation (in 1983), She took the stage name "Julianne Moore" because there was another actress named "Julie Anne Smith". Julianne moved to New York and worked extensively in theater, including appearances off-Broadway in two Caryl Churchill plays, Serious Money and Ice Cream With Hot Fudge and as Ophelia in Hamlet at The Guthrie Theatre. But despite her formal training, Julianne fell into the attractive actress' trap of the mid-1980's: TV soaps and miniseries. She appeared briefly in the daytime serial The Edge of Night (1956) and from 1985 to 1988 she played two half-sisters Frannie and Sabrina on the soap As the World Turns (1956). This performance later led to an Outstanding Ingénue Daytime Emmy Award in 1988. Her subsequent appearances were in mostly forgettable TV-movies, such as Money, Power, Murder. (1989), The Last to Go (1991) and Cast a Deadly Spell (1991).
She made her entrance into the big screen with 1990's Tales from the Darkside: The Movie (1990), where she played the victim of a mummy. Two years later, Julianne appeared in feature films with supporting parts in The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1992) and the comedy The Gun in Betty Lou's Handbag (1992). She kept winning better and more powerful roles as time went on, including a small but memorable role as a doctor who spots Kimble Harrison Ford and attempts to thwart his escape in The Fugitive (1993). (A role that made such an impression on Steven Spielberg that he cast her in the Jurassic Park (1993) sequel without an audition in 1997). In one of Moore's most distinguished performances, she recapitulated her "beguiling Yelena" from Andre Gregory's workshop version of Chekhov's Uncle Vanya in Louis Malle's critically acclaimed Vanya on 42nd Street (1994). Director Todd Haynes gave Julianne her first opportunity to take on a lead role in Safe (1995). Her portrayal of Carol White, an affluent L.A. housewife who develops an inexplicable allergic reaction to her environment, won critical praise as well as an Independent Spirit Award nomination.
Later that year she found her way into romantic comedy, co-starring as Hugh Grant's pregnant girlfriend in Nine Months (1995). Following films included Assassins (1995), where she played an electronics security expert targeted for death (next to Sylvester Stallone and Antonio Banderas) and Surviving Picasso (1996), where she played Dora Maar, one of the numerous lovers of Picasso (portrayed by her hero, Anthony Hopkins). A year later, after co-starring in Spielberg's The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), opposite Jeff Goldblum, a young and unknown director, Paul Thomas Anderson asked Julianne to appear in his movie, Boogie Nights (1997). Despite her misgivings, she finally was won over by the script and her decision to play the role of Amber Waves, a loving porn star who acts as a mother figure to a ragtag crew, proved to be a wise one, since she received both Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations. Julianne started 1998 by playing an erotic artist in The Big Lebowski (1998), continued with a small role in the social comedy Chicago Cab (1997) and ended with a subtle performance in Gus Van Sant's remake of Psycho (1960). 1999 had Moore as busy as an actress can be.
As the century closed, Julianne starred in a number of high-profile projects, beginning with Robert Altman's Cookie's Fortune (1999) , in which she was cast as the mentally challenged but adorable sister of a decidedly unhinged Glenn Close. A portrayal of the scheming Mrs. Cheveley followed in Oliver Parker's An Ideal Husband (1999) with a number of critics asserting that Moore was the best part of the movie. She then enjoyed another collaboration with director Anderson in Magnolia (1999) and continued with an outstanding performance in The End of the Affair (1999), for which she garnered another Oscar nomination. She ended 1999 with another great performance, that of a grieving mother in A Map of the World (1999), opposite Sigourney Weaver.Played sisters Frannie and Sabrina Hughes on "As the World Turns" from 1985 to 1988.- Actress
- Producer
- Director
Blonde-haired, blue-eyed with an effervescent personality, Meg Ryan was born Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra in Fairfield, Connecticut, to Susan (Duggan), an English teacher and one-time actress, and Harry Hyra, a math teacher. She is of Ruthenian, Polish, Irish, and German ancestry ("Hyra" is a Ruthenian surname, and "Ryan" is her maternal grandmother's maiden name). Meg graduated from Bethel high school in June 1979. Moving to New York, she attended New York University where she majored in journalism. To earn extra money while working on her degree, Meg went into acting using her new name Meg Ryan. In 1981, she had her big screen debut with a brief appearance as Candice Bergen's daughter in George Cukor's last film Rich and Famous (1981).
She tried out and was cast as Betsy in the day time television soap As the World Turns (1956). She was part of the cast from 1982 to 1984. Meg also had a part in the television series One of the Boys (1982), but this show was soon canceled. In 1984, she moved to tinsel town and landed a job in the western television Series Wildside (1985). Meg's small part in the blockbuster movie Top Gun (1986) led to her being cast in Steven Spielberg's Innerspace (1987) where she co-starred with Dennis Quaid. She again co-starred with Quaid in the remake of D.O.A. (1988) and they married on Saint Valentine's Day in 1991. In 1989, Meg appeared in When Harry Met Sally... (1989) and the scene at the restaurant became famous. Meg was nominated for both the Golden Globe and the BAFTA.
In 1990, she co-starred with Tom Hanks in Joe Versus the Volcano (1990) and this time she played three roles as DeDe/Angelica/Patricia. She appeared again with Tom in the very successful Sleepless in Seattle (1993) for which she was again nominated for the Golden Globe. In 1994, Meg decided to act against type when she appeared as the alcoholic wife and mother in When a Man Loves a Woman (1994). After that, she went back to "cute" with both I.Q. (1994) and French Kiss (1995). In 1994, Meg won the Harvard Hasty Pudding Award as "Woman of the Year" and was voted as being one of "The 50 most beautiful people in the world 1994" by People Magazine.Played Betsy Stewart on "As the World Turns" from 1982 to 1984.- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Joshua David Duhamel was born in Minot, North Dakota. His mother, Bonny L., is a retired high school teacher, and the Executive Director of Minot's Downtown Business & Profession Association, and his father, Larry Duhamel, is an advertisement salesman. Josh has three younger sisters: Ashlee, McKenzee and Kassidy. His ancestry is German, and smaller amounts of Norwegian, French-Canadian, English, Irish, and Austrian (his last name is very common among Francophones in the world). Before his acting career, the football player studied biology and earned his Bachelor's degree at Minot State University with the intention of pursuing dentistry.
At 26 years old, Josh worked in construction, and it was by chance that he got into showbusiness. Modeling eventually gave way to acting as Josh was asked to audition for the title character in The Picture of Dorian Gray (2004), from the novel by Oscar Wilde.
Duhamel can be seen in Vince Gilligan and David Shore's CBS series, "Battle Creek." He is in production on four films: "Lost In The Sun," "Bravetown," "The Wrong Stuff," and "Beyond Deceit."
Duhamel also starred alongside Hillary Swank and Emmy Rossum in the George C. Wolfe directed drama, "You're Not You." Duhamel also starred opposite Julianne Hough in Lasse Hallstrom's "Safe Haven," a drama based on the best-selling novel by Nicholas Sparks and the thriller "Scenic Route," which tells the story of two friends stranded in the desert. In addition, Duhamel was seen in the star-studded, ensemble comedy "Movie 43" alongside Emma Stone, Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Kate Winslet, Richard Gere among many others. Co-directed by Peter Farrelly and Patrik Forsberg, the film features various intertwining, raunchy tales.
Other projects include Garry Marshall's "New Year's Eve" alongside Michelle Pfeiffer, Robert DeNiro, Halle Berry, and Hilary Swank and Michael Bay's "Transformers: Dark of the Moon," where he reprised his role of Captain William Lennox for the third installment of the franchise. Additional film credits include the romantic comedy "Life as We Know It" alongside Katherine Heigl, "Ramona and Beezus," "When in Rome" and "The Romantics." On television, Josh is best known for his role as Danny McCoy on the NBC crime drama "Las Vegas." Additionally, he lent his voice to Nickelodeon's Emmy Award-winning animated series "Fanboy & Chum Chum" and starred in several seasons of the long-running ABC soap opera "All My Children," in which he received three consecutive Daytime Emmy nominations.
On January 10 2009, Josh married Fergie Duhamel, better known as Fergie from The Black Eyed Peas. They have one child together, Axl Jack Duhamel. They reside in Los Angeles.Played Leo du Pres on "All My Children" from 1999 to 2002.- Actor
- Producer
- Visual Effects
Nathan Fillion was born on 27 March 1971 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He is the son of Cookie (Early) and Bob Fillion, both retired English teachers, and has an older brother, Jeff. His father is of French-Canadian descent, and his mother is of English, German, Finnish, and Norwegian ancestry. In Canada, he attended Holy Trinity Catholic High School, Concordia University College of Alberta and University of Alberta. Before moving to New York City in 1994, he participated in improv theatre, including Theatresports with Rapid Fire Theatre and improvised soap opera Die-Nasty. He also appeared in a TV Movie Ordeal in the Arctic (1993) starring Richard Chamberlain and in Strange and Rich (1994).
Fillion's first regular role was on a daytime soap opera, One Life to Live (1968), as Joey Buchanan, for which role he was nominated in 1996 for a Daytime Emmy Award. He left the series after three years in 1997. During the late 1990's, he appeared in small roles in the films Saving Private Ryan (1998) and Blast from the Past (1999). Fillion also guest starred on Das Bootie (1997), Mama's Got a Brand New Bag (1998) and Starcrossed (1999). His biggest break by then happened in 1998, when he was cast as Johnny Donnelly on the 2nd season of Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place (1998) opposite Traylor Howard, Ryan Reynolds, Richard Ruccolo and Suzanne Cryer. He starred on the show for 60 episodes.
After "Two Guys" ended in 2001, Fillion gained critical acclaim and a large cult of fans when he starred as Captain Malcolm Reynolds on the Joss Whedon's Firefly (2002). Unfortunately the show was prematurely canceled in late 2002. He also guest starred on several episodes of two short lived TV shows, Pasadena (2001), as Rev. Glenn Collins and Miss Match (2003), as Adam Logan. In 2003, Whedon gave Fillion another chance to display his range when he cast Fillion as the twisted preacher Caleb, a villain, in the final season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997). Before and after "Firefly", Fillion appeared in many movies, Dracula 2000 (2000), Alligator Point (2003), Water's Edge (2003), If Dad Only Knew (2004) and Hollywood Division (2004).
Whedon vowed to resurrect "Firefly" in some way, and Fillion played Captain Reynolds again in the feature-film Serenity (2005). Fillion followed this film with more big screen leading roles, in the horror-comedy Slither (2006), in White Noise 2: The Light (2007), in the indie hit Waitress (2007) opposite Keri Russell and in Trucker (2008). He also continued to be a force in television, starring in the short-lived Fox-TV series Drive (2007) and appearing on a recurring role as Dr. Adam Mayfair on the 4th season of ABC's Desperate Housewives (2004), opposite Dana Delany. He also appeared on I Do (2006) and was a voice actor on many video games (e.g. Halo 3 (2007)).
In 2008, he took his first singing part (and cemented his cult appeal) as Captain Hammer in Whedon's musical Internet smash Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (2008), with Neil Patrick Harris, Felicia Day and Simon Helberg. In 2009, he was cast as the title character Richard Castle in ABC's hit television series, Castle (2009). The show has aired more than 160 episodes and Nathan Fillion has won four People's Choice Awards for Favorite Dramatic TV Actor, as of 2016. In 2018, Fillion took the starring role in The Rookie (2018) as John Nolan, a contractor who starts over as a rookie police officer in the LAPD after a life-altering event. Besides starring on "Castle", he has appeared in many movies, in Super (2010) as The Holy Avenger, in Joss Whedon's Much Ado About Nothing (2012) as Dogberry, the incompetent chief of security, in Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters (2013) as Hermes and in Thrilling Adventure Hour Live (2015).
His credits as a voice-actor are numerous: on Bright Lights, Dean City (2010) as Brown Widow, in Wonder Woman (2009) as Steve Trevor, in Green Lantern: Emerald Knights (2011), Justice League: Doom (2012), Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (2013) and Justice League: Throne of Atlantis (2015) as Hal Jordan/Green Lantern, in Robot Chicken: DC Comics Special (2012) as Green Lantern/Mr. Freeze, on American Dad! (2005), in Pixar's Monsters University (2013) as Johnny, in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) as Monstrous Inmate and on Gravity Falls (2012) as Preston Northwest. He also voices the lead, Shojun in the animated movie, Yamasong: March of the Hollows (2017). He has also continued voicing characters in video games, such as in Destiny (2014) and in Halo 5: Guardians (2015).
He has also guest starred on The Daly Superheroes (2012) as himself, on Community (2009) as Bob Waite, on The Comic Book Store Regeneration (2015) as himself, on Twins (2015) as Mountie McMinniman, on Con Man (2015) as Jack Moore and on Space (2015) as Wernher Von Braun. He also narrated the documentary, Highway of Tears (2015).Played Joey Buchanan on "One Life to Live" from 1994 to 1997.- Actress
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Marisa Tomei was born on December 4, 1964, in Brooklyn, New York, to Patricia "Addie" (Bianchi), a teacher of English, and Gary Tomei, a lawyer, both of Italian descent. Marisa has a brother, actor Adam Tomei. As a child, Marisa's mother frequently corrected her speech as to eliminate her heavy Brooklyn accent. As a teen, Marisa attended Edward R. Murrow High School and graduated in the class of 1982. She was one year into her college education at Boston University when she dropped out for a co-starring role on the CBS daytime drama As the World Turns (1956). Her role on that show paved the way for her entrance into film: in 1984, she made her film debut with a bit part in The Flamingo Kid (1984). Three years later, Marisa became known for her role as Maggie Lawton, Lisa Bonet's college roommate, on the sitcom A Different World (1987).
Her real breakthrough came in 1992, when she co-starred as Joe Pesci's hilariously foul-mouthed, scene-stealing girlfriend in My Cousin Vinny (1992), a performance that won her a Best Supporting Actress Oscar. Later that year, she turned up briefly as a snippy Mabel Normand in director Richard Attenborough's biopic Chaplin (1992), and was soon given her first starring role in Untamed Heart (1993). A subsequent starring role -- and attempted makeover into Audrey Hepburn -- in the romantic comedy Only You (1994) proved only moderately successful.
Marisa's other 1994 role as Michael Keaton's hugely pregnant wife in The Paper (1994) was well-received, although the film as a whole was not. Fortunately for Tomei, she was able to rebound the following year with a solid performance as a troubled single mother in Nick Cassavetes' Unhook the Stars (1996) which earned her a Screen Actors Guild nomination for Best Supporting Actress. She turned in a similarly strong work in Welcome to Sarajevo (1997), and in 1998 did some of her best work in years as the sexually liberated, unhinged cousin of Natasha Lyonne's Vivian Abramowitz in Tamara Jenkins' Slums of Beverly Hills (1998). Marisa co-starred with Mel Gibson in the hugely successful romantic comedy What Women Want (2000) and during the 2002 movie award season, she proved her first Best Supporting Actress Oscar win was no fluke when she received her second nomination in the same category for the critically acclaimed dark drama, In the Bedroom (2001). She also made a guest appearance on the animated TV phenomenon The Simpsons (1989) as Sara Sloane, a movie star who falls in love with Ned Flanders. In 2006, she went on to do 4 episodes for Rescue Me (2004). She played Angie, the ex-wife of Tommy Calvin (Denis Leary)'s brother Johnny (Dean Winters). At age 42, Marisa took on a provocative role in legendary filmmaker Sidney Lumet's melodramatic picture Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007), in which she appeared nude in love scenes with costars Ethan Hawke and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Marisa then took on another provocative role as a stripper in the highly acclaimed film The Wrestler (2008) opposite Mickey Rourke. Her great performance earned her many awards from numerous film societies for Best Supporting Actress, a third Academy Award nomination, as well as nominations for a Golden Globe and a BAFTA. Many critics heralded this performance as a standout in her career.Played Marcy Thompson on "As the World Turns" from 1983 to 1985.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Tommy Lee Jones was born in San Saba, Texas, the son of Lucille Marie (Scott), a police officer and beauty shop owner, and Clyde C. Jones, who worked on oil fields. Tommy himself worked in underwater construction and on an oil rig. He attended St. Mark's School of Texas, a prestigious prep school for boys in Dallas, on a scholarship, and went to Harvard on another scholarship. He roomed with future Vice President Al Gore and played offensive guard in the famous 29-29 Harvard-Yale football game of '68 known as "The Tie." He received a B.A. in English literature and graduated cum laude from Harvard in 1969.
Following college, he moved to New York and began his theatrical career on Broadway in "A Patriot for Me" (1969). In 1970, he made his film debut in Love Story (1970). While living in New York, he continued to appear in various plays, both on- and off-Broadway: "Fortune and Men's Eyes" (1969); "Four on a Garden" (1971); "Blue Boys" (1972); "Ulysses in Nighttown" (1974). During this time, he also appeared on a daytime soap opera, One Life to Live (1968) as Dr. Mark Toland from 1971-75. He moved with wife Kate Lardner, granddaughter of short-story writer/columnist Ring Lardner, and her two children from a previous marriage, to Los Angeles.
There he began to get some roles on television: Charlie's Angels (1976) (pilot episode); Smash-Up on Interstate 5 (1976); and The Amazing Howard Hughes (1977). While working on the movie Back Roads (1981), he met and fell in love with Kimberlea Cloughley, whom he later married. More roles in television--both on network and cable--stage and film garnered him a reputation as a strong, explosive, thoughtful actor who could handle supporting as well as leading roles. He made his directorial debut in The Good Old Boys (1995) on TNT. In addition to directing and starring in the film, he co-wrote the teleplay (with J.T. Allen). The film, based on Elmer Kelton's novel, is set in west Texas where Jones has strong family ties. Consequently, this story of a cowboy facing the end of an era has special meaning for him.Played Dr. Mark Toland on "One Life to Live" from 1971 to 1975.- Actress
- Producer
- Director
Eva Jacqueline Longoria was born on March 15, 1975 in Corpus Christi, Texas to Ella Eva Longoria (née Mireles), a special education teacher & Enrique Longoria Jr., a rancher. The youngest of four sisters who grew up in a Mexican-American family on a ranch near Corpus Christi, Longoria attended Texas A&M University-Kingsville, where she received a Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology. After graduating from college, she entered a talent contest that brought her to Los Angeles, where she was spotted and subsequently signed by a theatrical agent. After landing roles on The Bold and the Beautiful (1987), General Hospital (1963) and co-starring on Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990), she auditioned for and won the role of Isabella Braña on the popular series, The Young and the Restless (1973). After Y&R, Eva became well known worldwide thanks to Desperate Housewives (2004), where she played a main character, Gabrielle Solis. She also has a contract with L'Oreal and has been named one of the most beautiful people. A passionate advocate of education, she founded The Eva Longoria Foundation which helps Latinas build better futures for themselves and their families through education and entrepreneurship and earned a Masters in Chicano Studies presenting her thesis on "Success STEMS From Diversity: The Value of Latinas in STEM Careers." Eva has also contributed writing to publications on the subject of education.Played Isabella Brana on "The Young and the Restless" from 2001 to 2003.- Actor
- Producer
Shemar Franklin Moore (born April 20, 1970) is an American actor and former fashion model. His notable roles are that of Malcolm Winters on The Young and the Restless from 1994 to 2005, Derek Morgan on CBS's Criminal Minds from 2005 to 2016, and as the third permanent host of Soul Train from 1999 to 2003.Played Malcolm Winters on "The Young and the Restless" from 1994 to 2002.- Actress
- Producer
- Director
Brittany Anne Snow (born March 9, 1986) is an American actress and singer. She began her career as Susan "Daisy" Lemay on the CBS series Guiding Light (1952) for which she won a Young Artist Award for Best Young Actress and was nominated for two other Young Artist Awards and a Soap Opera Digest Award. She then played the protagonist Meg Pryor on the NBC series American Dreams (2002) for which she was nominated for a Young Artist Award and three Teen Choice Awards.
Snow's notable film roles include Kate Spencer in John Tucker Must Die (2006), Amber Von Tussle in Hairspray (2007), Donna Keppel in Prom Night (2008), Emma Gainsborough in The Vicious Kind (2009), and Chloe Beale in Pitch Perfect (2012).Played Susan "Daisy" Lemay on "Guiding Light" from 1998 to 2001.- Actress
- Music Department
- Producer
Hayden Lesley Panettiere was born on August 21, 1989 in Palisades, New York, to actress Lesley Vogel and fire department captain Skip Panettiere. Her younger brother was actor Jansen Panettiere (1994-2023). Her parents are both of half Italian descent, along with German and English. Her mother got her started in the business by doing commercials when she was just 11 months old. Then, at only 4 1/2, she was cast on the soap opera One Life to Live (1968), where she remained until 1997. Since then, she has gone on to appear in many feature films and TV movies. But she is probably best known in the United States for her role as "Claire" on the hit TV show, Heroes (2006).
As for movies, Hayden starred in Remember the Titans (2000) with Denzel Washington and Joe Somebody (2001) with Tim Allen. When Hayden isn't working, she enjoys singing, dancing, horseback riding, gymnastics, taking piano lessons, and swimming.
She has been involved with many animated movies, beginning with A Bug's Life (1998) as "Dot", later to follow was Dinosaur (2000), the video game Kingdom Hearts (2002), and The Mark of Kri (2002). Her next movie is Racing Stripes (2005), a partly animated film, but Hayden will star in the human role; other cast members include the voices of Whoopi Goldberg, Dustin Hoffman, Joshua Jackson and Mandy Moore.
In 2003, she joined the likes of Jessica Lange, Tom Wilkinson and Clancy Brown in Jane Anderson's Normal (2003), a film about a Midwestern husband and father who announces his plans to have a sex-change operation. In July of the same year, Hayden appeared in a John Guare play, "Landscape of the Body", for the Williamstown theater festival in Williamstown, Massachusetts.Played Sarah Roberts on "One Life to Live" from 1994 to 1997 and Lizzie Spaulding on "Guiding Light" from 1998 to 2000.- Actress
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Ashley Victoria Benson was born on December 18, 1989 in Anaheim Hills, California, to Shannon (Harte) and Jeff Benson. She has Irish, English, and German ancestry. She has been dancing competitively since she was 2 with hip hop, jazz, ballet, tap and lyrical. She has been singing since she was about 5 and she hopes to pursue that, along with her acting. Ashley started modeling at the age of 5 for dance catalogs. Ashley was then pursued by The Ford Modeling Agency at the age of 8. She worked steadily in print and is still with the Agency. At the age of 10, she wanted to pursue acting. Ashley went on to do 35 commercials, and then on to theatrical roles. Acting was now Ashley's passion. Ashley put all her focus into acting, which left little time for modeling and dancing, anymore. Ashley's most recent role is "Hanna Marin" on ABC Family's Pretty Little Liars (2010). Ashley also had a cameo in Romeo Miller (aka Lil Romeo) and Solange's music video for the song "True Love". She did a photo shoot with Britney Spears for Vogue Magazine. She is in NLT's music video, "That Girl".Played Abigail Deveraux on "Days of Our Lives" from 2004 to 2007.- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Jensen Ross Ackles, better known as simply Jensen Ackles, was born on March 1, 1978, in Dallas, Texas, to Donna Joan (Shaffer) and actor Alan Ackles. He has English, German, and Scottish ancestry. Jensen grew up in Richardson, Texas, together with his older brother, Joshua, and a younger sister, Mackenzie. Jensen graduated from Dartmouth Elementary School in 1990, he graduated from Apollo Junior High School in 1993, and LV Berkner High School in 1996.
Jensen is a sports junkie. He loves football, lacrosse, baseball and basketball. He even played on the baseball and lacrosse teams in high school. The 6' 1" actor first started modeling when he was just 2 years old. When he turned 4, he started appearing in TV commercials for Nabisco, RadioShack and Wal-Mart. He caught the acting bug because he was mostly influenced by his father, who was an actor in Dallas. He used to watch his father study scripts, and that taught him a few things about the industry. During his later years in high school, he started taking theater classes, where he claimed he was the only "jock" in that department. When he was just a sophomore, a friend of Jensen had asked him to attend a local acting seminar. Two guys, Craig Wargo, and an agent, 'Michael Einfeld', were interested in Jensen's talent and wanted him to go to Los Angeles with them.
Jensen had to say no to the offer and admitted at one point, he thought they would forget about him but, eventually, when he went to Los Angeles, he still managed to get help from them. Prior to that, Jensen actually planned to study sports medicine at Texas Tech University and become a physical therapist, before he decided to move to Los Angeles to give acting a try. In 1996, he managed to secure guest roles on several TV shows, which included Wishbone (1995), Mr. Rhodes (1996) and Sweet Valley High (1994). Jensen's big break came when he was cast in the NBC soap opera, Days of Our Lives (1965), as Eric Brady in 1997. He won a Soap Opera Digest Award for Best Male Newcomer in 1998, and was nominated three times in 1998, 1999, and 2000 for a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series for his work on Days of Our Lives (1965). After spending about three years on a soap set, he left Days of Our Lives (1965) and went on to appear in the mini-series Blonde (2001), which was about the life of Marilyn Monroe, playing Eddie G. He also auditioned for the role of Clark Kent on Smallville (2001), but lost the part to Tom Welling, instead.
Not giving up hope, he went for a few auditions and managed to secure a guest role on the popular James Cameron TV series, Dark Angel (2000), as serial killer Ben/X5-493, the brother of main character Max/X5-452, who was played by Jessica Alba. His character died in the episode, but Jensen eventually returned to the show as a regular in the second season as Ben's clone, Alec/X5-494 and continued on until the show's cancellation in 2002. In 2003, he joined the cast of Dawson's Creek (1998), playing the role of C.J., Jen Lindley's lover. He also filmed episodes of the TV series, Still Life (2003), playing the role of Max Morgan, not knowing that the series was actually dropped. He also had a small role in the short film, The Plight of Clownana (2004), playing the role of Jensen. That same year, he was offered the part of Eliza Dushku's love interest on the second season of Tru Calling (2003). Jensen, however, turned down the role which was later offered to another actor, Eric Christian Olsen. He was subsequently cast on Smallville (2001), as Assistant football coach Jason Teague, the new love interest of Lana Lang. In 2005, Jensen managed to earn a lead role in the movie, Devour (2005), playing the role of Jake Gray. Jensen also earned the opportunity to work his father, actor Alan Ackles, who happened to play his character's father, Paul Kilton. The movie, however, received mixed reviews from the public.
That same year, Jensen joined the cast of the CW series, Supernatural (2005), where he plays the role of Dean Winchester. Dean and his brother Sam, who is played by Jared Padalecki, are brothers who drive throughout the United States hunting paranormal predators, sometimes with their father, John Winchester, played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan. It was reported that the creator of the show, Eric Kripke, mentioned that the show will last for a maximum of five seasons. In 2006, Jensen took on a role in the Independently filmed comedy/drama movie, Ten Inch Hero (2007), which explores the theme of honesty and the flaw of judging by appearances. In 2007 the film began a limited run at number of film festivals including the Newport Beach Film Festival, Phoenix Film Festival and the Santa Cruz Film Festival but never made it into major mainstream theatrical release. In the Spring of 2008 Ten Inch Hero was released onto DVD exclusively through Blockbuster. Jensen however, received high praise for his work as Priestly, who one of the movie's more quirky characters.
From June 5-10 in 2007 Jensen had his professional stage debut as Lt. Daniel Kaffee in "A Few Good Men" at Casa Manana Theatre in Fort Worth, Texas, working along side Lou Diamond Phillips. This proved to be another successful acting venture for Jensen, as critics were impressed with his work in this role. During his free time, Jensen enjoys golfing, horseback riding, scuba diving and photography. He is also a big fan of country music. His favorite musician is Garth Brooks. He even sang back-up vocals on good friend Steve Carlson's albums "Spot in the Corner" and "Rollin' On." In the summer of 2008 Jensen traveled to Kittaning, PA to film the horror/thriller movie, My Bloody Valentine (2009), which was filmed in the cutting edge Real D technology, Jensen played the lead role of Tom Hanniger and starred alongside Jaime King and Kerr Smith.
Jensen splits his time between Vancouver, British Columbia where he films Supernatural (2005) and his home in Austin, Texas.Played Eric Brady on "Days of Our Lives" from 1997 to 2000.- Actress
- Producer
- Executive
Melissa Leo is an American actress. She is known for her Academy Award-winning performance in the 2010 film The Fighter (2010). She was born on September 14, 1960, in New York City. Leo starred as the mother of boxer Micky Ward in the 2010 film The Fighter, also starring Mark Wahlberg. The role garnered her both Golden Globe (Best Supporting Actress) and Oscar awards. Other accolades include award nominations for the film Frozen River (2008) and the HBO series Mildred Pierce.Played Linda Warner on "All My Children" from 1984 to 1985.- Raven-haired beauty Jordana Brewster was born on April 26, 1980 in Panama City, Panama. Her mother, Maria João Leal de Sousa, is a Brazilian-born model who appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1978. Her father, Alden Brewster, is an American-born investment banker, who has English, Scottish, and Irish ancestry. Her paternal grandfather, Mayflower descendant Kingman Brewster, Jr., was president of Yale University from 1963 to 1977. Jordana was raised in London, England up until the age of six. At this time, her family decided to move back to her mother's native Rio de Janeiro. Here, they would stay for the next 4 years. Jordana learned to speak fluent Portuguese during her 4 year stay in Rio de Janeiro. At the age of ten, Jordana's family decided to move again, only this time they would relocate to Manhattan. It was here where Jordana studied at Sacred Heart, an all-girl Catholic school before moving on to the New York Professional Children's School. It was in her teens that Jordana began to make a name for herself by appearing in two of daytime television's longest-running soap operas, All My Children (1970) and in 1996 As the World Turns (1956), where she played the role of "Nikki Munson" for three years. Jordana also went on to co-star in the NBC mini-series The '60s (1999). The year 1998 marked her big-screen debut as "Delilah Profitt" in the teen-driven film, The Faculty (1998). However, it was her role as "Mia Toretto" in the blockbuster hit The Fast and the Furious (2001) that led her to reach Hollywood stardom. Despite her success, Jordana continued to attend Yale University, in the class of 2003. She played the lead in the prequel The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006), and reprised her role, Mia, in the sequels Fast & Furious (2009), Fast Five (2011), Fast & Furious 6 (2013), and Furious 7 (2015).
Brewster was married to producer Andrew Form in 2007, and they have two sons.Played Nikki Graves Munson on "As the World Turns" from 1995 to 1997. - Actor
- Producer
- Writer
David Hasselhoff has become one of the most recognizable faces on television and throughout the world. Aside from starring in Knight Rider (1982) and Baywatch (1989), he is also an accomplished singer and popular recording artist.
David Michael Hasselhoff was born on July 17, 1952 in Baltimore, Maryland, to Dolores Therese (Mullinex) and Joe Hasselhoff (Joseph Vincent Hasselhoff), a business executive. He is of German (from his paternal grandfather), English, and Irish descent. The acting bug first hit when David was seven and so he took acting, singing and dancing lessons. He was very shy off stage in front of girls because he was tall and thin, but when he was on stage he was in his element. Due to his father's work, his family (he has four sisters) moved around frequently. He initially thought his career was going to go in the direction of musicals and Broadway.
American audiences first came to know Hasselhoff when he portrayed the popular "Dr. Snapper Foster" for six seasons on CBS's soap opera, The Young and the Restless (1973). Lured by NBC's Brandon Tartikoff to move from daytime to prime time, Hasselhoff went on to star as "Michael Knight" in NBC's hit series Knight Rider (1982). The role garnered him a "People's Choice Award" for most popular actor and the show became a huge success overseas. The success of Knight Rider (1982) resulted in Hasselhoff's first major international following. When the show ended, Hasselhoff launched a successful recording career in Europe. In 1989, "Looking for Freedom" remained in the number one spot on the German charts for eight consecutive weeks. He has continued to perform regularly in concert and has released nine albums to date.
Hasselhoff returned to episodic television as Mitch Buchannon on Baywatch (1989) when the show debuted on NBC in 1989. Though it enjoyed good ratings, the network canceled the series after only one season. Undeterred, Hasselhoff and his partners acquired the rights to the show and, based on Hasselhoff's popularity overseas, they were able to secure financing and revive "Baywatch" in 1991. Now a piece of American pop culture and an international television phenomenon, Baywatch (1989) was at its peak seen in 140 countries by over one billion viewers each week. During his lengthy career, Hasselhoff has flexed his acting muscles in numerous other projects. He starred in the epic miniseries Shaka Zulu (1986), shot on-location in Morocco.
Hasselhoff is an outdoor sports enthusiast whose interests include scuba diving, hiking, white water rafting, tennis, and jogging. In addition, he has parachuted with the US Army Parachute Demonstration Team, The Golden Knights, and flown with the US Navy's Blue Angels. He is an avid sports fan, and has attended the World Cup Soccer Finals, the NBA Finals, the Olympics, the Indy 500, and the Kentucky Derby. Hasselhoff has traveled throughout Australia, Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Caribbean. He spends many hours visiting children's hospitals throughout the world. His charity, "Race For Life", works with the terminally ill and handicapped children in America.
He was married to the beautiful actress Pamela Bach-Hasselhoff, with whom he has two daughters, Taylor-Ann and Hayley Amber.Played Dr. Snapper Foster on "The Young and the Restless" from 1975 to 1982.- Marcia Anne Cross was born on March 25, 1962 in Marlborough, Massachusetts. As a child, Marcia always wanted to be an actress, so she set out to have a career in acting. Cross graduated from the Juilliard School in New York, a naturally gifted girl. Her career began in 1984, when she joined the cast of the daytime soap opera The Edge of Night (1956). After six months, the show ended its 28-year run. The following year, in 1985, she starred opposite Carroll O'Connor in the television film Brass (1985). Then she landed the lead role in Pros & Cons (1986) with comedienne Sheryl Lee Ralph. She kept busy by starring in The Last Days of Frank and Jesse James (1986) with many famous figures in Hollywood - including June Carter Cash, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson. Marcia's career was looking up when she was cast as Kate Roberts in another daytime soap opera, One Life to Live (1968), and as Tanya in Another World (1964). Marcia was then seen opposite Tim Daly in the tearjerker romance Almost Grown (1988). Almost Grown (1988) was a television pilot that never got picked up, but is still very acclaimed to this day. Marcia was then cast as Ruth Fielding in Bad Influence (1990), a thriller that starred Cross, Rob Lowe and James Spader.
She joined the cast of Knots Landing (1979) - an incredibly famous nighttime soap opera in 1991. After a year, she left to do work on a new television series called Melrose Place (1992). She was cast as the psychotic Dr. Kimberly Shaw on the prime-time soap opera. The show was a pop-culture phenomenon, going down in history as one of the most entertaining and memorable shows of the 1990s. Marcia, who was starring opposite Heather Locklear, Courtney Thorne-Smith and others, emerged as the fan favorite of the show. Then her longtime companion and fiance, Richard Jordan, died in 1993. Marcia reigned on, starring in films like Female Perversions (1996) opposite Tilda Swinton and Always Say Goodbye (1997) opposite Emmy-nominee Polly Draper, throughout her long run on "Melrose Place". In 1997, she left the show in order to get her Master's Degree in Psychology. From 1997 to 2003, she continued to act regularly. She starred in Dancing in September (2000), a critically acclaimed film, got herself the lead role in Living in Fear (2001), starred in The Wind Effect (2003), a disturbing film about family, and even filmed Eastwick (2002), a television pilot that never was picked up. Eastwick (2002) was based on the film The Witches of Eastwick (1987), and Marcia was cast in the Susan Sarandon role.
She got back into the public eye by joining the cast of the critically-acclaimed television series Everwood (2002) with Treat Williams. After a year on the show, she left it when she auditioned for a new television series, Desperate Housewives (2004). In 2004, Marcia was cast as Bree Van De Kamp in Desperate Housewives (2004), which went on to be a monster-hit with the critics and audiences. Marcia began to be nominated for very prestigious awards - including the Emmy Award, Golden Globe, Golden Satellite Award, and a Television Critics' Association Award. Marcia even won a Screen Actors Guild Award in 2005.Played Kate Sanders on "One Life to Live" from 1986 to 1988. - Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Anne Celeste Heche was an American actress, director, and screenwriter. She came to recognition portraying Vicky Hudson and Marley Love in the soap opera Another World (1964), which won her a Daytime Emmy Award and two Soap Opera Digest Awards. She came to mainstream prominence in the late 1990s with roles in the crime drama film Donnie Brasco (1997), the disaster film Volcano (1997), the slasher film I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997), the action comedy film Six Days Seven Nights (1998), and the drama-thriller film Return to Paradise (1998).Played twin sisters Vicky Hudson and Marley Love on "Another World" from 1987 to 1991.- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Antonio Sabato Jr. was born on 29 February 1972 in Rome, Lazio, Italy. He is an actor and producer, known for The Big Hit (1998), The Three Stooges (2012) and Drifter: Henry Lee Lucas (2009). He was previously married to Cheryl Moana Marie Nunes and Tully Jensen.Played Jagger Cates on "General Hospital" from 1992 to 1995.- Eddie Cibrian was born on 16 June 1973 in Burbank, California, USA. He is an actor, known for The Cave (2005), The Best Man Holiday (2013) and Sunset Beach (1997). He has been married to LeAnn Rimes since 22 April 2011. He was previously married to Brandi Glanville.Played Matt Clark on "The Young and the Restless" from 1994 to 1996 and Cole Deschanel on "Sunset Beach" from 1997 to 1999.
- Actress
- Producer
- Editorial Department
Emmy Award-winning Sarah Michelle Gellar was born on April 14, 1977 in New York City, the daughter of Rosellen (Greenfield), who taught at a nursery school, and Arthur Gellar, who worked in the garment industry. She is of Russian Jewish and Hungarian Jewish descent.
Eating in a local restaurant, Sarah was discovered by an agent when she was four years old. Soon after, she was making her first movie An Invasion of Privacy (1983). Besides a long list of movies, she has also appeared in many TV commercials and on the stage. Her breakthrough came with the television series Swans Crossing (1992). In 1997, she became known to the cinema audience when she appeared in two movies: I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) and Scream 2 (1997). But she is most commonly known for her title role in the long-running television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997). She also won an Emmy Award for her performance as Kendall Hart on the soap opera All My Children (1970).
Sarah has since starred in many films, including Simply Irresistible (1999), Cruel Intentions (1999), and the live-action Scooby-Doo (2002) movies as the lovable Daphne Blake. She also provided her voice to several movies, including Small Soldiers (1998), Happily N'Ever After (2006) and TMNT (2007), starred in the box office hit The Grudge (2004), and co-starred with Robin Williams and James Wolk in the television series The Crazy Ones (2013).
She resides in Los Angeles, California, with her husband, Freddie Prinze Jr.. They have been married since 2002, and have two children.Played Kendall Hart on "All My Children" from 1993 to 1995.- Actor
- Producer
- Director
It took a summer of acting in a children's theater group to convince Matthew Morrison that he wanted to become an actor. He auditioned and attended Orange County High School of the Arts, and followed that with NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, although he didn't enjoy his college foray. Despite a regulation that students couldn't audition in the first two years at NYU, he got himself an agent and dropped out from NYU. His musical debut was in the musical version of Footloose (1984), which was then followed by "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." His big break, however, was in "Hairspray" when he landed the part of "Link Larkin." It was after this role that he made a debut into the television and film world, with small roles in Sex and the City (1998), Hack (2002), Encino Man (1992), and others. His self-proclaimed favorite role he did in television was in Once Upon a Mattress (2005), a musical for TV that starred Carol Burnett. He was nominated for a Tony for his role in "The Light in the Piazza" and eventually left the show in late 2005. He dabbled some more in roles among the television, film, and theater world. After starring in the Lincoln Center production of "South Pacific" as "Lieutenant Cable" in 2008, he took on the role of "Will Schuester" in the upcoming Fox series Glee (2009), which premiers in fall 2009.Briefly played Adam Munson on "As the World Turns" in 2006.- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Thomas William Selleck is an American actor and film producer, best known for his starring role as Hawaii-based private investigator "Thomas Magnum" on the 1980s television series, Magnum, P.I. (1980).
Selleck was born in Detroit, Michigan, to Martha (Jagger), a homemaker, and Robert Dean Selleck, a real estate investor and executive. He is of mostly English descent, including recent immigrant ancestors. Selleck has appeared extensively on television in roles such as "Dr. Richard Burke" on Friends (1994) and "A.J. Cooper" on Las Vegas (2003). In addition to his series work, Selleck has appeared in more than fifty made-for-TV and general release movies, including Mr. Baseball (1992), Quigley Down Under (1990), Lassiter (1984) and, his most successful movie release, Three Men and a Baby (1987), which was the highest grossing movie in 1987.
Selleck also plays "Jesse Stone" in a series of made-for-TV movies, based on the Robert B. Parker novels. In 2010, he appears as "Commissioner Frank Reagan" in the drama series, Blue Bloods (2010) on CBS.Played Jed Andrews on "The Young and the Restless" from 1974 to 1975.