Veteran fans of The Bold and the Beautiful and of soap opera history know that Courtney Hope’s character, Sally Spectra, is named after her great aunt — the original Sally Spectra, played by the late, great Darlene Conley!
Conley’s Sally was more than a template for the 2.0 version. In fact, the original Sally Spectra (like her namesake) is fully unique and was instrumental in putting The Bold and the Beautiful on the map!
Hello, Stephanie!
Sally greatly admired Stephanie Forrester because she had it all — wealth, respect, a handsome husband (Eric), and loving children. She patterned her life after Stephanie’s — literally — by ripping off designs from Forrester Creations. At their first official meeting at Café Russe, Stephanie put Sally in her place.
Grand Diva
Not to be deterred, Sally negotiated a joint charity fashion show between Spectra and Forrester. However, every time Sally got a step closer to earning Steph’s respect, she’d make two moves backward, making things worse than they had been.
One of Sally’s trademark blunders was to dress up like a man and infiltrate Forrester Creations. Sally’s daughter Macy marrying Stephanie’s son Thorne created more tension than harmony — as did the rivalry between Eric’s son Rick and Sally’s son C.J.
The Men In Her Life
Sally went after Stephanie’s men including Jack Hamilton and Eric — both pursuits resulted in her humiliation. One man Sally did get to the altar was Clarke Garrison, who once tried to romance Stephanie. Sally had to learn that hard way — more than once — that Clarke was not the right man for her.
The Sally/Stephanie rivalry intensified when the red-haired diva made sure Steph saw a photo of Eric being unfaithful with family friend Lauren Fenmore just before they were going to remarry. Sally’s biggest mistake in terms of men was Anthony Armando, a psychotic designer who tried to kill Macy. Sally took a bullet to save her daughter’s life.
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Shear Madness
Over the years, Sally and Stephanie somehow settled into a friendship. After Spectra shut down, Sally got a gig as an executive assistant at Forrester. Her dream was to be on par with the high-end fashion house, but instead, she was brought into its fold.
And even when Steph didn’t care for La Spectra, she understood that she was a mother who loved her kids. One night, the two women became inebriated and Sally got out some scissors and chopped off Steph’s golden locks, turning her into a silver matriarch.
The Good Life
Conley passed away in real life in 2007, but executive producer/head writer Bradley Bell decided that the character should live on, enjoying living a life of luxury around bodies of water, surrounded by cabana boys.
When Susan Flannery opted to leave the role of Stephanie, BB had a scene in which Steph and her former rival chatted by phone. Sally got one of her wishes in life — Stephanie’s friendship. The Bold and the Beautiful airs weekdays on CBS. Check local listings for airtimes.
Video Credit: HunterWrangler
Video Credit: heniroos
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