Maura West — A Biography
Maura West was born Maura Jo Snyder in Springfield, Massachusetts. Maura took her mother’s maiden name, West, when she pursued a career in acting. West graduated from Boston University with a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts.
Maura had a stage career in mind for her future but an As The World Turns casting director spotted her in a BU showcase production and hired her right out of college as Carly Tenney. ATWT was like a second family to West, who still stays in touch with many of her castmates. Of course, West met her future husband, Scott DeFreitas there as well.
As The World Turns was canceled in 2010, but Maura West barely skipped a beat and moved the family to Los Angeles to tackle the role of Diane Jenkins on the #1 soap, The Young and the Restless. The role was previously played by Alex Donnelley and Susan Walters, but West quickly made it her own.
Diane was killed off on The Young and the Restless in a Whodunnit? storyline, which played out for months, even had its own mini-site on the CBS/Sony website. Fans could follow the latest discoveries and suspects on the “Genoa City” police website following Detective Ronan Malloy’s investigation.
In 2013, West joined the cast of General Hospital as scheming Ava Jerome of the Jerome crime family, earning her a third Emmy for her gritty portrayal. Her front-burner storyline keeps her very busy but she managed to add a feature film to her resume in 2014 after completing Come Back To Me.
When she is not working, Maura West likes to hang out with her husband Scott and five children, Benjamin, Joseph, Katherine, Basil, and Birdie. They are a close-knit group and love doing things together. Fans can follow the actress on Twitter and Instagram.
General Hospital (GH) airs weekdays on ABC. Check your local listings for airtimes. For more about what’s coming up in Port Charles, check out all the latest that’s been posted on General Hospital spoilers, and for an in-depth look at the show’s history, click here.
Fast Facts
- Maura West was born on April 27, 1972.
- Her marriage proposal from Scott DeFreitas was shown on the video screen in centerfield at Yankee Stadium.
- The birth of her second child was featured on the Learning Channel’s A Baby Story.
- Maura West and her longtime acting partner Michael Park won Best Acting Daytime Emmys for their roles on As the World Turns in 2010, the year the soap went off the air after more than 53 years.
- She was joined at the ceremony by her sobbing daughter, Katherine, who curtsied along with her mother after West’s acceptance speech.
- Maura has two brothers, Peter and Andrew, and one sister, Amy.
