While General Hospital alum Vanessa Marcil has been open about the challenges she faced growing up, the actress recently revealed a lot more about what she and her family experienced as the fight for social justice has caused more people to discuss discrimination they’ve experienced.
Vanessa Marcil Opens Up
The actress, who is beloved as Brenda Barrett on the ABC soap, took to Instagram, sharing an old picture of her parents as she went into greater detail about what she and her family experienced all those years ago.
“Pete Ortiz Patricia Marcil before my mom started having her natural blonde hair again,” begins Marcil. “I am the youngest of 4 w 6 years 2 a decades age difference so my older siblings grew up with interracial marriage not being LEGAL. Interracial marriage only became legal in 1967 w some not happy about it, especially in certain neighborhoods.
“I was raised in a gang & drug-infested neighborhood where violence and sexual abuse was the daily norm inside & outside the home. At school, I was beaten. A girl gang used to shove my head inside of my locker, beat me up in the back of the bus & hold my head in the toilet. Nothing was ever done,” revealed the actress.
“While my son was NEVER left alone with even certain family members or a nanny, when I was a kid it was normal to be left alone with everyone & we certainly didn’t have nannies. However, my grandma was a maid & nanny 2 many families she worked for & my father worked the fields until he learned a craft in order to move up to being…a contractor.
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“To say that I felt the difference in how we were treated if I went somewhere with my dad compared to with my mom, would be an understatement. Mom grew up without a father or a mother and poorer than my father. She certainly wasn’t privileged in a class sense but we were treated differently simply because of the way she looks. That’s the part of white privilege that some people that I’ve spoken to aren’t understanding and I can understand why.
“If something has never touched YOU or your family,” explains Marcil, “you may not understand it. These are the conversations that are our duty to research & to have with our children.” But talking about things wasn’t always the way — especially back when the actress was young.
“In my family, we were taught not 2discuss the painful things until it explodes. Then just walk out or stop talking to someone you love for years at a time. Deep patterns we pass on. We had joyful times growing up as well cooking in our family but it was always seeped in violence, drugs & sexual abuse.
“We didn’t realize at the time that we didn’t have to live that way. You just accepted it rather than ‘be alone’. At 18, before I ever knew it was even a possibility 2 be an actor 4 a living I legally changed my name. Interesting choice? Tell me abt ur life… #ImWithYou” You can tell us your thoughts in the comments section below. General Hospital (GH) airs weekdays on ABC. Check your local listings for airtimes.
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