Soap Opera History

Abigail Spencer Facts: Celebrities Who Started on Soaps

Published by

Shado Saeyang

5 years ago

Beautiful Abigail Spencer is best known for her roles on primetime television shows such as Timeless, Mad Men, Suits, Rectify, and Grey’s Anatomy. She also got her start on a daytime soap.

She has also appeared in movies such as This Means War, Oz the Great and Powerful, Cowboys & Aliens, This Is Where I Leave You, and The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia. From how she got her start to being a guest at the royal wedding, here are five fast facts about the actress.

Who Is Abigail Spencer?

Spencer was born on August 4 in Gulf Breeze, Santa Rosa County, Florida, which is where she was raised. She has two brothers, Yancy and Sterling, and is the daughter of Lydia and Yancy Spencer.

Surprising Connection
Spencer’s first break in the business happened because of Kathie Lee Gifford. The talk show host was obsessed with the actress’s father, Yancy — who was a professional surfer — as a teenager. When Spencer turned 17, her father called Gifford to see if his daughter could attend a taping of Live! With Regis and Kathie Lee. Gifford met Spencer backstage after the show and got her in contact with ABC-TV casting.

Soap Beginnings
Following Gifford’s phone call to ABC, Spencer landed a meeting with casting directors and ultimately won the part of Rebecca on All My Children. Spencer was on the show for two years. Interestingly, while she was getting her footing in New York, she nannied for Gifford.

Royal BFF

Spencer became very good friends with her Suits co-star, Meghan Markle, when they both started working on the show in 2011. The two actresses also realized that they were born on the exact same day. Thanks to their strong friendship, Spencer was one of the guests who attended Markle’s wedding to Prince Harry. At the time, she was on the show Timeless, which often had her character inserted into historic events so fans had a field day with memes of her “character” being at the royal wedding.

Getting Personal
Spencer married Andrew Pruett in 2004 and the couple had their son, Roman Allen, on September 19, 2008. The pair sadly split in February 2012 before officially divorcing in 2013.