Some experts insist that reality television shows (such as Keeping Up with the Kardashians and The Real Housewives Franchise) have usurped the influence over TV viewers once wielded by soap operas. But enterprising soap star knows that there is some truth in the adage, “If you can’t beat them, join them, and exploit them for your cause.”
Who Is The Soap Star In Question?
All of these actresses are either one-time stars of long gone daytime TV programs – Guiding Light – current actors on, or alums of, one of the four remaining soap operas – The Bold and the Beautiful, Days of our Lives, General Hospital, and The Young and the Restless. But only one of them allowed the crew of TLC’s A Baby Story to document the progression of her pregnancy.
But who can that actress be? Is it Deidre Hall (Dr. Marlena Evans, DAYS), Maura West (Ava Jerome, GH), Kim Zimmer (ex-Reva Shayne, GL), or Jeanne Cooper (ex-Katherine Chancellor, YR)?
Deidre Hall
Hall had always been vocal about her struggle with infertility and her desire to have a baby. And when she decided to seek the services of a surrogate mother, Hall was just as transparent. Those issues and its happy conclusion formed the basis for a biographical film entitled Never Say Never: The Deidre Hall Story which starred Deidre Hall as herself.
However, a documentary crew was never allowed to film the proceedings, so (despite her honesty), Hall is not the answer to today’s identity query.
Kim Zimmer
And neither is Zimmer, though she is certainly no stranger to the TLC channel, its fans, or its slate of “Story” programming. Back in 2002, Zimmer appeared in A Wedding Story, but it was under the guise of her Guiding Light character Reva Shayne. In that episode, the TLC series documented the “real-life” love story of Josh and Reva, which culminated in a tender unification ceremony.
Jeanne Cooper
Long before reality TV programs like Extreme Makeover and The Swan helped dispel the myths surrounding, and showed the true benefits of, plastic surgery, this YR legend blazed a new trail by inviting video cameras inside the surgical suite where her real-life facelift was performed.
Maura West
Back when West was still portraying As the World Turns’ Carly Tenney – and newly married to fellow actor Scott DeFreitas (ex-Andy Dixon) – she discovered that she was with child and agreed to let the producers of TLC’s A Baby Story document her pregnancy journey.
The episode – which aired on May 12, 2000 – recapped the couple’s early courtship, showed the expectant mother and father going about their regular day on the set of ATWT, their routine at home, and eventually culminated in the birth of their baby Joseph Peter DeFreitas. He’s become a successful actor himself, using the name Joe West.
So, if you guessed that the soap star in question was Maura West – who has been playing GH’s Ava Jerome since May 8, 2013 – then you were absolutely correct.
