Soap Hub Performer of the Week for Bold and the Beautiful: Denise Richards

Shauna wasn’t kidding when she said she was Quinn’s best friend on The Bold and the Beautiful. The character risked Zoe’s wrath by letting the jilted woman believe that she, Shauna, is the one who is sleeping with Zoe’s ex-fiancé Carter. Shauna did this to take suspicion off her pal Quinn, hoping to also save her marriage in the process. For her role as a quick-thinking friend, Soap Hub bestows Performer of the Week honors on Denise Richards, Shauna’s portrayer.

Denise Richards — Performer of the Week

Shauna was in the Forrester Creations executive office with Quinn (Rena Sofer) and Carter (Lawrence Saint-Victor) when Zoe (Kiara Barnes) was going on and on about Carter being with another woman.

Shauna spied Zoe seeing Quinn’s jacket — the same jacket she saw in Carter’s bedroom — so she picked up the jacket hoping Zoe would assume the article of clothing belonged to her.

Scooping up the article of clothing in a casual manner might have been overplayed in the hands of a lesser actress, but Richards sold the gesture so that Zoe believed that the coat was hers — not Quinn’s. Shauna lied through her teeth when she let Zoe know that she had been intimate with Carter, however, Richards humanized her character by breaking the lie to Zoe gently.

When Zoe put Quinn on the spot about whether or not she knew about Shauna and Carter, Shauna once again stepped in, saying Quinn only recently found out, further protecting her pal from Zoe’s suspicions. “Zoe, he didn’t cheat on you — you’re not together,” Shauna firmly, but compassionately, told the young woman.

In order to make the charade totally convincing, Shauna kept piling lie upon lie, while also trying to incorporate as much of the truth as possible. However, Shauna’s compassion for Zoe, who clearly still loves Carter, is quite real.

Nearly every time Zoe put Quinn on the spot, Shauna stepped in and kept the ruse alive. She wisely ended the discussion so she and Quinn could speak in private. Alone, Shauna told Quinn she wasn’t going to let her lose Eric. A grateful Quinn thanked Shauna for lying for her. Shauna noted that this wasn’t the first time she’d lied for her friend, as Denise Richards gave many layers to that powerful line delivery.

Alas, by the end of the week, not only had Eric and Quinn reunited but so had Carter and Zoe. Shauna is the one left alone. However, someone who is this loyal to someone else deserves to have love in her life too! The Bold and the Beautiful (BB) airs weekdays on CBS. Check your local listings for airtimes.