#Quote1For the first six months, I cried every day. I just couldn’t get my head around memorizing all of that material. And, because I was playing the district attorney, it wasn’t like I could just make up lines. What I would do would be reading the script until the director called for action, then I would hide the script. When the scene was done, I would pull out the script and start reading it again.”2It was terrific to get to work with him again,” Talking about working with Linden Ashby. “As actors, you are thrown into intimate situations very quickly and the job is to find that connection with one another. In this case, the trust already was there so it made it a lot easier.
We were ahead of the game.”3It happens to be a good niche for me. I do have a tendency to do those kind of characters, but in my last few movies I played a mom and a teacher. I like to do a lot of different roles, but I am the one they think of for the femme fatale roles.4I realized just how many films that I have actually done that have portrayed women in jeopardy and needing to really escape.
I can’t imagine the pain and suffering that is going on and so many women feeling so alone. You are not alone! I am so honored to be a part of this amazing event. I celebrate Take Back Your Life and Wendy Ida!5[about All My Children (1970)] I didn’t choose where people at ABC Daytime wanted to go with my character, Liza Colby. They were really interested in seeing what new energy and spirit I could bring to the character. We took a big leap with age here, but my goodness, on soaps, they take so many leaps that age is the least of our worries! Why not?6[about All My Children (1970)] My first few scenes were with Thorsten and he was right there in my face.
They were making out.] We had to get to know each other fast! I love working on a soap opera–it’s like working in the theater. I’m blessed to work at such a fun place!7[about her reception as a new cast member on All My Children (1970)] Everyone was really welcoming, but of course, Susan Lucci came to me–she is so sweet and kind. Susan is exactly as you imagine her to be. Bobbie Eakes, Ricky Paull Goldin and Michael E. Knight also made a point to really stop and make me feel comfortable.8Michael is really funny, but Thorsten and Cameron Mathison are also hysterical. The boys of the show have a great sense of humor . . . and they’re all great looking!9Savannah (1996)] was great because I got to do the Southern accent. I love that Southern style. I have to say Peyton is my favorite role. I got to integrate the accent into my life during filming.10What is it about ruby slippers? It’s not only that they’re sparkly.
All little girls, and some little boys, like sparkly things, but it’s more the fantasy. They can take you where you want to be.11[About about her character Lexi on Melrose Place (1992), and if the producers asked her to come back] Of course I would–it was so much fun! She was just fiery. I think it’d be a blast!12Don’t hit them too hard and too fast. You have to tease them, trickle them in. I think they’re doing it right.13I think the old show was fabulously popular. People don’t expect that it’s going to be the old show. It’s something new with a similar sort of flair. I haven’t seen the pilot yet, but I think it’ll be great and hopefully I’ll get a nice arc on there and come on back.14I certainly have a love triangle going on there with Thorsten Kaye [Zack] and Alicia Minshew (Kendall]. My character is a strong woman and she is using it.15[on how she got the part of Liza Colby on _”All My Children” (1970)_ (qvf)] They say it’s cliché, but timing is everything. I had put a phone call into Chuck and he actually answered his phone at that moment, which was bizarre.
I said, “It’s Jamie.” And he goes, “Oh, my God! How did you get my number and what do you want?” I said, “I was reaching out and wanted to see you and grab a cup of coffee.” He said he would call me back. So a couple of hours later he called and said to me, “You don’t know how weird your timing is. I was just on a pitch meeting phone call, and they were trying to figure out how to recast the role of Liza and you called!” It’s really weird. And then the people in the pitch meeting were like, “Oh, my God! She would be perfect.” So they asked me to lunch. I met with Brian Frons [president of ABC Daytime and SOAPnet] and Chuck. They told me the back story, and it was certainly a character that was right up my alley.
It certainly was a good fit as far as the timing in my life. I was certainly ready for a change and move. The timing was perfect all around and it was meant to be.16Fear is a really wonderful thing for the soul. It’s a rush. It makes me feel alive!17I’m going to make the role fully my own. Julie and Chuck hired me for who I am, not to emulate anyone else. I will make them proud.18[on her role as Liza Colby on All My Children (1970)] I love things sexy–I certainly see myself that way–and I love playing women who are out to get what they want at any cost. She’s still a battered soul and she still has her wicked ways, only now Liza has the power of the law behind her. It’s a juicy set-up.19My worst day isn’t something that happened — its not some major event. There are days that I wake up and everything bothers me.
The kind of days when somebody talks to you and you’re like Shut up! You drop something and you want to throw it across the room. The kind of day where everybody seems stupid and annoys me and I just want to cry at everything. I hate those days. I just want to got to bed and wake up in another day.20Growing up, I remember the movie Hair (1979). I remember the movie Grease (1978)–these are musicals, mind you, and that’s what got me singing and performing. I’m very much of a vocalist and I loved the idea of being in a very intense scene and all of a sudden starting to sing.21[on who she considers to be her heroes] My parents are. Just knowing what it takes to raise children, between me and my older brother David–+God bless them. And of course the fact that they are the most intimate people in my life.
Looking at history, [Mohandas K. Gandhi] is a hero for me. He believed so much in peace. Or someone like John Lennon because he believed so much in peace.22[The first R-rated movie that she saw] Porky’s (1981). I went with my friends to a drive-in. It was shocking and stimulating. It was that time when you start to look at guys differently.23[on playing football in school] I gave it up because in one game I was doing really well, but then I fell and hit my head and I wanted to stop, but they wouldn’t let me. Then I ended up scoring a point for the other team and everyone was getting at me, and I was like, “I can’t handle this pressure!”24I like to party, sure. But my kind of good time is not going to a nightclub or a bar that’s just a meat market.
I don’t go to those kinds of places. I prefer to have a big camp fire at home and have all my friends round and share a big bottle of wine.25I really wasn’t the best student. I excelled in drama and art, and I got along with my teachers. But my problem was that I was a bit of a social butterfly. I loved to talk a lot – although I wasn’t a party girl. I preferred to hang out at home with my mom.26I’m taking singing lessons,and plan to put on a one-woman show to be the new Shirley MacLaine or Liza Minnelli. Singing. Dancing. I love it. Okay, I’m not the best singer, and I’m not the best dancer, but I can still put on a show, right? I’m so scared, and I can’t wait to do it.27You know what’s sad? Here I am on a show [Profiler (1996)] that’s about violence and serial killers, things that are truly destructive. But that much more widely accepted than sex, which is so important. Sexuality is right up there with eating, breathing, and sleeping.
Yet it’s such a taboo. I don’t understand it.28I didn’t miss acting, because at the time I was very bitter about the business, needed to do something that I could feel passionate about, that would satisfy all my senses: my sight, my smell, my taste, my touch, my need to nurture, my love of colors. Of course, once I started doing that, and getting more and more passionate about it, I lost my desperation, and people in the business were more attracted to me.29I’ve let two to four days go by, but I don’t beat myself up about it. Rather than feeling guilty about not exercising, what happens is I lose my clarity. I’m not as energized, not as clear, not as sharp. It reminds me why I do all this. I’m feeling like crap, remembering how good I felt last Thursday when I did my regimen.30I have a lot more energy and I’m happier when I’m exercising.31I think men are a different species from women entirely.32I was playing Peyton, this really manipulative woman, on Savannah (1996), who is not exactly a role model–not someone I would want to be like – but everybody who watched loved her. It’s kind of scary.33Knowing me, they wanted to enhance the show with a little bit more humor, not have it be so heavy all the time.34I’m enjoying taking some time off right now. I’m not auditioning for anything at all. I work for nine months of the year, with an unbelievable schedule – five days a week from six in the morning to eight or nine at night – and there are always a million people around, all wanting a piece of me. I need to have time away from people, to rejuvenate.35When I was a little girl, I wanted to deliver babies. And then I wanted to be a dancer. And then, I have always wanted to act and then I became a chef and I really love singing.36Reactions that often give me chills, and bring me tears of joy.
It’s been received so warmly, and the smiles sent my way say it all. Everyone is very happy with this new season. I’m truly blessed.37I enjoy food of the orient. It’s a lot of prep work and less actual cooking time. I love to feed people so I would imagine cooking someone’s favorite dish would really make me happy.38I pride myself on being truly an individual.39I worked with a director on the very first episode of Savannah (1996). His name was Richard Lang. He’s been in this business for God knows how long and he recently passed away. He’s an amazing man and touched me and taught me a lot.40It’s very difficult to find the one thing I like the most, but I’d have to say the people, firstly; a truly talented group of people who are very warm. They have made it a lot of fun to work on the show. We laugh a lot. We play a lot. I also really love the challenge that this role has brought to me.41I always find similarities with the character and myself.
Of course, it’s never exact but unless you can find similarities it is very hard to connect with what you are doing. But in this role [on Profiler (1996)] in particular, I find to have the most similarities to who I am mainly because she’s a real woman in the world out there. She’s unlike the vamp characters I’ve played the last four or five years on Aaron Spelling’s shows. The producers often times listen carefully when I speak. The next script I read, I’ll find things I’ve said and done. I love to work out, and that’s a common for Rachel [her character, Rachel Burke]. They have her cooking very well, which is something I do. She can definitely be one of the guys, as well as very feminine. As strong as she is, she is vulnerable as well; very much like myself.42[about her series Profiler (1996)] Robert Davi has been a tremendous help to me in getting my feet wet as a profiler. He takes his work so very seriously. He spends a lot of time and energy working out his moments and beats.
He cares so much to make this show good and he’s truly a sweet man.43Fame definitely has its effects. A lot is relative. You gain so much with fame, and in the same respect you give up quite a bit – the most precious being my anonymity, which I didn’t realize until it was gone.44My music taste is quite eclectic. It depends on my mood. But isn’t that true for all of us?45I don’t know that I have one moment being the most touching.46I’m adding a new character to the show, not stepping into her shoes. I don’t ever compare myself to someone else: if other people have, that’s their worry.47On Savannah (1996), I would have to say it was sleeping with my sister’s fiancé. Smuggling money, lying, cheating–that all comes second.48On Melrose Place (1992), it was probably all the lying that was going on: sleeping with people I shouldn’t have and not owning up to it. I did a lot of lying on that show.49When I turned 16, my mama was tired of being a stage mother taking me to auditions. She said, “If you get a car, you can take yourself”.50I’m proud of being toned, strong and fit. Most women can’t do one pull-up. I can do six!51There’s always pressure. But being thin should be the goal. The goal is should be being healthy and strong in mind, body, and spirit. That comes from having a healthy outlook on exercise and on life in general. I think that’s been lost, because everyone wants the quick fix.52[about her character Rachel Burke on Profiler (1996))] I think it’s only bonus. You’ve got people who are already tuned in and enjoy the show. My character is only going to enhance that, hopefully.
My character has got a lot more levity: she’s a little bit brassy. She comes from a family of six older brothers, so I imagine she can hold her own.53Because it’s prime time there’s a rule that you can’t really show anything. As for me personally, though, I’d only take my clothes off for a film if it made sense in the plot54I’d have to say my closest friends are guys. That goes back to my tomboy days. I like to throw a ball and be active and run around, you know. So I just find myself among the men.55I love camping. My boyfriend and I are avid campers. We’ve been all over the country. I love to camp under the stars with him. It’s very romantic. You get very in tune with the natural environment – you know, the birds and the bees and all that. It gets me very calm inside, because this acting business can make me crazy. I need to take some time to myself when I’m not insecure and thinking about what this or that person is thinking about me. I can’t live that way all the time. How can you not get self-conscious? So going out there and being at one with nature is my way of escaping from it all.56I go camping with my boyfriend – having nothing other than ourselves and the birds to talk with is most relaxing.57I’ve never worked harder in my life! Fifteen-hour days, going home and having four more hours of work studying lines for the next day. Always having to be on. I said to someone recently, “I feel like it is my wedding day every day.”58I have always wanted to play Lola in “Damn Yankees” and every girl in “A Chorus Line”.
I was thinking of doing “Chorus Line” as a one-woman show. I’m going to play every character. I know every role. I can do it.59[about her role as Agent Rachel Burke on Profiler (1996))] It’s a wonderful opportunity to play a character totally different from anything I’ve been seen in before.60It’s crazy! One minute you’re working in a restaurant, and the next minute you’re in a TV series with everyone asking how you feel playing the bad girl, and you’re going, “Well, I know how to julienne carrots really well.”61I love to look glamorous, but I couldn’t possibly keep that up. Its too high-maintenance. I’m a wash-and-go kind of girl.62I missed life in the 1960s, so it has always been a dream of mine to live in a trailer and experience life on the road. A few years ago, I bought a 27-foot, 1978 Airstream from the Recycler in Atlanta. My boyfriend at the time and I shipped our belongings to Los Angeles, jammed everything else we could fit into overhead compartments on the Airstream, and drove. It was amazing because we had no schedules to keep and we could have a different front yard every morning – from the Grand Canyon to Bryce Canyon to the Redwood Forest. Now that I’m in Los Angeles, I found a beautiful spot in Malibu to park it. Whenever my schedule permits, I stay in my Airstream for the weekend. It’s instant camping – a little piece of heaven.63The human body is a very beautiful thing and it should be exposed. You shouldn’t be ashamed of it.64I’ve seen an episode or two of [Melrose Place (1992)]. It’s . . . well, it’s “Melrose Place”. You don’t bite the hand that feeds you.65When I appear on TV shows, I always have to borrow clothes. I’m always expected to look like Peyton, but that’s just not me. I don’t have mini skirts or little pointy bras. Although I do have plenty of sexy underwear in my wardrobe…66Cooking is a huge passion of mine. In the future, I’d like to own my own restaurant.67[about the “clashes” between her character and Heather Locklear’s on Melrose Place (1992)] We get along great. She’s totally silly like I am. And she’s a producer this year, so when I have a problem with things, I go to her.
But when she gets pissed at me, she says, “Be careful, or I’ll give you a really long speech that makes no sense.”68Peyton was a lot of fun and I just went to work ready for anything. I loved it. I really had such a good time doing it.69Well, honestly when I started this role, there was no time to do much of anything but get my script, learn my lines, and show up to work. It happened that fast. But during the first few episodes I was able to talk to some FBI agents as well as the other cast members who have had many years to do research and every day I learn something new. So the research never stops70I always find similarities with the character and myself. Of course, it’s never exact but unless you can find similarities it is very hard to connect with what you are doing. But in this role in particular, I find to have the most similarities to who I am mainly because she’s a real woman in the world out there.71It’s very difficult to find the one thing I like the most, but I’d have to say the people, firstly; a truly talented group of people who are very warm.72Hiking is the best workout! . . .
You can hike for three hours and not even realize you’re working out. And hiking alone lets me have some time to myself.73I don’t do diets. They don’t work. Being fit is about a whole way of life. If you move your body it will process what you put in it, even if it’s cake. “Everything in moderation” is a cliché, but some clichés really mean something. Only you know what goes in your mouth and how much you move your body when no one’s watching. If you’ve got time to sit in front of the television, to go out to dinner with your friends, or to read a book, you’ve got time to work out and take care of yourself.74When I tested for Lane, I was the straight girl; I had a nice little suit and jacket on. Then I went into the bathroom and let the hair down, put on a slinky dress, sauntered past all those girls in the waiting room, and said, “Okay. I’m ready”.75It’s amazing the hours you pull when you’re the lead of a show76I’m getting to know myself. I focused this year on nothing but my craft. I’ve dealt with a lot of producers and executives, speaking up for what I need and what I want.
I never did that before.77When you’re 22 or 23 you think the world revolves around you, and I felt that way for a long time. But I just turned 30, and I love it! You realize, “Whoa, baby, you ain’t all that”. And you’re not! You’re just a woman out there doing something she loves.78It was a lot easier to hide behind the character of the sassy, sexy vixen, whereas this time, I did a lot more tapping into my own feelings, and allowing that to come through.79I love playing the vamp, and I get sent out [to audition] for a lot of that stuff, maybe because I do it well.80You can sleep with a blonde, you can sleep with a brunette, but you’ll never get any sleep with a redhead!