Happily Ever After

Laura Wright lost her prince on GL, but in real life she is still living a fairy tale.

Once upon a time Laura Wright pumped gas for a living in her native Maryland. The along came a soap called LOVING. "About 12 years ago, I was working at my dad's gas station during the day and managing a tanning salon at night," recounts Wright, who now plays ex-princess Cassie Winslow on Guiding Light. "I was doing local modeling in commercials to make fast cash, then my agency had me go on an audition for LOVING. I was like, 'Are you kidding me? Get out of here! I'm not going to get the job.'"

Wright was so convinced, she almost didn't show up. "Plus I had things I was doing," she laughs. "They wanted me to come in between the gas station and the tanning salon. I finally said, 'All Right.' There were about 30 girls my age. They taped me, then I went back to work. Actually, I went to the beach that weekend - it was Memorial Day weekend. When I came back, my car phone was ringing. They said, 'We've been looking for you. You need to go in for a screen test.'"

To make a long story short, Wright got the role, quit the gas station and tanning salon, and moved to New York City. "I had never taken an acting lesson before in my life," she marvels. "I had never been to New York City. I was sitting there and Lisa Peluso walked in, 'Oh my God, there's Ava! Oh gosh, there's Noelle Beck (ex-Trisha McKenzie), Rena Sofer (ex-Rocky McKenzie Domecq), Joe Breen (ex-Paul Slavinsky)& I just watched you guys yesterday!'"

Wright used to tune in to the ABC soaps at the gas station. "I would sit in the booth and watch TV," she recalls. "I worked from 6 am to 3. I'd get home and watch General Hospital before I went to work at the tanning salon." Was her father hurt when she quit the family business? "No. He was happy when he saw how much money I was making," she laughs.

She also had to leave behind a guy named John Wright, but they soon reconnected and got engaged. "I've known him since I was 14. And I still like him! I'll keep him," she smiles.

"We were off and on. We were more off than we were on," admits Wright, recapping their love story. "We kept coming in and out of each other's life. Then the last time I went home, I said, 'Is this for good or are we going to date for a month and break up again?' He said, 'No I think this is for good,' and I said, 'OK'"

Wright has had far worse luck in the love department on-screen. As LOVING's Ally Bowman, her husband, Casey, was killed. On GL, so far she has lost two loves - Hart Jessup and, most recently, Prince Richard Winslow.

Wright was devastated when she found out GL was killing off Richard, because she and Bradley Cole had become close friends. "He's a wonderful man, but he's very private and shy," shares Wright. "It took two and a half years for us to get close, and it was a good three-year run from when I met him on location in Puerto Rico (which doubled as San Cristobel). But the last year, I got very close with him. I don't know if it's because he knew it was coming," - i.e. his departure for GL.

What would it take to lure Cole back? "I don't know," muses Wright. "He's a very interesting man; he's a very talented man. He's confident in his talent but not arrogant. Most actors, if they were offered a job, they'd immediately jump on it. I take him as the kind of person who, if it works with his life, he'll do it. If not, he's not afraid. He's fearless, in a good way."

Wright believes Richard's demise was perhaps the only way to go, given the powerful bond between Cassie and Richard. "The Alonzo thing was a bust," she points out. "It wasn't well-written because of the fear of breaking up Cassie and Richard. Personally, I found them impossible to break up. I saw Danny and Michelle breaking up before Cassie and Richard. They weren't your typical soap couple."

Because of the emotional scenes after Richard's death, Wright decided to submit herself in the lead actress category for this year's Emmys. "I don't think I have a shot in hell, but that's all right," she shrugs. "I picked a category and said, 'This is what I'm going to do.' That's truly as far as it goes mentally for me, because it's out of my hands. I look at Kim Zimmer (Reva) as the caliber of actress who's worthy of an Emmy. But I don't feel I was supporting actress last year. I didn't make this decision on my own. I went to my producers and asked a few of them, 'Am I getting ahead of myself here?' They all supported my decision."

One of those producers is GL's new boss, John Conboy. "He's a wonderful presence in the building," raves Wright. "He's kind, he extremely enthusiastic, he loves the cast, he has wonderful ideas but he lets other people have theirs. He's in our dry rehearsal every morning at 7 am. He has been completely honest and straightforward from the second he started."

As for new head writer Ellen Weston, might she write a fairy-tale ending for Cassie and Richard after all? "They couldn't bring him back unless there was a good reason," replies Wright. "Like right before Cassie is getting married, in waltzes this guy who is Richard's brother. People make mistakes, and if that is something the next group wants to do, they'd have to set it up correctly."

In the meantime, she has her own prince at home. "There's nothing better than on a Saturday night I put the kids (Lauren, 4 and John, 2) to bed and John is on the way to the kitchen to get the ice cream, and we sit up and watch movies. That's the best part about being married - having someone to hang out and be bad with."

The END

MUST SEE TV?

Laura Wright has a confession to make: She's a TV junkie. Here she reviews some of TVs hottest shows:

ALIAS: "It's my favorite show on television. Jennifer Garner (Sydney) is so beautiful. It's like watching a female James Bond. I want to do an Alias storyline on Guiding Light."

THE AMAZING RACE: "Its and amazing show. That's my second-favorite show&and Law and Order."

ER: "I had to stop watching it because it's too graphic. I wanted to have a drink and a cigarette after watching that show to calm my nerves!"

SURVIVOR: "I love the host, I love the immunity challenges, and I love to see what they have to eat."

THE SOPRANOS: "I don't like it. First of all, it comes on at the same time as Alias, so hell no. It's too violent, too angry. Its a world that I don't care to know about. Alias is about the good guys. It's not about killing people and beating up an old lady. And Tony's always eating. What is THAT about? He's so fat, and he needs to go on a diet."

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