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PROFILE

Kim Zimmer

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SOAP STAR STATS

Kim Zimmer (ex-Reva, GL)

— JPI

Vital Statistics

Birthday:: February 2
Birthplace:: Grand Rapids, Michigan
Marital Status:: Zimmer has been married to A.C. Weary (ex-Gary, THE EDGE OF NIGHT; ex-Dick, ONE LIFE TO LIVE) since 1981.
Children:: She and A.C. have three children: Rachel, Max and Jake (who played Luke on AS THE WORLD TURNS in 2005)
Awards:: Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress (1985, 1987, 1990, 2006); SOAP OPERA DIGEST Award for Outstanding Lead Actress (1988, 2000)

The 411

Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Kim Zimmer studied acting at nearby Hope College and continued her training at the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco. Zimmer began her long career in daytime television playing a terrorist on ONE LIFE TO LIVE and also made pit stops on THE DOCTORS, where she met and fell in love with husband A.C. Weary, and SANTA BARBARA during her long daytime career. Zimmer remains most recognized for her role as GUIDING LIGHT's Reva Shayne, which she created in 1983. At GL, Zimmer has taken center stage during some of the most outlandish plots in daytime history, including Reva’s Amish country adventures and a stint as her own clone.

After leaving GL in 1990, Zimmer landed guest spots on shows such as SEINFELD, BABYLON 5, and UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL, as well as appearing in many movies-of-the-week. She returned to GL in 1995 and has remained there ever since. “In L.A. it was like, ‘Take your number at the door,’ and if you had blue eyes and you had the right look, then that was great, but if you didn’t you were out of luck! I got tired of it, and the jobs I got into were from people who knew my work because I’m a terrible uditioner,” Zimmer confided to Soap Opera Weekly.

Zimmer enjoys many sports, and was once a professional diver. She especially likes biking, skiing, Rollerblading, golf and playing tennis. But Zimmer’s first priority is her three children with Weary. “I have to go on record as saying my children are the best children in the world,” she once boasted to Soap Opera Digest.

Et Cetera

Five Random Facts
—She still takes public transportation.
—She has performed her own nightclub act.
——Her first French kiss was with a neighbor named Brad who had a glass eye.
—She enjoys vacationing in Tahiti and Taos, New Mexico.
—Alec Baldwin, her former THE DOCTORS co-star, gave her a shout-out during a 2006 episode of SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE.

Other Roles

TV Roles
MODELS, INC (Joan, 1994-'95)
THE DISAPPEARANCE OF VONNIE (Vonnie Rickman, 1994)
HELL HATH NO FURY (Marlene, 1991)
MACGYVER (Lt. Kate Murphy, 1989-'90)
DESIGNING WOMEN (Mavis, 1989)

Film Roles
Body Heat (Mary Ann, 1981)

Memorable Quotes

"No wonder people are afraid of me — they think I'm this horrible person."—Soap Opera Weekly, 2/25/03

"Paul (Rauch, former executive producer)...was always saying, ‘You could stand to lose 10 pounds.' I'd be like, 'Yeah, yeah, yeah. You got the young pretty girls. Let me be who I am.'"—Weekly, 2/25/03

"Every bad story becomes a Reva story."—Weekly, 5/25/04

"I've waited my whole life to be 50, because I've always felt I was going to be the next Olympia Dukakis."—Weekly, 12/7/04

"I look at myself now and think, 'God, I wish they would have put little knobs behind the ears so that I could pull it up, because I could use a little lift.'"—Weekly, 12/7/04

“They said, ‘It would be a lot easier for you and everyone if you shaved your head.’ I said, ‘I’m an actress playing a part. I’m not a cancer victim.’ I didn’t think it was right to shave my head. I have a family. I have kids.”—Weekly, 7/25/07

“I don’t want to be the pinnacle of Springfield society. I don’t want to be Bert Bauer.”—Soap Opera Digest, 1/12/03

YOU SHOULD HEAR WHAT PEOPLE SAY ABOUT YOU!
“You can tell her quotes from mine because hers usually include words you probably can’t print.”—Robert Newman (Josh, GL), Weekly, 11/7/06

“I remember when they created the character [or Reva]. Robert [Newman, Josh] and I were doing the auditions and they had all these really good people. Kim came in and there was no question...we each had a scene with her, and as soon as we kissed her, she stuck her tongue in our mouths...This girl wanted the job. I said, ‘You got our vote: Kim!’”—Jordan Clarke, Weekly, 6/6/06