READER PANEL

PROFILE

Kristian Alfonso

ON SOAP OPERA DIGEST AND WEEKLY ONLINE

SOAP STAR STATS

Kristian Alfonso (Hope, DAYS)

— JPI

Vital Statistics

Birthdate:: September 5
Birthplace:: Brockton, Massachusetts
Star Sign:: Virgo
Years On Show:: 1983-'87, 1990, 1994-present as Hope Williams Brady/ Princess Gina von Amburg
Marital Status:: Alfonso wed attorney/businessman Danny Daggenhurst on Oct. 6, 2001. Previously married to Simon Macauley, 1987-'91.
Children:: Gino (b. October 1990), Spartan (stepson), and Jack (b. July 2002)

THE 411

Growing up in chilly New England — Brockton, Mass., specifically — Kristian Alfonso developed an early passion for figure skating. She became a Junior Olympic Champion with bright prospects, until a tobogganing accident caused multiple fractures to her landing leg. The Wilhelmina modeling agency offered Alfonso a contract, and by age 15, her "fancy face" graced the covers of Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar. An NBC casting director saw her photographs and gave Alfonso her first acting role, opposite Rock Hudson in THE STAR MAKER (1981), a TV movie. She was then asked to audition for Hope Williams on DAYS OF OUR LIVES, but she passed, fearing she might actually land the role and have to move to Los Angeles. A year later, she did audition. When she tripped and fell down the staircase in the Horton house during her screen test, her clumsiness captivated producers and she was cast. Alfonso left the role in 1987, returned in 1990 for a 13-week stint and came back once again in 1994 as amnesiac Gina. She has played Gina as Hope, Hope, and Princess Gina.

Alfonso was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award as Outstanding Ingenue in 1985. She has also been nominated for eight Soap Opera Digest Awards and won four — two with co-star Peter Reckell (Bo) for Favorite Couple (2001, 2003), Hottest Female Star (1999) and Favorite Newcomer (1984). She was also nominated for three Young Artist Awards (1984-'86). In 2002 she and Reckell won a Special Fan Award (voted online) at the Daytime Emmys as Favorite Couple.

ET CETERA

Five Random Facts
—Birth name: Kristian-Joy Alfonso.
—Won a gold medal in the Junior Olympic Figure Skating Championships at age 13.
—Appeared on the cover of Seventeen in 1979.
—Kristian, whose grandparents hail from Sicily and Calabria, is 100 per cent Italian.
—The white gold and diamond fleur de lis earrings that Hope wears on DAYS are from Kristian's jewelry collection.

OTHER ROLES

Former Soap Roles
MELROSE PLACE (Lauren Etheridge, 1993-'94)
FALCON CREST (Pilar Ortega Cumson, 1988-’90)

Guest-Starring TV Roles
SECRET LIVES (host, 2003)
FRIENDS (guest star, 2000)
CANDID CAMERA (guest star, 1998, 1999)
BURKE'S LAW (guest star, 1995)
BAYWATCH (guest star, 1993)
LOVE STORIES (host, 1991)
CIRCUS OF THE STARS NO. 14 (guest star, 1989)
FULL HOUSE (guest star, 1988)
MURDER, SHE WROTE (guest star, 1988)
MACGYVER (guest star, 1988, 1989)
WHO'S THE BOSS (guest star, 1987)
AMAZING STORIES (guest star, 1985)

TV Movie Roles
STEVE.OEDEKERK.COM (1997)
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BOBBY EARL? (1997)
IN THE KINGDOM OF THE BLIND, THE MAN WITH ONE EYE IS KING (1995)
BLINDFOLD: ACTS OF OBSESSION (1994)
THE STAR MAKER (1981)

Film Roles
Day of Redemption (2003)
Army of One (a.k.a. Joshua Tree) (1993)
Out of Time (1988)

MEMORABLE QUOTES

"Unless I've put my best foot forward — come in and done the best job I can — I wouldn't feel a sense of accomplishment at the end of the day." — Soap Opera Weekly, 4/09/96

"I don't feel there are any words to describe what a wonderful human being he is. He fills my heart. He is a great husband. I looked into his eyes and we had a moment. It touched me deeper than anything ever touched me before." —On husband Daggenhurst, Weekly, 4/08/03

"She's taught me to be on top of things. Don't come to work and call it in, because there are 10,000 people out there who can come in and do your job for you — and do it better." — On what she's learned from Frances Reid (Alice, DAYS), Weekly, 4/08/03

YOU SHOULD HEAR WHAT PEOPLE SAY ABOUT YOU!

"I don’t know that our relationship could be any better. We respect each other implicitly. We trust each other. We’re able to come up with ideas about scenes without our egos getting in the way. I don’t have to dance around her, thinking something I say will hurt her feelings. I’m very lucky to have somebody so easy to work with." — Peter Reckell (Bo, DAYS), Weekly, 6/23/98