READER PANEL

PROFILE

Maeve Kinkead

ON SOAP OPERA DIGEST AND WEEKLY ONLINE

SOAP STAR STATS

Maeve Kinkead (Vanessa, GL)

— Sean Smith/JPI

Vital Statistics

Birthdate:: May 31
Birthplace:: New York, NY
Years on Show:: 1980-88; 1989-1996; 1997-2000; 2005-present
Marital Status:: Wed Harry Streep on December 31, 1980
Children:: Abraham (b. 1981) and Maude (b. 1984)

THE 411

Maeve Kinkead never imagined she'd become an actor. Born in New York City, her parents were celebrated writers for New Yorker magazine. Kinkead originally planned to be a professor, attending Radcliffe College and becoming a teaching fellow in English literature at Harvard. She was in the middle of writing her thesis when she decided to break out of academia. She enrolled in a classical theater course at the Loeb Drama Center and was hooked. After performing in several stage productions, Kinkead closed her books and packed her bags for London, where she studied theater at The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. In 1977, she landed the part of Angie Perrini on ANOTHER WORLD. "I didn't know what a soap was," the actress told Digest in 1984. She took the role at the urging of close pals, who told her it would be good practice. Three years later, Kinkead snagged the role of GUIDING LIGHT's spoiled socialite, Vanessa Chamberlain. After several behind-the-scenes changes and a well-publicized contract dispute, the actress left GL in 1988 to raise her two young children, but was eventually lured back. In 1992, Kinkead won the Outstanding Supporting Actress Emmy and has earned four other Emmy nominations. She left GL again in 2000 to do stage work and focus on a writing program. Kinkead has been on recurring status at GL since 2005.

ET CETERA

Five Random Facts
— Kinkead's sister-in-law is Meryl Streep.
— In 1989, Kinkead co-founded the Athens Street Company with singer James Taylor, humorist Fran Lebowitz, actors Bill Murray and Christopher Walken, among others.
— Did not allow her children to watch television when they were growing up
— Refuses to eat okra
— Kinkead has been known to be very secretive about her age.

OTHER ROLES

Other Soap Roles
— DAYS OF OUR LIVES (Contessa, 2001)
— ANOTHER WORLD (Angie Perrini, 1977-1980)

Film Roles
— City of Hope (Christine, 1991)
— Antigone/Rites of Passion (voiceover, Ismene, 1990)

IN HER OWN WORDS

"I'm so bad at these interviews because the decisions I make are so non-verbal." — Digest, 12/29/87

"There are many things about soaps that are perfectly suited to me. One of the things I like most is that you often do fly by the seat of your pants." — Digest, 10/27/92

"I didn't think about Vanessa after I left. As a matter of fact, I had to disconnect. I didn't think about whether I was going to go back, I didn't think about anything except that I needed to not do it. I truly didn't have that much more to give." — On her 2000 GL departure, Soap Opera Weekly, 5/3/05