Catherine Wadkins (ex-Mary, GH)

Dallas native Catherine Wadkins, who grew up in Portland, Ore., made her daytime debut as the widow Mary Bishop on GENERAL HOSPITAL. MORE

Jess Walton (Jill, Y&R)

Born in Grand Rapids, MI, and raised in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Jess Walton got her start in showbiz when she was only 17 and joined the Toronto Workshop Productions' Repertory Theater. In 1969, she moved to Hollywood. MORE

Jack Wagner (Nick, B&B)

Jack Wagner was born and raised in Washington, Mo. He took up golf at the age of 10 and planned on becoming a pro golfer. As a teenager performing was just a hobby for him. He attended the University of Missouri for a year and won the state golf championship, and decided to apply for a golf scholarship to the University of Arizona. MORE

Megan Ward (Kate, GH)

Born in Los Angeles, Ward and her family moved to Honolulu when she was 4. There, her parents started a theater company and began teaching acting. As a child, Ward soon found herself cast in the plays they produced. MORE

Billy Warlock (Ben, Y&R)

Born in Gardena, California, Billy Warlock is a staunch Aries who loves a good golf game and some quality time on the ski slopes.

Warlock's acting career began after he caught director Garry Marshall's eye while doing a stint as a stunt double for Robin Williams on MORK & MINDY. MORE

Tuc Watkins (David, OLTL)

Tuc Watkins was born Charles Curtis Watkins III on September 2, 1966 on the Kansas side of Kansas City. He and his family lived on the outskirts of the city in the Prairie Village and Mission areas. Watkins's family all moved to St. Louis, MO, when he entered high school. MORE

Bruce Weitz (Anthony, GH)

Growing up Jewish in a predominantly non-Jewish area of Connecticut, coupled with his slighter than average frame, Bruce Weitz admitted to Digest that he got into a lot of fights when he was young. To stay out of trouble, he found acting and hasn't looked back since. MORE

Annie Wersching (ex-Amelia, GH)

Annie Wersching grew up in St. Louis, Mo., where she used to compete in Irish dancing. After graduating from Millikin University (Decatur, Ill) in with a BFA in musical theater, she headed to Hollywood to pursue acting. MORE

Maura West (Carly, ATWT)

Maura West was born on April 27 in Springfield, Mass. and raised in nearby Ludlow. She is the youngest of four children and has two brothers and one sister. MORE

McKenzie Westmore (ex-Sheridan, PASSIONS)

With Michael Westmore, an Emmy and Academy Award-winning makeup artist as a father, McKenzie Westmore was born into the Hollywood scene. She began acting a few months after her first birthday. Her TV debut? A Bold detergent commercial. MORE

Kathleen Widdoes (Emma, ATWT)

Kathleen Widdoes was only 18 when she made her professional acting debut playing Alma in Bus Stop at the Robin Hood Playhouse in Wilmington. She then toured Canada while she was playing Catherine in A View from the Bridge, and went on to study theater in Paris. MORE

Walt Willey (Jackson, AMC)

Walt Willey landed his first contract with AMC as Jackson in 1987 after deciding at the age of 30 to pursue his dream of a show business career. MORE

Austin Williams (Shane, OLTL)

Austin Williams started showing everyone that he was someone very special when, at the age of 2, he started to spell words and could identify five-digit numbers. Two years later, he had taught himself to read. He scored 99.9 percent on an IQ test while in the first grade. MORE

Darnell Williams (Jesse, AMC)

Darnell Williams's Brooklyn-born parents welcomed him into the world in London, England, where his father, a career Air Force man, was stationed. Raised in England, New York and Okinawa, Japan, the actor/singer/dancer, one of eight children (five boys, three girls), would eventually take a bus to Hollywood to pursue his showbiz dreams. MORE

Davida Williams (Jade, ATWT)

Los Angeles native Davida Williams grew up in the entertainment industry. Her father, David Williams, was a well-known guitarist, who backed Michael Jackson, Madonna and Mariah Carey in his career. In fact, a 4-year-old Davida traveled with him on Madonna's Blond Ambition tour in 1990. MORE

Bree Williamson (Jessica/Tess, OLTL)

Bree Williamson made her U.S. television debut when she landed the role of Jessica Buchanan on ONE LIFE TO LIVE in 2003. Before that, Williamson had only minor roles on Canadian television. MORE

Alicia Leigh Willis (ex-Courtney, GH)

Born in Atlanta, GA, and raised in Orange County, CA, Alicia Leigh Willis's acting career got off to a Grrrreat start when she was 15 years old and was cast in a Frosted Flakes commercial in which she played beach volleyball with none other than Tony the Tiger. MORE

Marie Wilson (Meg, ATWT)

Born Marie Flevaras (the oldest of three girls) in Athens, Greece, and raised mostly in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Marie Wilson began modeling in high school, after which she moved to L.A. The extensive modeling career eventually led to doing "tons" of commercials and then to acting. MORE

Lauren Woodland (ex-Brittany, Y&R)

A natural performer, Lauren Woodland has been dancing since she was three. She began working in the entertainment business at the age of five. She made her stage debut at age eight. MORE

Robert S. Woods (Bo Buchanan, OLTL)

Robert S. Woods originated the role of Bo Buchanan on ONE LIFE TO LIVE in 1979, a role which has earned him several accolades, including the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in 1983. MORE

Laura Wright (Carly, GH)

Prior to breaking into daytime television in 1991, Laura Wright (née Sisk) was a huge soap fan who read the magazines and was devoted to the ABC line-up... Wright never imagined that one day she'd be the one profiled in Soap Opera Digest. MORE

Yvonna Wright (Mel, GL)

Born in England to a Polish father and West Indian mother, Yvonna Wright née Kopacz immigrated with her parents as a child and grew up in central California, where she attended a performing arts high school. MORE

Kari Wuhrer (ex-Reese, GH)

Kari Wuhrer began her career as a model, which quickly led to work in commercials. She studied drama at NYU and at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, England with famed acting teacher Uta Hagen. Wuhrer became the hostess of the popular MTV game show REMOTE CONTROL in 1988. MORE

Sharon Wyatt (ex-Rachel, PASSIONS)

Sharon Wyatt grew up in Carthage, TN. Before entering grade school, she began taking dance and piano lessons, and acted in plays on her porch. The natural performer went on to act in high school, and played alto saxophone for the University of Tennessee at Knoxville band. MORE

Jacob Young (JR, AMC)

Jacob Young was born in 1979 to now-divorced parents Michael and Rhonda, joining siblings Michael, Tiffany and Charity. After spending his childhood in both Washington and Oregon. He caught the acting bug doing high-school musicals and landed the part of Rick on BOLD AND BEAUTIFUL. MORE

Jacklyn Zeman (Bobbie, GH)

Jacklyn Zeman was born in Englewood, N.J. At the age of 15, she completed her high school studies and moved to the Big Apple on a dance scholarship from New York University. MORE

Kim Zimmer (Reva, GL)

Born in Grand Rapids, Mich., Kim Zimmer studied acting at nearby Hope College and continued her training at the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco. MORE

Arianne Zucker (Nicole, DAYS)

Arianne Zucker was born Arianne Bethene Zuckerman in Northridge, California. She was raised in Chatsworth, California. Her mother, Barbara, is a lab technologist and her father, Barry, is a plumber. She has an older brother, Todd, whom she described as "the best brother a girl could have." MORE