Danica Stewart on Jessica
In short order PASSIONS viewers have watched Jessica go from subdued wallflower to unstoppable wild child. Weekly spoke with her portrayer, Danica Stewart, to get a handle on her character’s transformation.
Many fans believe Jessica has been acting out in response to having Kay as her “role model.” Stewart agrees that those are contributing factors. “I definitely think that has a lot to do with it, though it’s a combination of things, I wouldn’t necessarily blame it all on Kay per se. It had a lot to do with it the fact that’s she’s always in her sister’s limelight. Everything’s always been Kay, Kay, Kay. Jessica’s always had to be this supposedly perfect angel in the background, and never could do anything wrong.” And let’s not forget “her mom straight up abandoned her and their whole family; she has still not come back.” To the contrary, factor poison “Ivy” into the equation as her new surrogate mom, and “it’s really a messed-up situation. Jessica’s desperate for a drop of happiness for herself.”
As for her Kay, “I don’t think Jessica’s very different than her,” Stewart insists. “Jessica can be very manipulative herself as far as sneaking out and she’s starting to go in that manipulative direction. I don’t know if it’s so much Kay rubbing off on her; Kay’s definitely had a big influence, though. But Jessica is young and she wants to go out and have fun. She wants to release a little bit, because she’s holding so much tension inside — there’s SO much tension — so she’s upset and hurt. [Acting out] is just her way of releasing.”
Conversation
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