Judi Evans Luciano

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Judi Evans, as Adrienne on Days of Our Lives. Also pictured is Wally Kurth, who played her husband, Justin Kiriakis.

Judi Evans Luciano (born July 12, 1964), who is also credited by Judi Evans, is an American soap opera actress. She was born in Montebello, California.

1 Acting roles
2 Personal life and weight loss
3 Television Filmography
4 Awards (Won)
5 Awards Nominated)

[edit] Acting roles

Evans' first role of note was that of Beth Raines on Guiding Light (1983-1986). The character of Beth was part of the "Four Muskeeters" storyline, and Evans' portrayal of Beth, a victim of sexual abuse from her stepfather, garnered her a Daytime Emmy Award as Best Supporting Actress.

Evans was initially paired with Grant Aleksander, who played Phillip Spaulding. The duo made the cover of Soap Opera Digest during Phillip and Beth's escape to New York City. The character was subsequently paired up with Vincent Irizarry and his anti-hero character, Lujack, and became a "supercouple". Evans left the show in 1986; in subsequent interviews, she described the GL set as tense after her Emmy win, as people became angry with her for getting the attention and acclaim for the story.

Her next role was Adrienne Johnson Kiriakis on Days of Our Lives (1987-1991). Like Beth, Adrienne was part of a blue-collar family and became involved with a rich young playboy, Justin Kiriakis (played by Wally Kurth).

She became the second actress to play the role of Paulina Cory Carlino on Another World (1991-1999). After a heavily-publicized pregnancy with her son, Austin, and a public struggle to lose the post-pregnancy weight, Evans took a break from acting when Another World was cancelled.

In 2000, she played Patsy Ramsey in the television movie, Getting Away with Murder: The JonBenet Ramsey Story.

In 2003, Days of Our Lives lured her back to daytime, allowing her to create the role of down-on-her-luck schemer Bonnie Lockhart, a complete reversal from the good-girl role she once played on the show.

[edit] Personal life and weight loss

Evans married for the second time to her current husband, Michael Luciano, on November 20, 1993. Their son, Austin Luciano, was born on May 26, 1996. Her pregnancy, in which she gained 80 pounds, and subsequent lack of weight loss, was highly publicized in the media. With Evans' input, her life experience led to a storyline on Another World in which her character, Paulina, became addicted to crystal meth to lose her pregnancy weight. Evans later spoke out against the storyline; while it was her idea to do a special-interest storyline that viewers could relate to, she was not happy with the "crystal meth" twist in the story.

In the August 17, 2004 issue of Soap Opera Digest, Evans delved into her weight-gain story. She wore a size 4 dress before she was pregnant with her child, and then, at her peak six months after she gave birth, she wore a size 18 dress. All in all, Evans said, she gained over 80 pounds (36 kg) in her pregnancy, and didn't lose any of it quickly. It took two years for her to lose half of the pregnancy weight she gained, and it was only in 2003 that she got down to a weight reminiscent of her life pre-pregnancy. Due to her weight troubles, she had indicated that she is very reluctant to have another baby.

[edit] Television Filmography

Another World as Paulina Cory Carlino #2 (1991-1999)
Days of our Lives as Adrienne Johnson Kiriakis (1987-1991)/Bonnie Lockhart Horton (2003-present)
Guiding Light as Beth Raines #1 (1983-1986)