Judi Evans
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| Judi Evans Luciano | |||||||
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| Born | July 12, 1964 Montebello, California, United States |
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Judi Evans (born July 12, 1964), who was also credited Judi Evans Luciano in the 1990s, is an American actress. She was born in Montebello, California. She has recently portrayed the role of Adrienne Johnson Kiriakis on the NBC soap opera, Days of our Lives.
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[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 in 1984.
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 (1986-1991). 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 September 2003, Ken Corday lured her back to Days of Our Lives, 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. She played the role until March 1, 2007, the same day her on-screen daughter, Mimi Lockhart (Farah Fath), also made her last appearance.
There had been much speculation that Evans would return to Days in the role of Adrienne which she played in the late 1980s. TV Guide's website (tvguide.com) was the first to confirm this as truth. Evans returned to work as Adrienne on March 30, 2007, and her first air date was May 1, 2007. Evans left Days as Adrienne on January 31, 2008.
Evans has been nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award in 2008 for Days of our Lives, 24 years after her first nomination and win for her role on Guiding Light.
[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 was very reluctant to have another baby.
[edit] Television filmography
- Guiding Light as Beth Raines #1 (1983-1986)
- Days of our Lives as Adrienne Johnson Kiriakis (1986-1991; 2007-2008)
- Another World as Paulina Cory Carlino #2 (1991-1999)
- Days of our Lives as Bonnie Lockhart (2003-2007)
- Trailer Court Justice (2007) Country Music Television
[edit] Awards (Won)
- (1984) Daytime Emmy Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for Guiding Light
- (2005) Soap Opera Digest Award Favorite Return for Days of our Lives
- (1998) Soap Opera Digest Award Outstanding Supporting Actress for Another World
[edit] Awards (Nominated)
- (1993) Soap Opera Digest Award Hottest Female Star for Another World
- (1986) Soap Opera Digest Award Outstanding Daytime Supercouple on a Daytime Serial for Guiding Light (shared with Vincent Irizarry)
- (2008) Daytime Emmy Award Outstanding Supporting Actress for Days of Our Lives
