Judi Evans Luciano
Encyclopedia
Judi Evans is an American
Emmy Award–winning actress,. She played Beth Raines on the CBS series Guiding Light
from (1983–1986), but is best known for playing Adrienne Johnson Kiriakis
a role she originated in 1986 on NBC's long running Days of our Lives
. She was a regular cast member from 1986 until 1991, then returned in 2003 to play Bonnie Lockhart, another role she originated and played until early 2007. Later in 2007, she returned to Days of our Lives
to reprise the role of Adrienne Johnson Kiriakis
which she has played on a recurring basis since then.
.
Evans married Michael Luciano, her second husband 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.
Evans is currently an actress on Days of our Lives, playing the role of Adrienne Kiriakis, on a recurring status.
(1983–1986). The character was part of the "Four Musketeers" 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.
After departing from Guiding Light, Evans originated the role of 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
). Evans left Days of our Lives in 1991 and returned to the role of Adrienne from May 2007 until January 2008. In between her two stints as Adrienne, she played down-on-her-luck schemer Bonnie Lockhart on Days of our Lives from September 2003 until her return as Adrienne, a complete reversal from the "good girl" role she once played on the show.
After her first departure from Days of our Lives in 1991, Evans took over the role of Paulina Cory Carlino
on Another World
, which she played until the show was canceled in 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 canceled.
In 2000, she played Patsy Ramsey
in the television movie, Getting Away with Murder: The JonBenét Ramsey Mystery
.
In June 2009, it was reported that Evans would be joining the cast of As the World Turns
as Maeve, a new character on the show, scheduled to air in August 2009. The announcement ended speculation that Evans would be returning yet again to Days of our Lives, this time with former on-screen husband Wally Kurth.
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.
Soap Opera Digest Awards
Soap Opera Digest Awards
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Emmy Award–winning actress,. She played Beth Raines on the CBS series Guiding Light
Guiding Light
Guiding Light is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest running drama in television and radio history, running from 1937 until 2009...
from (1983–1986), but is best known for playing Adrienne Johnson Kiriakis
Adrienne Johnson Kiriakis
Adrienne Josephine Johnson Kiriakis is a fictional character on NBC's daytime drama Days of our Lives. She has been portrayed by Judi Evans Luciano from 1986 to February 1991, from May 2007 to January 2008, and again since March 23, 2010....
a role she originated in 1986 on NBC's long running Days of our Lives
Days of our Lives
Days of our Lives is a long running daytime soap opera broadcast on the NBC television network. It is one of the longest-running scripted television programs in the world, airing nearly every weekday in the United States since November 8, 1965. It has since been syndicated to many countries around...
. She was a regular cast member from 1986 until 1991, then returned in 2003 to play Bonnie Lockhart, another role she originated and played until early 2007. Later in 2007, she returned to Days of our Lives
Days of our Lives
Days of our Lives is a long running daytime soap opera broadcast on the NBC television network. It is one of the longest-running scripted television programs in the world, airing nearly every weekday in the United States since November 8, 1965. It has since been syndicated to many countries around...
to reprise the role of Adrienne Johnson Kiriakis
Adrienne Johnson Kiriakis
Adrienne Josephine Johnson Kiriakis is a fictional character on NBC's daytime drama Days of our Lives. She has been portrayed by Judi Evans Luciano from 1986 to February 1991, from May 2007 to January 2008, and again since March 23, 2010....
which she has played on a recurring basis since then.
Private life and weight loss
Evans was born in Montebello, CaliforniaMontebello, California
Montebello is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, in the southwestern part of the San Gabriel Valley. It is located on of land just east of downtown Los Angeles. It is considered part of the Gateway Cities, and the city is a member of the Gateway Cities Council of...
.
Evans married Michael Luciano, her second husband 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
Methamphetamine
Methamphetamine is a psychostimulant of the phenethylamine and amphetamine class of psychoactive drugs...
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.
Evans is currently an actress on Days of our Lives, playing the role of Adrienne Kiriakis, on a recurring status.
Career
Evans' first soap opera role was as Beth Raines on Guiding LightGuiding Light
Guiding Light is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest running drama in television and radio history, running from 1937 until 2009...
(1983–1986). The character was part of the "Four Musketeers" storyline, and Evans' portrayal of Beth, a victim of sexual abuse from her stepfather, garnered her a Daytime Emmy Award
Daytime Emmy Award
The Daytime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the Los Angeles-based Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American daytime television programming...
as Best Supporting Actress
Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
The Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series has been given every year at the Daytime Emmys since the 6th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards ceremony in 1979....
in 1984
11th Daytime Emmy Awards
The 11th Daytime Emmy Awards were held on June 27, 1984 to commemorate excellence in daytime programming from the previous year .Winners in each category are in bold.-Outstanding Daytime Drama Series:*All My Children*Days of our Lives...
. Evans was initially paired with Grant Aleksander
Grant Aleksander
Grant Aleksander Kunkowski , better known as Grant Aleksander, is an American actor.-Early life:Aleksander was born in Baltimore, Maryland. He was well known at McDonogh School as both a football player and a thespian. He attended the Washington and Lee University...
, who played Phillip Spaulding
Phillip Spaulding
Phillip Granville Spaulding is a fictional character on the popular CBS daytime soap opera, Guiding Light. The character is the adopted son of business mogul, Alan Spaulding, and his first ex-wife, Elizabeth. Phillip has been portrayed by three different actors with Grant Aleksander the most recent...
. The duo made the cover of Soap Opera Digest
Soap Opera Digest
Soap Opera Digest is a weekly magazine covering American daytime soap operas. It features onscreen and offscreen news about the series, interviews with and articles about performers, storyline summaries and analysis, and related promotional information...
during Phillip and Beth's escape to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. The character was subsequently paired up with Vincent Irizarry
Vincent Irizarry
Vincent Michael Irizarry is an American actor of Puerto Rican and Italian descent. He was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award in 1985 and 2002, and won in 2009.-Early life:...
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.
After departing from Guiding Light, Evans originated the role of Adrienne Johnson Kiriakis on Days of our Lives (1986–1991). Like Beth, Adrienne was part of a blue-collar
Blue-collar worker
A blue-collar worker is a member of the working class who performs manual labor. Blue-collar work may involve skilled or unskilled, manufacturing, mining, construction, mechanical, maintenance, technical installation and many other types of physical work...
family and became involved with a rich young playboy, Justin Kiriakis
Justin Kiriakis
Justin Kiriakis is a fictional character on the NBC daytime soap opera Days of our Lives. Created by head writer Leah Laiman, he is portrayed by actor Wally Kurth since February 3, 1987 to February 5, 1991. From 2007–2008, Justin was mentioned but not seen on screen. Kurth reprised the role since...
, (played by Wally Kurth
Wally Kurth
Wally Kurth is an American singer and television performer. He is best known for his work on the soap opera General Hospital as the second Ned Ashton, which he portrayed from 1993 until 2007, and for his role as Justin Kiriakis on Days of our Lives a role he created in 1987 and played until he...
). Evans left Days of our Lives in 1991 and returned to the role of Adrienne from May 2007 until January 2008. In between her two stints as Adrienne, she played down-on-her-luck schemer Bonnie Lockhart on Days of our Lives from September 2003 until her return as Adrienne, a complete reversal from the "good girl" role she once played on the show.
After her first departure from Days of our Lives in 1991, Evans took over the role of Paulina Cory Carlino
Paulina Cory Carlino
Paulina Cory Carlino was a fictional character on the NBC daytime soap opera Another World.LEGAL HISTORYIn October 1990, Paulina shot Jake McKinnon. He had been blackmailing her with information which seemed to indicate that she wasn't really Mac Cory's daughter after all. Marley Hudson stood...
on Another World
Another World (TV series)
Another World is an American television soap opera that ran on NBC from May 4, 1964 to June 25, 1999. It ran for a total of 35 years. It was created by Irna Phillips along with William J...
, which she played until the show was canceled in 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 canceled.
In 2000, she played Patsy Ramsey
Patsy Ramsey
Patricia Ann "Patsy" Ramsey was the mother of JonBenét Ramsey, a 6-year-old American beauty pageant contestant who was murdered on December 25, 1996.-Background:...
in the television movie, Getting Away with Murder: The JonBenét Ramsey Mystery
Getting Away with Murder: The JonBenét Ramsey Mystery
Getting Away with Murder: The JonBenet Ramsey Mystery is a docudrama television movie based on the 1996 murder of JonBenét Ramsey. The film was directed by Eric Lucas; JonBenét Ramsey was played by Julia Granstrom and Mackenzie Rosman...
.
In June 2009, it was reported that Evans would be joining the cast of As the World Turns
As the World Turns
As the World Turns is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS from April 2, 1956 to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created As the World Turns as a sister show to her other soap opera Guiding Light...
as Maeve, a new character on the show, scheduled to air in August 2009. The announcement ended speculation that Evans would be returning yet again to Days of our Lives, this time with former on-screen husband Wally Kurth.
Evans has been nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award in 2008
35th Daytime Emmy Awards
The 35th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards was held on Friday, June 20, 2008 at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, and was televised in the United States on ABC. Creative Arts Emmy Awards were presented seven day earlier on June 13 at the Frederick P...
for Days of our Lives, 24 years after her first nomination and win for her role on Guiding Light.
Filmography
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 1984 | The Party Animal | Unknown | |
| 1986 | Dreams of Gold: The Mel Fisher Story | Penelope Cabot | TV |
| 2000 | Getting Away with Murder: The JonBenet Ramsey Mystery | Patsy Ramsey | TV |
| 2007 | Trailer Court Justice | Country Music Television | |
| 2008 | Screening Party | Amy | TV |
| Television | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1983–1986 | Guiding Light Guiding Light Guiding Light is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest running drama in television and radio history, running from 1937 until 2009... |
Beth Raines #1 | Role: May 1983 to July 1986 |
| 1986–1991, 2007–2008, 2010–present 2003-2007 |
Days of our Lives Days of our Lives Days of our Lives is a long running daytime soap opera broadcast on the NBC television network. It is one of the longest-running scripted television programs in the world, airing nearly every weekday in the United States since November 8, 1965. It has since been syndicated to many countries around... |
Adrienne Johnson Kiriakis Bonnie Lockhart |
Role: 1986 to February 1991 and May 2007 to January 2008 and March 2010–present Role: September 2003 to March 2007 |
| 1991–1999 | Another World Another World (TV series) Another World is an American television soap opera that ran on NBC from May 4, 1964 to June 25, 1999. It ran for a total of 35 years. It was created by Irna Phillips along with William J... |
Paulina Cory Carlino Paulina Cory Carlino Paulina Cory Carlino was a fictional character on the NBC daytime soap opera Another World.LEGAL HISTORYIn October 1990, Paulina shot Jake McKinnon. He had been blackmailing her with information which seemed to indicate that she wasn't really Mac Cory's daughter after all. Marley Hudson stood... #2 |
Role: July 18, 1991 to June 25, 1999 |
| 2005 | Starting Over | Unknown | 1 episode |
| 2009 | As the World Turns As the World Turns As the World Turns is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS from April 2, 1956 to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created As the World Turns as a sister show to her other soap opera Guiding Light... |
Maeve Stone | Role: August 2009 |
Awards
Daytime Emmy Awards- (1984) Daytime Emmy Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for Guiding Light (Won)
- (2008) Daytime Emmy Award Outstanding Supporting Actress for Days of our Lives (Nominated)
Soap Opera Digest Awards
Soap Opera Digest Awards
The Soap Opera Digest Awards were an awards show held by the daytime television magazine Soap Opera Digest. The awards were founded in 1984 to replace the less-lavish Soapy Award; those awards shows had run since 1977. The Soap Opera Digest Awards are meant to promote excellence in the soap opera...
- (2005) Soap Opera Digest Award Favorite Return for Days of our Lives (Won)
- (1998) Soap Opera Digest Award Outstanding Supporting Actress for Another World (Won)
Soap Opera Digest Awards
Soap Opera Digest Awards
The Soap Opera Digest Awards were an awards show held by the daytime television magazine Soap Opera Digest. The awards were founded in 1984 to replace the less-lavish Soapy Award; those awards shows had run since 1977. The Soap Opera Digest Awards are meant to promote excellence in the soap opera...
- (1993) Soap Opera Digest Award Hottest Female Star for Another World (Nominated)
- (1986) Soap Opera Digest Award Outstanding Daytime Supercouple on a Daytime Serial for Guiding Light (shared with Vincent Irizarry) (Nominated)