Marlena Salutes Some of Soaps Most Beautiful Actresses

This winter has been so snowy and gloomy that I don’t want to go anywhere. As I have for decades, I’d rather stay in and watch my soaps in real time. On these yucky days, I am very much cheered by the incredible number of soap actresses who are just beautiful — even gorgeous.

Marlena is an ardent feminist, and we all know that women shouldn’t be judged by their looks. But may I assert that daytime soaps do have an amazing cadre of beautiful (and smart!) women who come into our homes every day. Here are some of my top choices.

Nazneen Contractor (Justine Turner, “General Hospital”). This Bombay-born Canadian actress with lots of prime-time credits (“Bones,” “Boston Blue”) came out of left field courtesy of longtime “GH” casting director Mark Teschner, who never misses. Exquisitely beautiful and classy, she has great enunciation and radiates intelligence. In real life, Contractor is married to Carlo Rota (who plays Jenz Sidwell on “GH,” my current favorite soap villain). In the beginning, it looked as if her character was going to have a romance with Sonny Corinthos, but I think she’s too smart for Mr. Mobster. (Although we do all adore Maurice Benard, that’s for sure.)

Daphnée Duplaix (Nicole Dupree Richardson, “Beyond the Gates”). When I first wrote about this actress, I received a lot of angry messages for not recognizing that Duplaix had indeed been a Playboy bunny, as has been widely rumored. She’s stunning to look at, of course. But she has a lot more going for her. On “Gates,” she plays a very smart shrink. I love the intense way this actress concentrates solely on the person she’s talking to. As Rhett Butler says of Scarlett in “Gone With the Wind,” “What a woman!”

Tamara Tunie (Anita Dupree, “Beyond the Gates”). Is Ms. Tunie the most elegant, beautifully dressed woman on TV or what? With her striking long gray hair, flowing jackets and scarves, Dupree is dressed like the true star she is by the show’s costume designer, Jeresa Featherstone Winfield. I’ve said before that I think Tunie and Clifton Davis (who plays Vernon) are the best couple on daytime television since “General Hospital’s” Luke and Laura. Anita and Vernon really do seem to love each other beyond words. And you read it here first: I think Tunie will win a Best Actress Emmy this year for her work in the show’s very well-done-so-far story of Anita’s breast cancer.

Deidre Hall (Marlena Evans, “Days of Our Lives”).  Can you believe our Miss Dee is 78 years old? She has been our brainy, beautiful psychiatrist on “Days” since 1976. No one on daytime does compassion and understanding better than Hall. She is a true lady, and some of her stories have been doozies. Remember when Marlena was possessed by the Devil? If only one of today’s writers had the imagination to come up with another hilarious — OK, preposterous — story like that one.

Katherine Kelly Lang (Brooke Logan, now Forrester, “The Bold and the Beautiful”). Who is daytime soaps’ ultimate strumpet? It’s Katherine Kelly Lang’s Brooke Logan. The “Slut From the Valley,” as Stephanie Forrester (played by the great Susan Flannery) used to call her husband Eric’s squeeze, Brooke has always been a stunning man slayer! Lang has sparkled in the role of a woman who always gets her way by using all her charms. (I can’t believe she remarried Ridge again about a year ago!) She is currently at odds, in a fascinating storyline, with her sister Katie (played by Heather Tom), who has started her own fashion house, Logan, with the help of Brooke’s ex, Eric. This war between sassy sisters is a real treat!

Michelle Stafford (Phyllis, “The Young and the Restless,” once Nina on “General Hospital).  La Stafford, as I call her, has long been a force of nature on daytime TV. Both she and her character(s) are sexy and smart as hell! I never got over the day in 1990 when I went to the “Y&R” set at Television City and Stafford took me into her dressing room and showed me her collection of Phyllis’s teddies. Stafford’s combination of beauty and brains makes her a one-of-a-kind soap vamp … I mean soap star!

Kristian Alfonso (Hope Williams Brady, “Days of Our Lives”). I first interviewed Alfonso when she came onto “Days” as Doug’s teenage daughter Hope. Alfonso was brought onto “Days” as Hope back in 1983 to meet Peter Reckell’s Bo Brady. When she became his wife, he famously dubbed her Fancy Face. Hope was the daughter of Doug (played by Bill Hayes) by the late Addy Horton, and she shared many scenes with her stepmother, Julie Williams (played by Susan Seaforth Hayes), who was also her half-sister. Oh, those crazy Hortons!

Genie Francis (Laura Vining Webber Spencer Collins, “General Hospital”). Back in her early days on the show, I interviewed the then-19-year-old Francis for a teen magazine called Sassy. She was bright, sweet, and even then loved all things acting. Her father was the famous character actor Ivor Francis. Laura was at first married to adorable young Scotty (played by Kin Shriner). But soap history changed when Laura met and was raped by Luke (played by Tony Geary.) Oops, ABC always insisted that we call it a seduction. Over the years, Laura has grown into a forceful, brilliant, sensitive woman who, as you know, is now the mayor of Port Charles. Is “GH” really going to get her romantically involved with Sonny Corinthos now that Laura’s husband, Kevin (played by Jon Lindstom), is out of town for a while? This should be very interesting!

Finola Hughes (Anna Devane, “General Hospital”). The sharpest female character on daytime soaps recently returned to the show after Hughes’s annual vacation came to an end. And just in time. The infamous once-WUSB agent and on-leave chief of police has a new crop of crazy villains to deal with. First, there’s creepy Pascal (played by Marc Forget), who sounds a lot like Peter Lorre. New to all of this is the current WUSB head, Ross Collum (played by Andre Hawks), likewise a creep! Sidwell (played by Carlo Rota) is mixed in here as a nemesis for Anna. Now, it has been revealed that Anna is having visions of her greatest nemesis, Cesar Faison (played by Anders Hove), who may or may not still be alive. It’s my honor that Hughes has always been a great supporter of Marlena.

OK, mes chers. I have named some of my most beautiful actresses. Now tell me yours. Please send your choices here to Marlena, and I will happily post them. “Marlena De Lacroix: Soaps for the Thinking Fan” is very much an interactive experience. I just love hearing the opinions of my very special readers!