It’s been many years since Vanessa Marcil was last seen on-screen at General Hospital as the much-beloved Brenda Barrett. However, her character receives frequent mention courtesy of her favorite love, Sonny. But now the actress has a particularly fun reason to celebrate.
Happy Birthday, Vanessa Marcil
That’s because she was born on October 15, 1968, in Indio, California, which means that this talented performer is turning 55 years old today! Before getting her first big acting break on the popular ABC daytime serial, Marcil cut her acting teeth on a number of stage productions.
She made her GH debut on September 18, 1992, and quickly emerged as a fan favorite, partly thanks to her pairing opposite Maurice Benard’s Sonny Corinthos. The coupling was enthusiastically received by viewers, as was the added wrinkle of spoiler Jasper Jax, played by Australian Ingo Rademacher.
Marcil remained a contract player with the series until September 11, 1998, earning herself two Daytime Emmy Award nominations. While still shooting the soap, Marcil filmed the television movie, To Love, Honor, and Deceive and appeared in two silver screen features: The Rock (co-starring Nicolas Cage, Sean Connery, and Ed Holmes) and 976-WISH.
After leaving GH, Vanessa Marcil appeared on the ABC police drama High Incident and then joined the cast of Beverly Hills 90210 as Gina Kincaid. She remained a part of the cast for one full season plus half of another.
Subsequently, she won roles in two independent films — Nice Guys Sleep Alone and This Space Between Us — and Detective Carmen Olivera in an episode of ABC’s NYPD Blue.
A brief one-year return to General Hospital (between 2002 and 2003) earned Marcil the 2003 Daytime Emmy award for Outstanding Supporting Actress. After finishing out her contract, she joined the ensemble of NBC’s comedy-drama Las Vegas, where she played casino hostess Sam Marquez for the series’ entire five-season run. Since 2014 — following a one-year reprisal of her GH part — Marcil has filmed several made-for-television films, most notably for the Lifetime and Hallmark networks.