Cynthia Watros
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Cynthia Michele Watros (born September 2, 1968) is an American actress recognized for her roles in both daytime and primetime television. In 1994, she was cast in the regular role of Annie Dutton on ''
Guiding Light ''Guiding Light'' (known as ''The Guiding Light'' before 1975) is an American radio and television soap opera. ''Guiding Light'' aired on CBS for 57 years between June 30, 1952, and September 18, 2009, overlapping a 19-year broadcast on radio ...
'', which earned her the
Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series The Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series is an award presented annually by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) and Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS). It is given to honor an actres ...
in 1998. In 2002, she was cast as Kellie on ''
The Drew Carey Show ''The Drew Carey Show'' is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from September 13, 1995, to September 8, 2004. Set in Cleveland, Ohio, the series revolved around the retail office and home life of "everyman" Drew Carey, a fictionaliz ...
'' and in 2005 joined the cast of '' Lost'' as Libby Smith. Since 2019, Watros has portrayed the role of Nina Reeves on ABC's ''
General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera created by Frank and Doris Hursley which has been broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC since April 1, 1963. Originally a half-hour seria ...
''.


Early life

Watros was born in
Lake Orion, Michigan Lake Orion ( ) is a village in the northern outskirts of Metro Detroit in Oakland County, Michigan, United States. The population was 2,973 at the 2010 census. "Lake Orion" can refer to either the village or the much larger Orion Township, of w ...
. She attended Macomb Community College in Clinton Township, Michigan, and received a
Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students pursuing a professional education in the visual arts, Fine art, or performing arts. In some instances, it is also called a Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA). Background ...
degree in theatre from
Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...
, where she was part of the Professional Actors Training Program.


Career

Watros initially became known for her role as Annie Dutton on the
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...
''
Guiding Light ''Guiding Light'' (known as ''The Guiding Light'' before 1975) is an American radio and television soap opera. ''Guiding Light'' aired on CBS for 57 years between June 30, 1952, and September 18, 2009, overlapping a 19-year broadcast on radio ...
'' from 1994 to 1998. Her character, a nurse, began as a heroine, but she gained notice and critical acclaim as her character gradually descended into madness. In 1998, Watros won the
Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series The Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series is an award presented annually by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) and Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS). It is given to honor an actres ...
for her role on ''Guiding Light''. In 1998, she briefly filled in for
Jensen Buchanan Jensen Buchanan (born July 18, 1962, in Montgomery, Alabama) is an American soap opera actress, known for portraying Sarah Gordon on ''One Life to Live'' (1987–90) and twins Vicky Hudson and Marley Love on ''Another World (TV series), Another W ...
as Victoria Hudson McKinnon on '' Another World'' while Buchanan was on maternity leave. Watros appeared as Erin Fitzpatrick on ''
Titus Titus Caesar Vespasianus ( ; 30 December 39 – 13 September AD 81) was Roman emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death, becoming the first Roman emperor ever to succeed h ...
'' from 2000 to 2002 and gained recognition as a comedic actress, playing the fiancée of the title character. According to the DVD commentary, Erin was intended to be neurotic and socially awkward, but the character was revised a week before the
pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...
was shot. After ''Titus'' was canceled, she took on the role of Kellie Newmark on ''
The Drew Carey Show ''The Drew Carey Show'' is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from September 13, 1995, to September 8, 2004. Set in Cleveland, Ohio, the series revolved around the retail office and home life of "everyman" Drew Carey, a fictionaliz ...
'', as a replacement for
Christa Miller Christa Miller-Lawrence (née Miller; born May 28, 1964) is an American actress known for her roles in television comedies. Her foremost roles include Kate O'Brien in the ABC sitcom ''The Drew Carey Show'', Jordan Sullivan in the NBC/ ABC com ...
. Watros played the role from 2002 to 2004. From 2005 to 2006, Watros was a cast member on the ABC series '' Lost'', playing
psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and explanation, interpretatio ...
Libby, a member of the "Tailies", a group of survivors of the plane crash who were in the tail section of the plane (and not seen during Season One). She was a romantic interest to Hurley and was very mysterious showing up in flashbacks. After her departure from ''Lost'' in 2006, Watros filmed a pilot for a show titled ''My Ex-Life'' for CBS. She was slated to play the ex-wife of a character played by Tom Cavanagh. However, the pilot was not chosen by CBS. Watros was also the lead in the 2007 CBS
television pilot A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie) in United Kingdom and United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television netwo ...
for ''The Rich Inner Life of Penelope Cloud'', a comedy about a former literary genius who, after an awakening, decides to pursue optimism instead of cynicism. In 2009, Watros filmed a pilot for '' Valley Girls'', a spin-off of
the CW The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...
series ''
Gossip Girl ''Gossip Girl'' is an American teen drama television series created and developed by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage and based on the series of novels of the same name by Cecily von Ziegesar. It follows a group of students on Manhattan's ...
'' set in the 1980s, in which she played CeCe Rhodes, the socialite ex-wife of Rick Rhodes, and mother of the series' protagonists. In a May 2009 episode of the USA series ''
In Plain Sight ''In Plain Sight'' is an American drama television series that premiered on the USA Network on June 1, 2008. The series revolves around Mary Shannon (Mary McCormack), a Deputy United States Marshal attached to the Albuquerque, New Mexico office ...
'', "A Stand-Up Triple", she guest starred as a mother of three children in the
witness protection program Witness protection is security provided to a threatened person providing testimonial evidence to the justice system, including defendants and other clients, before, during, and after trials, usually by police. While witnesses may only require p ...
. Beginning in April 2010, Watros joined the cast of the TV medical drama ''
House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...
'' for seven episodes as Samantha Carr, one of Dr. James Wilson's ex-wives. Watros appeared in the 2012
indie film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, in ...
, '' Electrick Children''. In May 2012, she guest-starred in episode 8.22 of ''
Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series focusing on the personal and professional lives of surgical internship (medicine), interns, residency (medicine), residents, and attending physician, attendings at the fictional ...
''. In June 2013, she guest-starred in episode 4.17 of ''
Warehouse 13 ''Warehouse 13'' is an American science fiction television series that originally ran from July 7, 2009, to May 19, 2014, on the Syfy network, and was executively produced by Jack Kenny and David Simkins for Universal Cable Productions. Des ...
''. She played Mary Matrix, coach of the FPS Varsity team in the online series ''
Video Game High School ''Video Game High School'' (often abbreviated ''VGHS'') is an American action comedy web series from RocketJump Studios. It was written by Matthew Arnold, Will Campos and Brian Firenzi and directed by Matthew Arnold, Brandon Laatsch, and Freddie ...
''. Her character first appears in season two of the series, which started July 2013. Watros starred as Avery Jenning's self-obsessed aunt in '' Dog with a Blog'' on December 6, 2013. In 2013, Watros joined the cast of the CBS soap opera ''
The Young and the Restless ''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in the fictional Genoa City (named after the real-life Genoa City, Wiscon ...
'', but left the show in early 2014; the character was recast. In July 2014, she joined the cast of the
MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
series '' Finding Carter''. In 2019, Watros joined the cast of ''
General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera created by Frank and Doris Hursley which has been broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC since April 1, 1963. Originally a half-hour seria ...
'' as Nina Reeves, taking over the role from actress Michelle Stafford, who departed the role to return to the CBS soap opera ''
The Young and the Restless ''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in the fictional Genoa City (named after the real-life Genoa City, Wiscon ...
''. Watros also made a guest appearance in the digital drama series ''Misguided'', playing a waitress named Anne, a nod to her role as Annie Dutton on ''Guiding Light''.


Personal life

Watros was married to Curtis Gilliland from 1996 to 2020. They have twin daughters, born in 2001. In 2005, Watros was arrested in Kailua for allegedly driving under the influence of an intoxicant. In 2008, Watros participated in a
USO The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...
tour to
Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
, visiting several bases, including COP Callahan in
Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...
's East Adamiyah area.


Filmography


Film


Television


Awards and nominations


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Watros, Cynthia 1968 births Living people 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Actresses from Michigan American musical theatre actresses American film actresses American television actresses American soap opera actresses Daytime Emmy Award winners Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series winners People from Lake Orion, Michigan Boston University College of Fine Arts alumni