Rebecca Budig (; born June 26, 1973) is an American

actress An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

and

television presenter A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces or hosts television show, television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. It is common for people ...

. Her career began in 1993, and in 1995, she was cast in the role of Michelle Bauer on the CBS

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 ...

''. In 1999, she was cast as Greenlee Smythe on the ABC soap opera ''

All My Children ''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 2 ...

''; she held the role off-and-on until the network series finale in 2011. In 2015, she was cast in the role of Hayden Barnes on ''

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 ...

''. In 2019, Budig was cast on ''

L.A.'s Finest ''L.A.'s Finest'' (also known colloquially as ''Bad Girls'') is an American action film, action crime fiction, crime Drama (film and television), drama television series created by Brandon Margolis and Brandon Sonnier; and produced by Sony Pictur ...

'', as Carlene Hart, a drug-trafficking soccer mom. In August 2024, Budig began playing the contract role of Dr. Taylor Hayes on the CBS soap ''

The Bold and the Beautiful ''The Bold and the Beautiful'' (often referred to as ''B&B'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. It premiered on March 23, 1987, as a sister show to the Bells' other soap opera ''Th ...

''.

Early life and career

Born in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

and raised in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky, Budig was the youngest of three siblings and five half-siblings, as each of her parents had children by a previous marriage. At approximately 9 years of age, she returned to Cincinnati to attend the

School for Creative and Performing Arts A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of ...

, which she did from grade 4 through 12, graduating in 1991.Spragins, Ellyn (2008).
If I'd Known Then: Women in Their 20s and 30s Write Letters to Their Younger Selves
'. Philadelphia, PA: Da Capo Press. p. 31. . Budig then attended the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

until, at her manager's suggestion, she dropped out during her sophomore year and headed west, so as not to miss out on that pilot season's auditions. Budig's first acting job was in

Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of lead vocalist Steven Tyler, bassist Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton, drummer Joey Kramer, and guitarists Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry and B ...

's music video " Livin' on the Edge". She later had a cameo role as a teenage girl saved by Chris O'Donnell's character

Dick Grayson Richard John "Dick" Grayson is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with Batman, Teen Titans and Justice League. Created by writer Bill Finger and artist Bob Kane, he first appeared in ' ...

in '' Batman Forever.'' In 1995, Budig was about to audition for the role of Kelsey Jefferson on ''

'' when she received an offer from ''

'', where she began her three-year stint as Michelle Bauer from (1995 to 1998). Budig played the role of Patty in ''Captain Nuke and the Bomber Boys'' in 1995. She then portrayed Babsy in the 1996 film ''God's Lonely Man'', followed by ''James Dean: A Race with Destiny'' where she played actress

Natalie Wood Natalie Wood (née Zacharenko; July 20, 1938 – November 29, 1981) was an American actress. She began acting at age four and co-starred at age eight in ''Miracle on 34th Street'' (1947). As a teenager, she was nominated for an Academy Award f ...

and ''Bonehead Detectives in the Paleo World'' where she played Allie. Both films were released in 1997. Budig's most famous role has been that of the spoiled, rich girl-turned-makeup company executive Greenlee Smythe on ''All My Children''—a role which she originated on August 11, 1999. Greenlee was supposed to be a

recurring role Recurring means occurring repeatedly and can refer to several different things: Mathematics and finance *Recurring expense, an ongoing (continual) expenditure *Repeating decimal, or recurring decimal, a real number in the decimal numeral syste ...

, but executives enjoyed Budig and offered her a three-year contract. While on ''All My Children'', Budig garnered accolades from fans and press for her performance on the soap opera, as well as her character's

pairing In mathematics, a pairing is an ''R''- bilinear map from the Cartesian product of two ''R''- modules, where the underlying ring ''R'' is commutative. Definition Let ''R'' be a commutative ring with unit, and let ''M'', ''N'' and ''L'' be '' ...

with Josh Duhamel's

Leo du Pres Leonardo "Leo" du Pres is a fictional character from the American ABC Daytime soap opera ''All My Children''. The role was portrayed by actor Josh Duhamel from November 22, 1999, to the character's death onscreen on October 17, 2002. Duhamel rep ...

. She was nominated for a

Daytime Emmy Award The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NA ...

for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2001 and again in 2003. Her onscreen pairing with Duhamel earned them a Daytime Emmy Award nomination as well, for America's Favorite Couple in 2002. She was often called "Little Budig" by Duhamel, who had given her the nickname. In 2003, Budig won a Soap Opera Digest Award for Outstanding Younger Lead Actress. In November 2005, Budig left the show to relocate to California. Other notable roles include co-hosting ''The Sports Illustrated for Kids Show''. Budig worked for the World Wrestling Federation as an interviewer for a short time on '' Sunday Night HEAT'' in 2000. She has made appearances on '' Out of Practice'', as well as on '' Hope & Faith''. She did a movie called ''The Perfect Child'' (2007) featured on Lifetime with the leading role as Sarah Daniels. In addition, Budig has been seen on ''CSI'' playing a role as a murdered lap dancer (Season 8, Episodes 9 & 10). It was announced in late 2007 that Budig would be returning to ''All My Children'' as Greenlee Smythe, the role she originated. She had been replaced by another actress Sabine Singh earlier that year. She returned to the show in January 2008. However, she signed a limited contract with the show. Later, while rumors circulated of Budig's departure, she confirmed in October 2008 that she would be leaving the series again in February 2009. Budig cited the reason for her departure as wanting to return to the West Coast to be with her husband. Budig returned to 'All My Children in late December 2009 (when the show relocated production to Los Angeles), and remained with the series until its series finale in September 2011. In 2010, Budig won the first and only season of the ABC show '' Skating with the Stars''. The show paired celebrities with professional ice skaters, who competed each week. Since September 2013, she began co-hosting the syndicated lifestyle television show '' Better'', alongside

JD Roberto John David "JD" Roberto (born October 23, 1969) is an American television personality, writer, host, and producer. Biography Born in White Plains, New York, Roberto went to the Tisch School of the Arts, NYU's Tisch School of the Arts where he gr ...

. In 2012, she appeared with Janeane Garofalo in the comedic movie '' Bad Parents''. In February 2015, it was announced that Budig had been cast on ''

'' in an unknown "killer" role. She debuted the role of Hayden Barnes on March 20, 2015. On June 27, 2017, it was announced that Budig had been let go from ''General Hospital'', with her dismissal cited as a "storyline necessity". On May 9, 2019, it was announced that she would reprise the role of Hayden Barnes on ''

''. On June 27, 2019, it was announced that Budig would return in July; returning during the final moments of the July 8, 2019, episode. However, on November 20, 2019, Budig's exit was confirmed once more; she made her last appearance on November 27, 2019. On August 6, 2024, Budig began airing on her fourth soap opera, ''

'', stepping into the long-running role of Taylor Hayes.

Personal life

Budig is the youngest of eight children. She has five sisters and two brothers. In 2000, Budig married Dr. Daniel Geller; the marriage only lasted several months. She met former '' Bachelor'' star Bob Guiney while hosting ''The Bachelor'' repeat shows on

ABC Family American cable television, cable and satellite television network Freeform (TV channel), Freeform was originally launched as the CBN Satellite Service on April 29, 1977, and has gone through four different owners and six different name changes dur ...

. The two were married on July 3, 2004. On January 13, 2010, ''People Magazine'' reported that Budig and Guiney had decided to split, with Budig filing for divorce in April 2010. Budig became engaged to television marketing executive Michael Benson on Christmas Day in 2010. The pair married in 2012. On May 1, 2014, Budig announced that she was five months pregnant with the couple's first baby. On September 8, 2014, Budig gave birth to a daughter.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
Rebecca Budig Talks About Daytime ReturnSoap Opera Central profile of Rebecca Budig
{{DEFAULTSORT:Budig, Rebecca Jo 1976 births Actresses from Kentucky American film actresses American soap opera actresses American television actresses Living people Miami University alumni Participants in American reality television series People from Kenton County, Kentucky Female professional wrestling announcers Reality show winners 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Actresses from Cincinnati