Heather Marie Tom (born November 4, 1975) is an American actress and television director. She is best known for her acting work on various

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

s. Her best known roles are

Victoria Newman Victoria Newman is a fictional character from ''The Young and the Restless'', an American soap opera on the CBS network. Created by William J. Bell, she is currently portrayed by Amelia Heinle. Victoria was born onscreen in 1982 and was portra ...

on ''

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 fictional Genoa City (not the real-life similarly-named Genoa City, ...

,''

Kelly Cramer Kelly Cramer is a fictional character on the long-running ABC soap opera ''One Life to Live''. The role was originated by actress Gina Tognoni, who debuted on February 17, 1995, and played the character in her last appearance on August 24, 2011. ...

on '' One Life to Live'' and '' All My Children'', and since 2007,

Katie Logan Katie Logan is a fictional character from ''The Bold and the Beautiful'', an American soap opera on the CBS network. Portrayed by Nancy Sloan for much of her duration on the series, she is currently portrayed by Daytime Emmy Award winning actres ...

on ''

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 ''The Yo ...

''. On ''The Bold and the Beautiful'', she has earned a record-tying six

Daytime Emmy Awards 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 (N ...

, the most for a soap actress.

Early years

Tom was the first of three children born to Marie and Charles Tom, who are divorced. Her two younger siblings are twins

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

and

Nicholle Tom Nicholle Marie Tom is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Ryce Newton in ''Beethoven'' (1992), '' Beethoven's 2nd'' (1993), ''Beethoven'' (1994–1995), and as Maggie Sheffield on '' The Nanny''. She is also known for voicing ...

, who are also actors. David played Billy Abbott on ''

'' and also co-starred with her on '' One Life to Live'' as her brother,

Paul Cramer Paul Cramer is a fictional character from the ABC daytime soap opera '' One Life to Live''. Paul was originated on October 3, 2003, by Brock Cuchna, who played the role until March 10, 2004. The character was then recast with David Tom on March ...

, while Nicholle played Maggie Sheffield on ''

The Nanny ''The Nanny'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS from November 3, 1993, to June 23, 1999, starring Fran Drescher as Fran Fine, a Jewish fashionista from Flushing, Queens, New York, who becomes the nanny of three ch ...

,'' starring

Fran Drescher Francine Joy Drescher (born September 30, 1957) is an American actress, comedian, writer, activist, and trade union leader. She is known for her role as Fran Fine in the television sitcom '' The Nanny'' (1993–1999), which she created and prod ...

. In 2000, Tom and David became the first brother and sister nominated for

in the same year.

Career

As a jump start to her career, Tom guest starred on an episode of '' Who's the Boss?'' in 1989. In that same year, she guest starred in an episode of Kids Incorporated. She then became well known in the realm of soap operas for her role as

on ''

.'' Debuting in December 1990, Tom won two Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series in 1993 and 1999, along with nominations in 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998 and 2000. Tom departed from the role of Victoria on December 17, 2003, citing creative differences. Prior to her departure, she began portraying

on ABC's '' One Life to Live,'' also making brief appearances on '' All My Children'' until she departed in 2006. Since 2007, Tom has become widely recognized for her role as

on ''

''; she earned nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2007 and 2008, with a win in 2011, followed by her first Lead Actress nominations and wins in 2012, 2013 and 2020. Tom has also guest starred on ''

Monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

'',

The Mentalist ''The Mentalist'' is an American drama television series that ran from September 23, 2008, until February 18, 2015, broadcasting 151 episodes over seven seasons, on CBS. Created by Bruno Heller, who was also its executive producer, the show f ...

and ''

Ugly Betty ''Ugly Betty'' is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Silvio Horta, which was originally broadcast on ABC. It premiered on September 28, 2006, and ended on April 14, 2010. The series is based on Fernando Gaitán's Colombi ...

'' and has also worked extensively in theater, both in New York and on the West Coast.

Personal life

In August 2011, Tom announced her engagement to her partner of 15 years, James Achor. On September 17, 2011, they were married. On October 28, 2012, Tom gave birth to her son, Zane Alexander. Zane has appeared occasionally since 2013 on ''

'', as Tom's on-screen son, Will Spencer. Heather Tom and James Achor run a design business, Tight Rope Designs; they have redecorated several homes in the

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

area. Their work has also been featured in

InStyle ''InStyle'' was an American monthly women's fashion magazine founded in 1994. It was published in the United States by Dotdash Meredith. In February 2022, it was announced that InStyle would cease print publications and move to a digital-only f ...

and

Elle Decor ''Elle'' (stylized ''ELLE'') is a worldwide women's magazine of French origin that offers a mix of fashion and beauty content, together with culture, society and lifestyle. The title means "she" or "her" in French. ''Elle'' is considered the wo ...

magazines. In the summer of 2013, Heather starred in her own reality TV miniseries for HGTV called "Renovation Unscripted". In September 2016, Tom finished first in the celebrity female division of the 30th Annual Nautica Malibu Triathlon with a time of 2:05:23.63, helping to raise more than $1,226,000 for the

Children's Hospital Los Angeles Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) is a nationally ranked, freestanding acute care children's hospital in the East Hollywood district of Los Angeles, on Sunset Boulevard at the corner of Vermont Avenue. The hospital has been academically affi ...

Pediatric Cancer Research Program.

Filmography

Film

Television

Directorial work

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Heather Tom
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tom, Heather 1975 births Living people Actresses from Illinois American child actresses American film actresses American soap opera actresses American television actresses American television directors 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses People from Hinsdale, Illinois Daytime Emmy Award winners Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series winners Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series winners Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series winners American women television directors