Sydney Margaret Penny (born August 7, 1971) is an American actress. She is known for her portrayal of Julia Santos Keefer on the

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio drama ...

All My Children ''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 2013, via Hulu, Hulu Plus, and ...

'' and Samantha "Sam" Kelly on the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

soap opera ''

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 ...

''. She also starred in the 1998 WB television drama series ''

Hyperion Bay ''Hyperion Bay'' is an American drama television series that ran for one season on The WB from September 21, 1998 to March 8, 1999. The series was partially filmed in Humboldt County, California, in the cities of Trinidad, Eureka, and Ferndale. ...

''. As a teenager she appeared in the 1985

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western TV series '' Rawhide'', he rose to international fame with his role as the " Man with No Name" in Sergio Leone's "'' Do ...

film ''

Pale Rider ''Pale Rider'' is a 1985 American Western film produced and directed by Clint Eastwood, who also stars in the lead role. The title is a reference to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, as the pale horse's ghost rider (Eastwood) represents Deat ...

'', and at age 10, she played the young Meggie in the popular TV mini-series '' The Thorn Birds''.

Career

She was born in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

, and raised in

Chatsworth, California Chatsworth is a suburban neighborhood in the City of Los Angeles, California, in the San Fernando Valley. The area was home to Native Americans, some of whom left caves containing rock art. Chatsworth was explored and colonized by the Spanish b ...

, the daughter of former Western Swing bandleader and comedian

Hank Penny Herbert Clayton Penny (September 18, 1918 – April 17, 1992) was an American musician who played banjo mainly in the Western swing genre. He also worked as a comedian best known for his backwoods character "That Plain Ol' Country Boy" on TV wi ...

and his wife, Shari. An early acting appearance was on the

miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format ...

'' The Thorn Birds'' when she was only 11 years old as young Meggie. She also appeared as Dani in '' The New Gidget'' and as a

pigeon Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...

-obsessed youngster in an episode of the police series '' T. J. Hooker''. At the age of 13, Penny played Megan Wheeler in the

western ''

'', released on June 26, 1985. For this performance she was awarded a

Young Artist Award The Young Artist Award (originally known as the Youth in Film Award) is an accolade presented by the Young Artist Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1978 to honor excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young ...

at the

7th Youth in Film Awards The 7th Youth in Film Awards ceremony (now known as the Young Artist Awards), presented by the Youth in Film Association, honored outstanding youth performers under the age of 21 in the fields of film and television for the 1984-1985 season, and ...

in December 1985. She voiced Lucy Van Pelt in the television special ''

It's Magic, Charlie Brown ''It's Magic, Charlie Brown'' is the 21st prime-time animated television special based upon the comic strip ''Peanuts,'' by Charles M. Schulz. It originally aired on April 28, 1981. Plot Charlie Brown decides that Snoopy needs to educate himself ...

'' (1981). She has played the role of St. Bernadette in two French-language films, ''Bernadette'' and ''

La Passion de Bernadette LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on Figure 8 ( ...

''. She played the role of Julia Santos Keefer on the

'', from 1993 to 1996, with guest appearances in 1997 and 2002 and returned to the show in 2005. Penny left the show in May 2008 when Julia was killed off. Penny has also appeared on the serials '' Santa Barbara'' as

B.J. Walker '' Santa Barbara'' is an American television soap opera that aired on NBC from July 30, 1984, to January 15, 1993. The show initially revolved around the lives of four families; the wealthy Capwell family, rivals the Lockridge family, and the mo ...

during 1992–1993, '' Sunset Beach'' as Meg Cummings (filling in for

Susan Ward Susan Ward is an American actress and model. She made her film debut in the 1997 sequel, '' Poison Ivy: The New Seduction'', before appearing in films, including, '' The In Crowd'' (2000), ''Going Greek'' (2001), ''Shallow Hal'' (2001) and ''Wil ...

in 1999), ''

Beverly Hills, 90210 ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (often referred to by its short title, ''90210'') is an American teen drama television series created by Darren Star and produced by Aaron Spelling under his production company Spelling Television. The series ran for ...

'' and ''

'' as Jennifer. In August 2003, she was cast as

Samantha Kelly Samantha Kelly (born 1 August 1997) is a Northern Irish footballer who plays as a midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and ...

on ''

''. The character never caught on and Penny was bumped to recurring status in late 2004. She last appeared on April 26, 2005, and rejoined ''All My Children'' a few months later. She stayed with the show for an additional three years.

Filmography

Film

* ''

'' (1985) as Megan Wheeler * '' Hyper Sapien: People from Another Star'' (1986) as Robyn * ''Bernadette'' (1988,

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

) as

Bernadette Soubirous Bernadette Soubirous (; ; oc, Bernadeta Sobirós ; 7 January 184416 April 1879), also known as Saint Bernadette of Lourdes, was the firstborn daughter of a miller from Lourdes (''Lorda'' in Occitan), in the department of Hautes-Pyrénées in ...

* ''La Ciociara'' 1988, Cinema of Italy as Rosetta * ''

'' (1990,

) as Bernadette * ''In the Eye of the Snake'' (1990) as Malika * ''Enchanted'' (1998) as Natalie Ross * ''The Pawn'' (1998) as Megan * ''

Little Red Wagon ''Little Red Wagon'' is a 2012 docudrama directed by David Anspaugh and written by Patrick Sheane Duncan. The film stars Anna Gunn, Daveigh Chase, Frances O'Connor, and Chandler Canterbury. ''Little Red Wagon'' covers Zach Bonner's philanthropi ...

'' (2012) as Ashley Lagare * ''Ambush at Dark Canyon'' (2012) as Madeleine Donovan * ''The Perfect Summer'' (2013) as Alyssa * ''

Heart of the Country "Heart of the Country" is a song written by Paul and Linda McCartney from their album ''Ram'' released in 1971. Origins The song has simple acoustic tune with a heavy bass chorus, and an unusually mellow sound to the acoustic guitar that was ach ...

'' (2013) as Candace * '' Heritage Falls'' (2016) as Heather Fitzpatrick * ''Mountain Top'' (2017) as Judge Coberg

Television

* ''

'' (1981, TV Movie) as Lucy Van Pelt (voice) * '' Fame'' (1982, as guest star) as Susan Marshall * '' The Capture of Grizzly Adams'' (1982, TV Movie) as Peg Adams * '' The Thorn Birds'' (1983, TV Mini-Series) as Young Meggie Cleary * '' T. J. Hooker'' (1983) as Katie Coats * ''

Silver Spoons ''Silver Spoons'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC from September 25, 1982, to May 11, 1986, and in first-run syndication from September 27, 1986, to May 30, 1987. The series was produced by Embassy Television for the f ...

'' (1984) as Billie * ''The Fourth Wise Man'' (1985, TV Movie) as Shameir * ''News at Eleven'' (1985, TV Movie) as Melissa Kenley * ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, sup ...

'' (1986) as Mary Miletti (segment "Grace Note") * '' The New Gidget'' (1986–1987) as Dani * '' Child of Darkness, Child of Light'' (1991, TV Movie) as Margaret Gallagher * '' Santa Barbara'' (1992–1993) as

* ''

'' (1993–2008) as Julia Santos Keefer * ''Hearts Adrift'' (1996, TV Movie) as Maxine (Max) Deerfield * ''

'' (1998–1999, main role) as Jennifer Worth * '' Sunset Beach'' (1999, temporary recast) as Meg Cummings * ''

'' (2000) as Josie Oliver * '' Largo Winch'' (2001–2003) as Joy Arden * ''

'' (2003–2005) as

* '' Hidden Places'' (2006, TV Movie) as Eliza Monteclaire Wyatt * ''The Wish List'' (2010, TV Movie (Hallmark)) as Chloe * ''

Days of Our Lives ''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that streams on the streaming service Peacock. The soap, which aired on the American television net ...

'' (2011) as Dr. Liv Norman * ''

Drop Dead Diva ''Drop Dead Diva'' is an American legal comedy-drama/fantasy television series that aired on Lifetime from July 12, 2009, to June 22, 2014. The series was created by Josh Berman and produced by Sony Pictures Television. It stars Brooke Elliott ...

'' (2011; episode #3.6) as CEO * ''The Wife He Met Online'' (2012, TV Movie) as Georgia * ''

Pretty Little Liars ''Pretty Little Liars'' is an American mystery teen drama television series based on the novel series of the same name written by Sara Shepard. Developed by I. Marlene King, the series was broadcast on Freeform between June 8, 2010, and June ...

'' (2014–2015) as Leona Vanderwaal * ''Killer Crush'' (2015, TV Movie) as Gaby

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Penny, Sydney Living people 1971 births Actresses from Tennessee American child actresses American soap opera actresses American television actresses People from Chatsworth, Los Angeles People from Nashville, Tennessee 21st-century American women