Laura Alice Wright (née Sisk; born September 11, 1970) is an American actress. She is best known for playing the roles of Allison "Ally" Rescott on '' Loving'' (1991 to 1995) and '' The City'' (1995 to 1997),

Cassie Layne Winslow Cassie Layne Winslow is a fictional character from ''Guiding Light'', an American soap opera on the CBS network. She was first portrayed by Laura Wright for an eight-year period, followed by Nicole Forester until the character's departure in 20 ...

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 ...

'' (1997 to 2005) and

Carly Corinthos Carly Corinthos (also Spencer) is a fictional character from ''General Hospital'', a soap opera on the ABC network, portrayed by Laura Wright from 2005. A collaborative effort between the writers, Carly – originally played by Sarah Joy Brown ...

(Spencer) 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 ...

'' (2005 to present). She won a

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 ''General Hospital'' in 2011. She has since received six more nominations in the same category.

Early life

Wright was born Laura Alice Sisk in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

and raised in

Clinton, Maryland Clinton is an unincorporated census-designated place (CDP) in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. Clinton was formerly known as Surrattsville until after the time of the Civil War, and Robeystown from 1865 to 1878. The population o ...

. She appeared in several high school plays such as ''

Gypsy {{Infobox ethnic group , group = Romani people , image = , image_caption = , flag = Roma flag.svg , flag_caption = Romani flag created in 1933 and accepted at the 1971 World Romani Congress , po ...

'', ''

Our Town ''Our Town'' is a three-act play written by American playwright Thornton Wilder in 1938. Described by Edward Albee as "the greatest American play ever written", it presents the fictional American town of Grover's Corners between 1901 and 1913 ...

'', and '' You Can't Take It with You''. She also directed a school production of ''Father Says No''. She appeared in a few local commercials and numerous fashion shows. After high school, Wright attended one semester of college before leaving and taking a full time job at a gas station owned by her father in Clinton.

Career

While working at her father's gas station, Wright took an acting class. The teacher submitted a videotape of her students to the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

soap opera ''Loving''. Wright almost missed the taping because she overslept that day. The show responded, and Wright (then using her maiden name of Sisk), flew to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

for a screen test. She was cast as Allison "Ally" Rescott, playing the role from 1991 until the show's cancellation in 1995. She then played the same role on '' The City'', a spin off of ''Loving'', from 1995 to 1997. After the cancellation of ''The City'', Wright joined the cast of 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 ''

'' as

in August 1997. She won a

Soap Opera Digest Award ''The Soap Opera Digest Awards'', originally known as ''The Soapy Awards'' when introduced in 1977, was an awards show held by the daytime television magazine ''Soap Opera Digest''. History 1977–1983 The Soapy Awards were an award presented ...

for Favorite New Character for her role on ''Guiding Light'' in 1998. Wright decided to leave the show when her contract expired in October 2005. She said her exit wasn't related to budget cuts or backstage drama, she simply wanted to try other opportunities. Her final airdate was November 3, 2005. The role was recast. On September 12, 2005, it was announced that Wright would begin playing

on the ABC soap opera ''

''. She was the fourth actress to play the role, succeeding Jennifer Bransford.

ABC Daytime ABC Daytime (sometimes shortened to ABC-D or ABCD) is a division responsible for the daytime television programming block on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC Network and syndicated programming. The block has historically encompassed soap o ...

executive

Brian Frons Brian Scott Frons (born June 15, 1956) is an American television executive and the former president of ABC Daytime. He is an adjunct professor at the UCLA Anderson School of Management and founder of Frons Consulting LLC. Education Frons earned a ...

said in a statement, "Carly is a complex character, and we are excited to bring Laura's talent, beauty and intelligence to this role." Wright's first airdate was November 4, 2005, the day after her final episode of ''Guiding Light'' aired. In 2011, after 20 years on daytime soap operas, Wright received her first

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 ...

nomination. She was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress for her role on ''General Hospital'' and won the award. Wright was nominated again in the same category in 2012. She also received nominations in 2015, 2017 to 2019, and 2022. In 2013, Wright guest starred on an episode of the

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Y ...

series '' Hit the Floor''. In 2015, she made a cameo appearance in the film ''

Joy Joy is the state of being that allows one to experience feelings of intense, long-lasting happiness and contentment of life. It is closely related to, and often evoked by, well-being, success, or good fortune. Happiness, pleasure, and gratitu ...

'', alongside ''General Hospital'' co-stars

Maurice Benard Maurice Benard (born March 1, 1963) is an American actor. He played Nico Kelly in the ABC daytime soap opera ''All My Children'' from 1987 to 1990 and in 1991 portrayed Desi Arnaz in the biographical television film '' Lucy & Desi: Before the La ...

and

Donna Mills Donna Mills (born Donna Jean Miller; December 11, 1940) is an American actress. She began her television career in 1966 with a recurring role on ''The Secret Storm'', and in the same year appeared on Broadway in Woody Allen's comedy '' Don't ...

. She starred as Dr. Lori Hanson in the Lifetime film ''Deadly Patient'' (also titled ''Stalked by My Patient'') in 2018.

Personal life

Wright announced her engagement to architect John Wright in August 1995. They had dated on and off throughout high school and college before reuniting a few years later. John proposed to her in the back of a New York

taxi A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a Driving, driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of thei ...

at 10 o'clock at night. The wedding was originally scheduled for June 1, 1996. They were married on October 7, 1995. They have a daughter, who was born in 1998, and a son, who was born in 2000. In April 2016, Wright announced that she and John had decided to end their marriage. Wright has been in a relationship with her ''General Hospital'' co-star

Wes Ramsey Wes Ramsey (born October 6, 1977) is an American actor. He is known for his performance in the romantic drama film '' Latter Days'', and for playing Sam Spencer on the CBS daytime soap opera ''Guiding Light'' and for his recurring role as Wya ...

since 2017. They first met several years earlier, when they worked together on ''

''.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* *
Laura Wright Talks 2010 Soap Cruise
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Laura Actresses from Maryland American film actresses American soap opera actresses American television actresses Living people People from Clinton, Maryland Daytime Emmy Award winners Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series winners 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses 1970 births