Sure, Zimmer has regrets about what it has taken to become a daytime dame, but as the song goes, they're practically too few to mention. "Early on, I might not have stayed so long at the fair," she muses. "Before I had children, I got what we refer to as the golden handcuffs. They were clipped on me early [in my soap career]. A.C. and I were doing a lot of traveling, and it was a great, consistent job. But I think I would have done what Jordi [Vilasuso, ex-Tony] is doing: Reaped all the benefits of a three-year contract and then left. That may be the only thing that I would have done differently, to try to do the L.A. scene a little earlier than 35 years old. I was about 15 years too late."

Zimmer's candid outlook played a role in why she decided to re-sign with the show in the summer of 2003: "I'm really overweight right now and I don't think I could get any other work at the present time," she confesses, erupting into laughter. "That and the fact that I'm at such peace with what I am doing with my life and my career. My family is healthy and happy. I feel really, really good with GUIDING LIGHT. I am sure I will go through times when I am cursing the fact that I signed again, [but] I don't see myself having the time yet to do what I ultimately want to do, which is theater." She wants time for other things, too, which may seem like no big deal, considering her position with the show — surely, they must give her whatever she wants, you might assume — but until recently, Zimmer, the actress, wasn't even sure how to ask for it. It turns out that Zimmer, the Star, didn't really have to. "My contract came up for renegotiations right as Rachel was finishing her term abroad in Australia, so we all wanted to go," the actress explains. "I thought, 'The only way we can go is if I don't re-sign [laughs].' Then, I thought, 'No, wait, let's think about this. I just won't re-sign until I have this extended vacation.' And it turned out to be so easy to get the three weeks; we just didn't do anything with the contract until that three weeks was over. And I thought, 'Damn, I should have gone for six [laughs].' That would have been really great with six. Then, we could have done New Zealand."

Perhaps therein lies the current balancing act for Zimmer. She doesn't want time off just to stick it to the-powers-that-be, but, well, hasn't she earned it? "That's been a new revelation for me, too, that I don't have to give, give, give all the time anymore. I'm at the point where I can take a little, too — and I'm taking."

Once Upon A Time In Oklahoma
"My first day as Reva, I was in a towel, being massaged, eating fresh crab and drinking Reva's own brand of champagne. It was a great day and Chris Bernau [ex-Alan] was fabulous," recalls Zimmer about when it all started at GL: November 28, 1983. "I just remember feeling very comfortable there, but I was also gun-shy because I had signed a three-year contract on ONE LIFE TO LIVE, and I was fired after six months. I knew Reva was a great character, but she was also the kind of character that could have been written into a corner the same way [Echo] was. So, I really didn't want to get too comfortable because jobs end. Well, 20 years later...."

This article originally ran in the Novemeber 11th, 2003 issue of Soap Opera Digest.