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PROFILE

Melissa Claire Egan

ON SOAP OPERA DIGEST AND WEEKLY ONLINE

SOAP STAR STATS

Melissa Claire Egan (Annie, AMC)

— ABC

Vital Statistics

Birthdate:: September 28
Birthplace:: Bedford, N.Y.
Star Sign:: Libra
Years On Show:: 2006-present
Marital Status:: Single
Awards:: Nominated for a Soap Opera Digest award (2007)

THE 411

Melissa Claire Egan grew up in Westchester County, N.Y., with her mother, father and two brothers. She began auditioning for small roles and commercials at a young age, but had no dreams of being a child star. Her dream was to enjoy being a kid. Being normal was difficult for the blooming star, however, who spent time acting in school plays, singing, dancing, booking national television commercials and modeling. (She was on the cover of the teen board game Girl Talk.) She made her her soap opera debut at the tender age of 13, playing an extra on ALL MY CHILDREN in scenes airing in 1994.

Egan attended The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and graduated with a B.A. in Dramatic Arts. She then moved to Hollywood and scored gigs on DAWSON’S CREEK and ONE TREE HILL. Twelve years after her television debut, she landed a spot with the AMC cast and Pine Valley welcomed her back as Annie McDermott, single mother of Emma (Lucy Merriam) and budding love interest of Ryan (Cameron Mathison).

Getting the role was not simple. Egan had previously auditioned for THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS’ Colleen and AS THE WORLD TURNS’ Lucy with no luck. But Egan had always been a fan of AMC, so that worked in her favor on her third daytime attempt.

Since Annie began airing in July of 2006 Egan has enjoyed making friends with other cast members, especially Mathison. In her spare time she enjoys singing karaoke and dragging Mathison along with her to watch THE VIEW. In the future she hopes to work with the great Susan Lucci (Erica, AMC), which she says would be "a dream."

ET CETERA

Five Random Facts
—Starred in a 2006 Super Bowl commercial for Taco Bell.
—Favorite song is "Let's Go Crazy" by Prince.
—Is a self-proclaimed potty mouth.
—Pizza is her comfort food.
—GREY’S ANATOMY, 24, SEX AND THE CITY and 30 ROCK are on her TiVo list.

OTHER ROLES

TV Roles
ONE TREE HILL (Lori, 2003)
DAWSON'S CREEK (Llyse Todd 2001-’03)
Film Roles
Wrestling (Ali Court, 2005)
My Father's Will (Laura, 2008)
Theater Roles
Marvin's Room
How I Learned to Drive
The Birthday Party
Pippin

SHE SAID WHAT?

"Not only did I watch it as a kid, but I always watched it in L.A. while I was getting ready for auditions. I'd be blow-drying my hair and watching Kendall and Babe, you know? And now, they're my co-stars!"— On being an AMC fan, Soap Opera Weekly, 3/6/07

"I have no discipline in what I eat, but the two days before the love scene, I worked out, like, twice a day and watched what I ate. Once I got on set, though, I felt very comfortable. It was very liberating. When I went to rehearsal, the director said, 'For now, you can keep your clothes on.' I said, 'No, I think I'm just gonna do it.' "— On her first on-screen love scene with Mathison, www.soapoperaweekly.com

"[Her first red carpet event] was going to see Jacob (Young, JR) in Beauty and the Beast. I got there and was kind of hiding out. Then [AMC's publicist] pushed me out there and people were going, "Melissa! Melissa!' I'd lived in L.A. for a long time so I'd seen it happen to other people, but it was so funny and surreal that it was me."— Weekly, 7/3/07

YOU SHOULD HEAR WHAT PEOPLE SAY ABOUT YOU!

"I'm absolutely crazy about Melissa. She's a great mix between the fun silliness of Esta (TerBlanche, ex-Gillian) and the passion and connection of Rebecca (Budig, ex-Greenlee).”— Mathison, Soap Opera Digest, 7/3/07

"The more I'm around Melissa, the less I feel she looks like Rebecca. I didn't want her to feel like some kind of Greenlee replacement. But I did tell her, 'Hey, if you're going to look like someone, that's not a bad person to look like."— Alicia Minshew (Kendall, AMC), Weekly, 12/19/06