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PROFILE

Tina Sloan

ON SOAP OPERA DIGEST AND WEEKLY ONLINE

SOAP STAR STATS

Tina Sloan (ex-Lillian, GL)

— GEORGE DE SOTA/JPI

Vital Statistics

Birthdate:: February 1
Hails From:: Bronxville, NY
Marital Status:: Sloan has been married to husband Steve McPherson since 1976.
Children:: Forbes-Reynolds "Renny" (b. 1980)

The 411

Tina Sloan was born and raised in Bronxville, NY, a posh New York City suburb. She's the daughter of a Harvard-educated lawyer and spent most of her childhood within the protective confines of her conservative upbringing. She graduated from Manhattanville College in 1965, married a budding playwright (who tragically died a few years later) and, much to her parents' surprise, decided to pursue acting at age 26 after being discovered by the Ford Modeling Agency. She attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London and later worked as a commercial actor. "I'd made so many commercials, they used to call and ask for a ‘Tina Sloan' type," she once noted.

Sloan's daytime career began when she landed the role of crazy Kate on SOMERSET in 1974. She met her second husband, businessman Steve McPherson (whose grandfather founded the National Park Service), at a dinner party in 1975 and they were engaged three months later. Sloan opted out of a role in the 1979 Hollywood hit Kramer vs. Kramer to remain on bed rest during her pregnancy. She gave birth to son Renny the following year at age 37.

In 1983, former GUIDING LIGHT Producer Gail Kobe tapped Sloan to play the soap's resident nurse and domestic-abuse survivor Lillian Raines without an audition, basing her decision on the actress's previous daytime performances. When Lillian was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1991, the storyline hit close to home — Sloan discovered a benign tumor six months later.

This year, Sloan celebrates 25 years on GL.

ET CETERA

Six Random Facts
— Sloan has run marathons in New York, Washington D.C., Los Angeles, Honolulu, London and Paris
— Hiked Mount Kilimanjaro in 1988
— Sloan admits she never cooks
— Grew up a few doors down from Joan Kennedy
— Lauren Bacall once filmed a Fortunoff ad in Sloan's ritzy Park Avenue home in N.Y.C.
— Sloan is terrified at the sight of blood and needles

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

Other Soap Roles
— ANOTHER WORLD (ex-Olivia, 1980-81)
— SEARCH FOR TOMORROW (ex-Patti, 1976-77)
— SOMERSET (ex-Kate, 1974-76)

Film Roles
— The Brave One (Saleswoman, 2007)
— Well Fed and Comfortable (Mrs. Barnes, 2006)
— People I know (Receptionist, 2002)
— Changing Lanes (Mrs. Delano, 2002)
— The Guru (Kitty, 2002)
— The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (Kensington Guest, 2001)
— Celebrity (Patient,1998)

TV Appearances
— WIDE WORLD MYSTERY (Donna, 1975)
— THIRD WATCH (Celeste Malcolm-Queeg, 2001)
— LAW&ORDER: SVU (Mrs. Hartnell, 2003)
— In the '70s. Sloan appeared in numerous commercials, including those for Head & Shoulders, Stove Top Stuffing, Windex, Endust and various beauty products.

MEMORABLE QUOTES

"Working with Peter [Simon, ex-Ed, GL] is the greatest thing that could happen to anybody on Earth." — Soap Opera Digest, 5/12/1992

"Women of my generation have a hard time saying, ‘I want.' I see young women now making their desires known, and I'm delighted." — Soap Opera Weekly, 3/10/1992

"There were times I cried going into my dressing room, putting on those clothes. I would come in and look great and by the time I was dressed as Lillian, I was depressed." — Weekly, 3/10/1992

"I had breakdowns, I went insane. It was terribly exciting though." — On her role as SOMERSET's Kate, Digest, 4/13/1983