Starr Manning

Infobox soap character
name = Starr Manning
series = One Life to Live
color = #99BADD
portrayer = Ariella and Natalie Jamnik (1996-1998)
Meghan Rayder (1998)
Kristen Alderson (1998-present)
first = January 1996
last =
cause =
creator =



caption1 = Kristen Alderson as Starr Manning in the "One Life to Live" opening sequence


caption2 =


caption3 =
nickname =
alias =
gender = Female
born = birth date and age|1992|01|5 Though the character of Starr was born onscreen in the January 8 1996 episode, she was subsequently aged four years by the casting of six-year-old Kristen Alderson (born in 1991) in 1998. This was confirmed in the 17 January 2008 episode, in which Blair realizes that she and Todd have forgotten that it is Starr's 16th birthday.] [http://abc.go.com/daytime/onelifetolive/episodes/2008/20080117.html "One Life to Live" recaps (1/17/08) - ABC.com] ]
death =
age =
occupation = Llanview High School student
title =
residence = "La Boulaie"
parents = Todd Manning
(father)
Blair Cramer
(mother)
siblings = Brendan Thornhart
(maternal half-brother, deceased)
Jack Manning
(brother)
Samuel "Sam" Manning
(paternal half-brother)
spouse =
romances = Travis O'Connell
Cole Thornhart (2006-2008)
children = Unnamed child
(sex unknown, with Cole; currently expecting)
grandparents = Victor Lord (deceased)
Irene Manning Clayton (deceased)
Addie Cramer
aunts/uncles = Tina Lord Roberts
Victoria Lord
Tony Lord (deceased)
Meredith Lord Wolek (deceased)
Dorian Cramer Lord
Melinda Cramer
Betsy Cramer (great-great, deceased)
cousins = C.J. Roberts
Sarah Roberts
Megan Gordon (deceased)
Kevin Buchanan
Joey Buchanan
Jessica Buchanan
Natalie Buchanan
Brian Kendall (deceased)
Daniel Wolek
relatives =

Starr Irene Manning is a fictional character on the ABC soap opera "One Life to Live". Kristen Alderson is best known in the role, a part she began playing at age six in March 1998. In 2001 Alderson was put on contract, making her the youngest performer on daytime television with a contract role. Alderson is one of the few actors in daytime to play a character continously from childhood. Only Kimberly McCullough's Robin Scorpio and Christie Clark's Carrie Brady has achieved this feat also.

The oldest of two children to parents Todd Manning and Blair Cramer Manning, Starr is known for her mischievous behavior, exacerbated by her parents' volatile relationship. Still as strong-willed as ever, Starr has nonetheless settled down as she goes through her teen years.

Notably, Starr and her younger brother Jack are the only two characters who are biologically related to both of "OLTL"'s longtime rivals, Victoria Lord Davidson (her paternal aunt) and Dorian Cramer Lord (her maternal great-aunt).

Starr is also known with her long-term relationship with Cole Thornhart, the son of the woman her father raped, and the man her mother had a stillborn child with. Her bestfriends are Langston Wilde, and Matthew Buchanan (played by Kristen's real life brother, Eddie Alderson.

Character history

Starr has suffered through her father Todd's many mistakes, especially his rape of Marty Saybrooke many years ago. After Todd's supposed death at the hands of Mitch Laurence, Starr was not willing to accept Walker Laurence as the new man in her mother Blair's life. However, Walker shared a secret with Starr: He was really Todd (after extensive plastic surgery). Elated that her father had returned and would be with her mother, Starr kept her father's secret. When the truth came out Blair was furious with Todd and wanted nothing to do with him. After a heated night of passion, Blair accused Todd of rape. Starr found herself in the middle of her parents' battle, but ultimately blamed her mother. Starr was devastated when Todd was found guilty and sent to prison for rape. Starr took matters into her own hands by enlisting Matthew Rappaport's help in arranging her father's escape. They stopped the van that was transporting Todd to prison, but in the process Matthew was kidnapped by Troy MacIver. Starr felt terrible, and was relieved when Matthew was returned safely. For several days Starr also stopped eating to protest her father's situation. With the help of her aunt Viki Lord Davidson, Starr realized she was behaving in a dangerous manner, and agreed to start eating again.

Following all this, Blair was diagnosed with a rare brain tumor. It turned out the tumor caused memory lapses and caused her to misinterpret situations. Blair realized Todd had not raped her, and dropped all charges against him. Starr was ecstatic to have her father back, but soon realized her parents would never reunite. Depressed, Starr met a young man named Travis on the Internet, and lied to him about her age. She planned a mother/daughter trip to New York City so that she could meet Travis in person so they could run away together. The first meeting with Travis did not go as planned, and he was angry that she lied about her age. Travis contacted Starr again, and asked for a second meeting. It turned out he had also lied about his age, and still wanted to run away with Starr. She agreed to meet him and together they ran away. Blair was frantic when she realized Starr was missing, and asked for Todd's help. While walking through Central Park, Starr and Travis were chased by cops. Although Starr got away, Travis was apprehended. Starr came across a young man named Laser, who kidnapped Starr, and contacted Todd and Blair for ransom money. He told them to meet him back in Llanview where they would make a trade: $1 million and Starr would go home. Travis followed Todd and Blair to Llanview and was determined to help them get Starr back. The exchange for Starr went awry, and Todd and Blair were unable to get her back. Laser then contacted Blair, and told her to meet them back in New York. He sent her on a wild goose chase, and when the time came to get Starr back, Laser took Blair hostage. Luckily Todd had followed Blair out to New York, and after a suspenseful showdown, was able to rescue both Starr and Blair. The kidnapping brought Blair and Todd closer together, and they eventually decided to reconcile. Later, Travis came to Llanview for summer camp, and Starr spent the entire summer with him. Despite growing feelings between them, the relationship ended when Travis had to return to New York at the end of the summer.

Starr distracted herself by helping with her parents' wedding. Starr was devastated when her father disappeared right before the wedding, leaving only a note that claimed he couldn't go through with the nuptials. Starr comforted her mother, but was convinced that there was more to her father's disappearance. Starr was right: Todd was actually kidnapped and held captive in an isolated cabin by an obsessed stalker, Margaret Cochran. Blair caught on to Margaret's role in Todd's disappearance, and set out to find Todd. However, Blair soon went missing, and Starr eagerly awaited the return of both parents. Starr was ecstatic when Todd returned to Llanview, but her happiness was short lived when she received the news that her mother was killed by Margaret. Starr was crushed, but Todd was certain Blair had survived. Starr helped her father get to the truth of Blair's whereabouts by confronting Asa Buchanan. It turned out that Asa had hidden Blair in an insane asylum, and Todd was able to bring her home safe and sound. Starr was reunited with both parents, but was wary that Margaret could return at any moment.

Margaret did return and tried to kill Starr. Starr escaped, but noticed that Margaret was pregnant. Todd confessed that it was his child---Margaret had raped him while she held him hostage---but begged Starr to keep the truth from Blair out of fear that Blair would be unable to accept the truth. Starr agreed. Some time later, Margaret and her unborn child were murdered and Todd was accused of the crime. Starr refused to believe her father was guilty. However, Todd was convicted and sentenced to death. Todd was executed just before it was found that Margaret was not really dead. Although Todd had been given a lethal injection, the doctors were able to revive him.

tarr & Cole

Starr met Cole Thornhart, a classmate, at a high school party and became friends with him right away when he stuck up for her when mean girl, Britney Jennings teased her. Starr and Cole remained friends and, when the Halloween dance came around, Starr asked Cole to be her date. Cole had already accepted a date with Britney but turned her down to go with Starr. Both had a wonderful time at the dance, even though Britney arranged for a video that mocked Starr by portraying all her family's problems. Cole stuck up for Starr and the two shared a kiss after the dance. Starr and Cole kept getting closer, but things started to go wrong at a party one night. Cole had been taking steroids because of peer pressure from his football buddies. At the party Cole got in a fight with another football player. Then, when Starr and Cole were alone together kissing, Cole got very angry when Starr asked him to slow down. In order to cause further trouble, Britney called the police on Cole and pretended to be Starr. At the police station, it was discovered that Cole's mom was none other than Marty Saybrooke, the victim of a rape by Todd Manning, which occurred when the two were in college. Also Blair had a stillborn son with Cole's father Patrick Thornhart. So Starr and Cole technically share a half-brother, the deceased Brendan Thornhart. Because of these things, Cole and Starr's parents attempted to keep them away from each other. After trying to stay away from each other for some time, Cole and Starr were finally reunited on prom night. Now, after some convincing, Cole and Starr finally have their mother's permission to date. When Starr's father went missing, Starr wasn't aware of the fact that Cole knew about her father's whereabouts and kept quiet in order to keep the secret of his mother killing Spencer Truman. Eventually, Starr forgave Cole when she viewed what he had gone through from his perspective. Starr's great-aunt Dorian hired Rex Balsom to find the parent's of Langston Wilde, Starr's best friend. Dorian, Starr, Blair, and others were shocked to learn that Langston's parents died in a car accident a year 1/2 earlier.

Pregnancy

Todd decided to move his family to Hawaii, in fear of their safety. Starr and Cole wanted to spend one last night together before the big move. So they went to Langston's old house, where they slept together for the first time. Todd walked in on them and nearly beat Cole to death. Todd decided to forbid Starr to see Cole or get anywhere near him, even though she assured him that he walked in before anything happened. Todd took Starr out of school and decided that she should be home schooled to prevent her from seeing Cole. Langston walked in on Starr while she was holding a pregnancy test. Todd eventually decided to trust Starr and put her back in school, as long as she agreed not to talk to Cole. Starr found out that she is pregnant and does not want to tell Cole. She is thinking about having an abortion so that her father will never find out about the pregnancy.

Starr and Langston snuck Starr out of the house so that Starr could take a bus to Atlantic City to get an abortion.Cole got wind that Starr had gone to Atlantic City, and was given the address where Starr had gone by Langston, unknowing that he was heading to an abortion clinic. Cole comes in at the last minute, figures out what is going on, and demands to see Starr. The nurses threaten to call police, but Starr comes out of the room in a hospital gown and the couple embrace. They return to Llanview without Starr having had the abortion. Cole sends Starr a letter stating that he wants her to have their baby. Cole hatched a plan where he and Starr would run away to Virginia Beach (location shots were actually filmed in Seaside Heights, New Jersey). Starr had been forced to endure a Manning family poker night with her parents and younger brothers while she was planning to run away. Before she leaves the room she tells her father Todd she loves him and hugs mother Blair tightly. Langston shows up and gives Starr a fake ID that Cole had procured for her (The name on Starr's IDs is Mindy Venta, while Cole's is Dan O'Connor. Both are names of two young real-world "One Life To Live" staffers) and a letter stating that she should meet him at 9 p.m. so they can run away and no one can ever tell them what to do again. Starr's aunt Viki Davidson shows up with a scarf that Starr misplaced. Langston figures out that Starr and Cole are running away, and Starr admits it, and confesses also that she will probably have the baby. Starr hugs Langston and they say goodbye in an emotional way. Todd and Blair put the boys to bed, and Viki stays downstairs at La Boulaie, catching Starr red-handed as she is walking out the back door, bags in hand, ready to meet Cole. Aunt Viki calls back in Starr, but doesn't catch on that was about to runaway. Viki tells Starr that she knows she is upset and Viki promises to keep Starr's confidence if she talks to her about her problems. Todd and Blair appear before Starr can tell Viki anything. Starr lies to Blair and Todd about being in the kitchen a few minutes before. When Blair and Todd leave, Viki confronts Starr about lying to her parents, knowing that Starr had not been in the kitchen, and asks her what she was doing. Starr confesses to Viki that she was sneaking out to meet Cole. Viki presses Starr for more information, but Starr doesn't let on that she is pregnant. Todd walked in and pressed Viki for what Starr said. Starr reaches Cole on Langston's cell phone, and they make plans to meet down by the dock. Viki doesn't tell Todd and Blair about what Starr told her, even though Todd pressed her. Starr awaits the right time to make a break for it while Cole retrieves her bag off of the back patio of La Boulaie and Todd nearly catches him outside. Todd stands outside, and is relieved when Blair entices Todd back inside to go upstairs and make love. Starr sneaks past her parents when they are looking the other way and out towards the kitchen. Langston runs into Todd and Blair, telling her that Starr is asleep. Blair looks into Starr's room, and is fooled by the lump in the bed. Starr and Cole meet on the dock. They embrace and kiss. Cole says he loves Starr, and promises that he will take care of her and "our" baby. With that, they run off into the night. Later, they are found by Todd,Blair,and John. They then return home. Blair and John found out about Starr's pregnancy. Later, Starr tells Blair that she wants to have the baby but not take care of it.Replying she loves the baby and thinks that it(the baby) should have more to offer then what she can give it. Blair tells her whatever happens to Starr and the baby will be okay with her. On June 18, 2008 she tell Cole "That what is best for the baby is to have two parents that can love and take care of the baby. And that they are not ready to be parents. Cole, I'm giving the baby up for adoption after its born." Cole is heartbroken saying that Starr really doesn't love him. Starr wants Marcie to have the baby after it is born though she declines although she has hinted that she may reconsider. With Cole threatening to sue for custody of his child and Starr determined to give her baby up.

Cole decides to give up all his rights to his child. Unfortunately, Cole ends his relationship with Starr.But currently, they just started school again, and several boys make fun of Starr because of her pregnancy. Starr stands up for herself and Cole protects her telling the principal of the school, who wanted to kick her out, that if she kicks her out she better kick him out too, because he's the father of her baby.

Fan community

Recently, fans of Cole and Starr's relationship have coined them the couple name 'Sole'. There are message boards and forums dedicated to them. Most notably a message board called 'Can't Take My Eyes Off You', where fans can post fan art, fiction, poems, music videos and discuss the couples relationship.

Notes and references

External links

* [http://www.soapcentral.com/oltl/whoswho/starr.php Starr Manning profile - SoapCentral.com]