Meg Bennett

Meg Bennett is an American television soap opera writer and occasional actress. She is married to General Hospital Head Writer Robert Guza, Jr.

Early life

Bennett's real name is Helen Bennett. She is the eldest daughter of a printing company executive and a psychologist. She grew up in Pasadena, California. She majored in drama at Northwestern University and acted in summer stock during college breaks.

She changed her first name Helen to Meg, because there was already a "Helen Bennett" registered with Screen Actor's Guild.^[1]

Career

In 1971, she was hired as the "Cadillac Eldorado convertible girl" for a New York auto show, which prompted her to move to Manhattan. There, she appeared on a game show, where she won furniture. She also was part of the original cast of the Broadway production Grease, which led to her being cast on the daytime soap opera Search for Tomorrow in 1974. She played the role of the good girl, Liza, for three years, when she decided to leave New York for California for better career opportunities.

She suffered from a bout of hepatitis, and once she recovered, she was cast as Julia Newman on The Young and the Restless in 1980. She played the role on-and-off for six years, during which time, she impressed Bill Bell, the creator of The Young and the Restless, with her on-the-set script doctoring skills. He asked her to write for the show in 1981, and she did double-duty by writing and acting on the show.^[2] Her writing career would eclipse her acting career, as she shared an Emmy award with the rest of the writing staff for General Hospital in 1995. She still occasionally acts, such as in the villainous role of Allegra on General Hospital.^[3]

She was fired in 2011 by Garin Wolf after he was promoted as Head Writer.

Personal life

She met her husband Robert Guza, Jr., when they were both hired to write for a soap opera. They fell in love and married. Since then, they partnered together and wrote for several soap operas.

They also bought a $2.8 million house in Beverly Hills, California in 2003.^[4]

Positions held

The Bold and the Beautiful

• Script Writer: 1987 - 1989
• Executive Storyline Consultant: August 6, 2002 - October 2004 (hired by Bradley Bell)

General Hospital

• Breakdown Writer: 1987 - 1989; 1994 - 1997 (hired by Claire Labine); 1999 - December 2000; April 3, 2009–Present
• Actress: Allegra Montenegro (August 2005)

General Hospital: Night Shift

• Script Writer: August 9 - October 4, 2007

Generations (hired by Sally Sussman Morina)

• Writer: 1989 - 1990)

Santa Barbara

• Breakdown Writer: 1991 - 1993

Sunset Beach

• Associate Head Writer: 1997
• Co-Head Writer: 1997 - August 1998

The Young and the Restless

• Script Writer: 1981 - 1987
• Actress: Julia Newman 1980-1981, 1982–1985, 1986–1987, 2002

Awards and nominations

Daytime Emmy Award

• Nomination, 2003, Best Writing, Bold and The Beautiful
• Win, 1995, Best Writing, General Hospital
• Nominations, 1995, 1997 and 2000, Best Writing, General Hospital
• Nomination, 1986, Best Writing, The Young And The Restless

Writers Guild of America Award

• Nomination, 1997 season, Sunset Beach
• Wins, 1994, 1995 and 1997 seasons, General Hospital
• Nominations, 1993-1997 seasons, General Hospital
• Wins, 1991 and 1992 seasons, Santa Barbara

References

1. ^ http://santabarbara-online.com/articleMBennett2.htm
2. ^ http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20085183,00.html
3. ^ http://www.soapoperadigest.com/features/general-hospital/interviews/megbennett/
4. ^ http://articles.latimes.com/2003/jun/29/realestate/re-hotprop29

External links

• Meg Bennett on IMDB

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Name	Bennett, Meg
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