Kristian Alfonso
Even when she’s giving us the cold shoulder, the Days of Our Lives veteran, who played Hope Brady for nearly four decades, radiates a warmth that draws us to her like moths to a flame.
Picture-Perfect: Soaps’ Loveliest Leading Ladies Ever [PHOTOS]
-
Image Credit: NBC/Courtesy of the Everett Collection -
Melissa Archer
Image Credit: John Paschal/JPI Oh… did we catch you mid-makeup? No problem. The spunky scene stealer who played Natalie Buchanan on One Life to Live was always ready for her closeup.
-
Diamond White
Image Credit: Gilles Toucas/CBS Names don’t come any more apropos than the first one bestowed upon the Bold & Beautiful gem who brings to life Paris Buckingham.
-
Maura West
Image Credit: John Paschal/JPI Hats off to the femme fatale who’s turned General Hospital supervixen Ava Jerome into the only thing more intoxicating than the martinis she so adores.
-
Martha Byrne
Image Credit: EJ Carr/CBS/Courtesy of the Everett Collection This Emmy winner grew up before our eyes, going from the cutest of kids to the loveliest of adults as Lily Snyder on As the World Turns.
-
Victoria Rowell
Image Credit: John Paschal/JPI It was the oft-quoted anonymous who said that “beauty is an attitude.” But we can’t argue with him, her or them, not having admired for so long the ’tude put forth by Rowell, now and always our embodiment of The Young and the Restless’ Drucilla Winters.
-
Patrika Darbo
Image Credit: John Paschal/JPI Don’t come at us for including a soap star who isn’t a size 0 on this list. Days of Our Lives’ former Nancy Wesley and The Bold and the Beautiful’s Shirley Spectra isn’t here because she bucks the skinny-Minnie trend, she’s here because she’s freaking magnificent.
-
Sharon Case
Image Credit: Brian Lowe/JPI “Beauty is the opposite of perfection,” goes a quote attributed to… well, anonymous. “It’s about confidence, charisma and character.” Perhaps that — along with her general stunningness — is why we’re so captivated by this Emmy winner and her character, The Young and the Restless’ Sharon Newman.
-
Kim Delaney
Image Credit: ABC/Courtesy of the Everett Collection She went from being the girl next door (as Jenny Gardner on All My Children) to Wonder Woman (as Jackie Templeton on General Hospital) without ever hitting the awkward phase that flummoxed the rest of us.
-
Jackee Harry
Image Credit: Aaron Montgomery/JPI (3) The astronomer Maria Mitchell believed that “there is no cosmetic for beauty like happiness” — a concept gorgeously embodied by the portrayer of Days of Our Lives’ Paulina Price; she radiates joy wherever she goes.
-
Tracey E. Bregman
Image Credit: John Paschal/JPI “Red hair, sir, in my opinion, is dangerous,” said P.G. Wodehouse in Very Good, Jeeves! And we couldn’t agree more, not after worshipping for so many years at the altar of the Emmy winner who plays The Young and the Restless’ Lauren Fenmore.
-
Darlene Conley
Image Credit: CBS/Courtesy of the Everett Collection They don’t make ’em anymore like the late, great scene stealer who played the original Sally Spectra on The Bold and the Beautiful, and the world is infinitely less fabulous for it.
-
Bree Williamson
Image Credit: John Paschal/JPI Upside-down, sideways… It doesn’t matter which way you gaze upon the soap-hopper — last seen as Claudette Beaulieu on General Hospital — she defines and redefines the word “stunning.”
-
Jane Elliot
Image Credit: CBS/Courtesy of the Everett Collection Thanks to General Hospital and her role of Tracy Quartermaine, she was known as the queen of mean. But Elliot was also blessed with an unvarnished beauty that emanated from within.
-
Brytni Sarpy
Image Credit: Howard Wise/JPI Louis Armstrong didn’t sing, “When you’re smiling, the whole world smiles with you” about the Young & Restless MVP who plays Elena; he was a bit before her time. But as you can see from the radiance of her smile, he certainly could have.
-
Susan Flannery
Image Credit: John Paschal/JPI No matter how sparkly and ostentatious the baubles she wore on screen, there was simply no outshining the Emmy winner who played Stephanie Forrester on The Bold and the Beautiful.
-
Genie Francis
Image Credit: John Paschal/JPI Yeah, yeah, she’s half of one of the greatest supercouples in soap history. But as is illustrated by this image — and countless others — General Hospital heroine Laura Collins has never needed any leading man to make her “super.”
-
Linsey Godfrey
Image Credit: John Paschal/JPI Whether the actress is blonde (as she was as Caroline Spencer on The Bold and the Beautiful) or brunette (Sarah Horton on Days of Our Lives), playing naughty (Caroline again) or nice (Sarah again), she’s bewitched in a way that borders on the supernatural.
-
Nancy Lee Grahn
Image Credit: John Paschal/JPI We hate to say it, but after what happened to her last boyfriend on General Hospital, we’d advise Alexis Davis — and her Emmy-winning portrayer — to keep this come-hither look on lock.
-
Stacy Haiduk
Image Credit: John Paschal/JPI The magical thing about this soap-hopper, who’s gone from All My Children to The Young and the Restless to Days of Our Lives (as Kristen DiMera), is that no matter what show she’s on, no matter what role she’s playing, we can’t take our eyes off of her.
-
Susan Seaforth Hayes
Image Credit: Courtesy of the Everett Collection Elizabeth Taylor, is that you? Why, no, that’s Days of Our Lives’ Julie Williams in a late-1960s episode of Dragnet — and giving us just a hint of how gracefully she was going to age. Wow.
-
Amelia Heinle
Image Credit: John Paschal/JPI Brash & Sassy isn’t just a company once overseen by Victoria Newman, the mogul played by this Emmy winner on The Young and the Restless. It’s also the perfect descriptor for the character that she embodies.
-
Briana Nicole Henry
Image Credit: ABC You don’t need to be a detective on par with General Hospital police commish Jordan Ashford to figure out why her traffic-stopping portrayer made this list.
-
Kelley Menighan Hensley
Image Credit: John Paschal/JPI Talk about gilding the lily. The actress who played As the World Turns strumpet Emily Stewart never needed a floral arrangement as headwear in order to blossom in front of the camera.
-
Rebecca Herbst
Image Credit: Howard Wise/JPI Whether making trouble or making nice, General Hospital’s Elizabeth Webber is someone for whom viewers always want to make time.
-
Christel Khalil
Image Credit: John Paschal/JPI If Coco Chanel was right and “beauty begins the moment you decide to be yourself,” then this actress, Lily Winters on The Young and the Restless, has been beautiful since we met her.
-
Hunter King
Image Credit: Howard Wise/JPI “Your outer beauty will capture the eyes,” wrote blogger Steven Aitchison. “Your inner beauty will capture the heart.” Either way, The Young and the Restless’ Summer Newman nailed it.
-
Maeve Kinkead
Image Credit: George De Sota/JPI We’ll wait while you look up “class” in the dictionary. When you’re done, you can come back and be like, “Oh my God! And they had a picture of the lady who played Vanessa Chamberlain on Guiding Light next to the definition!”
-
Victoria Konefal
Image Credit: Howard Wise/JPI Willard Motley’s quote — “Live fast, die young and have a good-looking corpse” — could be engraved on the tombstone of this Days of Our Lives alum’s character, the (cough) ill-fated Ciara Brady.
-
Katherine Kelly Lang
Image Credit: John Paschal/JPI If Englishman John Ray is right and “beauty is power,” there is no one more formidable than the actress who brings to life Brooke Logan on The Bold and the Beautiful.
-
Susan Lucci
Image Credit: ABC/Courtesy of the Everett Collection C’mon. Obviously, La Lucci was going to be on this list, having played Erica Kane, the All My Children temptress for whom Enchantment could have been named.
-
Robin Mattson
Image Credit: ABC/Courtesy of the Everett Collection Sure, Heather Webber was bad to the bone on General Hospital. And crazier than several psych wards combined. But you can’t say that she wasn’t pretty as a picture — with hair that belonged in a Wella Balsam ad.
-
Sofia Mattsson
Image Credit: ABC No wonder General Hospital’s Nina Reeves was so eager to claim Sasha Gilmore as her daughter — who wouldn’t want to say that this beauty was at least partly the result of their DNA’s involvement?
-
Mishael Morgan
Image Credit: John Paschal/JPI Her expression says, “What? Who? Me?” But of course, anyone blessed with a face as expressive and lovely as that of Amanda Sinclair on The Young and the Restless has to be at least a little bit used to jaws dropping in her presence.
-
Cady McClain
Image Credit: John Paschal/JPI We ain’t just, ahem, whistlin’ Dixie when we say that the All My Children Emmy winner who now plays Days of Our Lives’ Jennifer Horton is a timeless beauty.
-
Kelly Monaco
Image Credit: John Paschal/JPI Look, sometimes being drop-dead gorgeous just takes it outta ya. Then you have yourself a lovely lie-down, like the actress who plays General Hospital badass Sam McCall is here.
-
Karla Mosley
Image Credit: John Paschal/JPI The Bold and the Beautiful may have discharged the actress whose Maya Avant defined both of the adjectives in its title, but we’ll always stand back, awestruck and inspired by her luminous portrayer.
-
Suzanne Rogers
Image Credit: John Paschal/JPI Two things get better with age: wine and the Days of Our Lives vet who plays Maggie Kiriakis. So let’s raise a glass of the former to the latter, shall we?
-
Annika Noelle
Image Credit: Howard Wise/JPI Our Hope for the Future? That Annika Noelle, The Bold and the Beautiful standout who plays the ingenue, continues to redefine what it means to be comfortable in one’s own skin.
-
Rena Sofer
Image Credit: John Paschal/JPI It was the great ZZ Top who once sang, “She’s got legs. She knows how to use them.” We’re just gonna leave that there as you admire this image of the soap-hopper who plays Quinn Forrester on The Bold and the Beautiful.
-
Melody Thomas Scott
Image Credit: John Paschal/JPI You could credit the awe-inspiring looks of The Young and the Restless’ Nikki Newman to diet and exercise, hair and makeup. Or you could follow Emily Dickinson’s lead and simply accept that “beauty is not caused. It is.”
-
Louise Sorel
Image Credit: NBC/Courtesy of the Everett Collection Bad never looked as good as it does on this veteran actress, who went from playing the scheming Augusta Lockridge on Santa Barbara to the even more incorrigible Vivian Alamain on Days of Our Lives.
-
Michelle Stafford
Image Credit: John Paschal/JPI If ever an image epitomized the beauty of this Emmy winner, this one is it. Neither The Young and the Restless’ Phyllis Summers nor her portrayer can be constrained or restrained; they’re forces of nature, and they’re comin’ your way, ready or not.
-
Sal Stowers
Image Credit: Howard Wise/JPI Let’s be real. There are paintings hanging in museums that are envious of the poise and presence that Days of Our Lives’ Lani Grant demonstrates on a daily basis. And honestly, we don’t blame them.
-
Robin Strasser
Image Credit: Robert Milazzo/ABC/Courtesy of the Everett Collection Best known for playing she-devils like Rachel Davis on Another World and Dorian Lord on One Life to Live, this Emmy winner never failed to show us a hell of a good time.
-
Gina Tognoni
Image Credit: John Paschal/JPI Despite her rep as a recast queen — she succeeded Wendy Moniz as Dinah Marler on Guiding Light and Michelle Stafford as Phyllis Summers on The Young and the Restless — this Emmy winner is a true original.
-
Heather Tom
Image Credit: John Paschal/JPI Go ahead and laugh. It is hysterical that The Bold and the Beautiful picked The Young and the Restless’ original Victoria Newman — a card-carrying fox — to play Katie, the so-called “ugly duckling” of the Logan family.
-
Marcy Walker
Image Credit: Stephen J. Cannell Prods./Courtesy of the Everett Collection When you look at a photo as peaceful as this one, it’s not hard to figure out how the Emmy winner wound up playing a Santa Barbara character named Eden — Eden Capwell, specifically.
-
Cynthia Watros
Image Credit: ABC We don’t blame the Guiding Light alum (who won an Emmy playing Annie Dutton) for making sure that her face is still there. If we were as pretty as the actress who now plays Nina Reeves on General Hospital, we’d check on the regular, too.
-
Brytni Sarpy
Image Credit: Howard Wise/JPI (3) Somewhere, the Mona Lisa is cursing like a sailor, asking how the heck did a soap-opera actress — the one who plays The Young and the Restless’ Elena Dawson — make her look like such a plain Jane?
-
Jacqueline MacInnes Wood
Image Credit: John Paschal/JPI No, we don’t think it’s odd that the Emmy winner is leaning against that wall as if holding it up. We can only assume that when one is as gorgeous as The Bold and the Beautiful’s Steffy Forrester, even inanimate objects like walls exert a pull.
-
Jeanne Cooper
Image Credit: CBS/Courtesy of the Everett Collection “A girl should be two things,” Coco Chanel once said. “Classy and fabulous.” Needless to say, the much-missed soap legend who played The Young and the Restless’ Katherine Chancellor was both.
-
Laura Wright
Image Credit: Dramatic Creations Inc./Courtesy of the Everett Collection Ha. Even in this ancient photo from Loving (where she played Ally Rescott), you could see hints of the spitfire persona for which the Emmy winner (now Carly Corinthos on General Hospital) would become known. And also loved. But that went without saying, right?
-
Colleen Zenk
Image Credit: John Paschal/JPI It’s somehow fitting that this veteran actress’ As the World Turns alter ego ran a company called Barbara Ryan Originals — because an original was what she was.
-
Kim Zimmer
Image Credit: Courtesy of the Everett Collection Hey, ya don’t get to be “the slut of Springfield” from mischievous intentions alone. It helps if you look like this Emmy winner, who went from The Doctors as Nola Aldrich (pictured) to Guiding Light (as the iconic Reva Shayne) to One Life to Live (as the memorably-named Echo DiSavoy).
-
Arianne Zucker
Image Credit: John Paschal/JPI This picture may make it look like the actress behind Days of Our Lives’ Nicole Walker is struggling to find her good side. But here’s the thing: She doesn’t have a bad one!
-
Melissa Claire Egan
Image Credit: John Paschal/JPI Given how distractingly lovely her portrayer’s face is, is it any wonder that Young & Restless’ Chelsea Lawson was a wildly successful con artist? She could sell ice cubes to a snowman!
-
Kirsten Storms
Image Credit: John Paschal/JPI Whether playing Belle Black on Days of Our Lives or Maxie Jones on General Hospital, the veteran daytimer has never needed a spotlight on her to glow.
-
Sharon Gabet
Image Credit: ABC/Courtesy of the Everett Collection Tolstoy might well have said that “it is amazing how complete is the delusion that beauty is goodness” about the men enchanted by The Edge of Night’s naughty-by-nature Raven Whitney.
-
Marci Miller
Image Credit: John Paschal/JPI Questions we have a hunch have never been asked by the actress who plays Days of Our Lives’ Abigail DiMera: “Is this my good side?” All she has are good sides!
-
Judith Chapman
Image Credit: John Paschal/JPI (3) Anyone who’s ever laid their peepers on the Young & Restless head-turner who plays Gloria Fisher has had to question whether they should really be called Bette Davis eyes… or Judith Chapman eyes.
