On the Anniversary of Annika Noelle’s Bold & Beautiful Debut, We Brush Aside the Tears to Peruse a Photo Album Full of Memories

It was the start of a whole new Logan chapter on January 8, 2018.

Back when Annika Noelle first auditioned to play Hope, she explained on her first episode of Bold Live that she was aware of The Bold and the Beautiful, because her mom watched soap operas. She’d seen it “every not and then,” but was far from an expert.

“When I auditioned,” she revealed, “I had a code name. I think her name was Linda or Julie.” At the time, though, “I still had my never-dyed hair. I was my natural hair color and every girl in the waiting room was blonde or bleached blonde. And I just remember thinking, ‘OK! Well, I’m not getting this!’”

But then she got a callback. And another. Next thing she knew, they were asking her to read with Scott Clifton and Katherine Kelly Lang!

And that’s when producer and Bold Live host Casey Kasprzyk shared a clip of her producer callback… with Lang herself! Check it out below.

When Matula pointed out that she was pretty sure the scene they read was from when Brooke slept with Oliver, Kasprzyk was impressed by how much she knew her Hope from before her time. And there was a decent amount of history to learn by 2018. Kimberly Matula had brought Hope from childhood to adulthood when she joined the show in 2010. Oliver, Wyatt, Liam — had had her share of flings, marriages and heartbreak.

But Matula departed in December of 2014 after Hope suffered a miscarriage. She ran off to Milan to try escaping her anguish and divorced then-husband Wyatt. When Noelle showed up in 2018, it had been just over three years since Hope had been in Los Angeles. And while she’d departed in tears, she returned in triumph as Ridge had asked her to return home and surprise Brooke.

Tears, though, have kind of been her hallmark. Her early days were characterized by Liam’s trademark bouncing between Hope and Steffy. Then there was their stillborn daughter who turned out to be very much alive, just adopted by Steffy. Thomas grew obsessed and preyed upon her, there was a mannequin…

Over the years, Hope and Noelle have cried so many tears. As Kasprzyk told the actress on the Bold Live episode, “Nobody does angst and having your heart ripped out of you like you do. You do it so well.”

“Thaaaanks,” Noelle laughed. “Thank you. It is an honor that you guys trust me with such heavy material like that. But I think it’s good every now and then for the character and the fans to have a little levity, so it is more effective when those things do happen.”

More: Viewers revolt over the idea of a new pairing

Unfortunately, between Thomas’ seemingly never-ending litany of misdeeds and Brooke’s near-constant Ridge drama, levity is few and far between for Hope. But hey, her marriage to Liam is still chugging along (for now) and she did just headline that stunning fashion show — and get to wear the showstopper, no less!

Whether the future brings more good times for Noelle’s character, we can only, well, hope… but no matter what, we’re sure the actress will keep knocking it right out of the park!

On this momentous occasion, celebrate Hope’s history through our tearfully fun photo gallery below.