abc.soapsindepth.com answers your burning questions!
I recently started watching ALL MY CHILDREN again, and I love the David/Amanda/JR story. However, I’m a little confused. Aren’t JR and Amanda related? Casey, Ohio
JR and Amanda aren’t related by blood, but we can see why you’d be confused. They do have an important relative in common- Hayley Santos (Kelly Ripa)! Hayley is both JR’s half-sister and Amanda’s cousin. However, since Hayley and JR share the same father, Adam Chandler, and it’s Hayley’s mother, Arlene, who is Amanda’s aunt, Amanda technically didn't betray family loyalty— or engage in any family lovin’— in her quest to help David bring down JR.
This Jessica/Tess/Bess baby switch has me thinking- didn’t ONE LIFE TO LIVE do a story similar to this years ago with Tina?
Mia, California
It wasn’t exactly the same, but yes, Tina was involved in another case of musical babies. After she went over the Iguazu Falls, Tina believed she had miscarried the baby she had been carrying. Gabrielle was also pregnant, with Max Holden’s baby. Believing Tina to be Max’s wife, she gave the other woman her child to raise. Tina returned to Llanview with baby Al, passing him off as Cord’s son. Cord’s mother, Maria, eventually found out and used this information to come between her son and his true love. Maria, clearly having gone off the deep end, planned to kill Viki and frame Tina, but she inadvertently killed herself instead. Tina was arrested for her murder, and the truth about Al came out at her trial. Eventually, Al was returned to his biological parents, and Tina discovered that her son, whom she named C.J., was alive after all!
I caught a rerun of STEP BY STEP the other day and I thought I saw the woman who plays GENERAL HOSPITAL’s Elizabeth. Am I right? Pam, Florida
You sure are. Rebecca Herbst (Elizabeth) practiced the waitress skills she honed at Kelly’s by playing a waitress on an episode titled “Can’t Buy Me Love.” Herbst’s character, Shelley, was a love interest for J.T. Lambert (Brandon Call). However, they broke up because— just like Elizabeth— Shelley couldn’t handle all of her boyfriend’s lies.
I was watching 27 Dresses the other day and I have to ask- does Katherine Heigl crash Alexa Havin’s wedding? If not, that actress looked just like her! Denise, Michigan,
Good eye! Alexa Havins (ex-Babe, ALL MY CHILDREN) does have a supporting role in 27 Dresses, as the bride who hosts the wedding party at which Heigl ’s alter ego tries to straighten out her own love life. Other soap alums you can spot in the movie are Brian Kerwin (Charlie, ONE LIFE TO LIVE), Jennifer Bassey (Marian, AMC), Alexa Gerasimovich (Kathy, AMC) and Ronald Guttman (ex-Alexander, AMC).
I know that Mac and Maxie are father and daughter. What I don’t get is why they don’t have the same last name? Katie , Delaware
Actually, Mac isn’t Maxie’s biological father. That honor goes to Frisco Jones (Jack Wagner, now THE BOLD & THE BEAUTIFUL’s Nick), who is also the father of Maxie’s late sister, Georgie. Frisco left Felicia and his daughters in Port Charles to save the world as an agent of the WSB. Felicia moved on with Mac Scorpio, who looked after Maxie and her sister like they were his own.
I know Ilene Kristen plays Roxy on ONE LIFE TO LIVE, but I could swear she played another character years ago. Can you help me out? Sarah, Kentucky
You’re right! Ilene Kristen was one of two actresses who played scientist Georgina Whitman (the other was Nana Tucker Visitor). Georgina came to town on a top-secret mission with Tony Lord, but found herself distracted by Bo Buchanan. Their relationship fizzled and Georgina left town, but maybe those theories that Bo is Rex’s father aren’t as crazy as they sound!
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I recently started watching ALL MY CHILDREN again, and I love the David/Amanda/JR story. However, I’m a little confused. Aren’t JR and Amanda related? 
JR and Amanda aren’t related by blood, but we can see why you’d be confused. They do have an important relative in common- Hayley Santos (Kelly Ripa)! Hayley is both JR’s half-sister and Amanda’s cousin. However, since Hayley and JR share the same father, Adam Chandler, and it’s Hayley’s mother, Arlene, who is Amanda’s aunt, Amanda technically didn't betray family loyalty— or engage in any family lovin’— in her quest to help David bring down JR. 
This Jessica/Tess/Bess baby switch has me thinking- didn’t ONE LIFE TO LIVE do a story similar to this years ago with Tina?
It wasn’t exactly the same, but yes, Tina was involved in another case of musical babies. After she went over the Iguazu Falls, Tina believed she had miscarried the baby she had been carrying. Gabrielle was also pregnant, with Max Holden’s baby. Believing Tina to be Max’s wife, she gave the other woman her child to raise. Tina returned to Llanview with baby Al, passing him off as Cord’s son. Cord’s mother, Maria, eventually found out and used this information to come between her son and his true love. Maria, clearly having gone off the deep end, planned to kill Viki and frame Tina, but she inadvertently killed herself instead. Tina was arrested for her murder, and the truth about Al came out at her trial. Eventually, Al was returned to his biological parents, and Tina discovered that her son, whom she named C.J., was alive after all!
I caught a rerun of STEP BY STEP the other day and I thought I saw the woman who plays GENERAL HOSPITAL’s Elizabeth. Am I right?
You sure are. Rebecca Herbst (Elizabeth) practiced the waitress skills she honed at Kelly’s by playing a waitress on an episode titled “Can’t Buy Me Love.” Herbst’s character, Shelley, was a love interest for J.T. Lambert (Brandon Call). However, they broke up because— just like Elizabeth— Shelley couldn’t handle all of her boyfriend’s lies.
