Meg Bennett
Meg Bennett is an American television soap opera writer and occasional actress. She is married to ex-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, acted in summer stock during college breaks, and worked as a model (including an appearance in Life magazine,[1][2] She changed her first name Helen to Meg, because there was already a "Helen Bennett" registered with Screen Actor's Guild.[3]
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 the game show Three on a Match, where she won $10K in prizes and was an undefeated champion. 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 show, 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.[4] 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.[5]
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 have partnered together and wrote for several soap operas.
They also bought a $2.8 million house (formerly owned by Boris Karloff and Gregory Peck in Beverly Hills, California in 2003.[6]
Positions held
- Script Writer: 1987 - 1989
- Executive Storyline Consultant: August 6, 2002 - October 2004 (hired by Bradley Bell)
- Breakdown Writer: 1987 - 1989; 1994 - 1997 (hired by Claire Labine); 1999 - December 2000; April 3, 2009–July 2011
- Actress: Allegra Montenegro (August 2005)
- Script Writer: August 9 - October 4, 2007
Generations (hired by Sally Sussman Morina)
- Writer: 1989 - 1990)
- Breakdown Writer: 1991 - 1993
- Actress: Megan Richardson 1989
- Associate Head Writer: 1997
- Co-Head Writer: October 1997 - August 1998
- Script Writer: 1981 - 1987
- Actress: Julia Newman 1980-1981, 1982–1985, 1986–1987, 2002
Awards and nominations
- 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
- ↑ Marian Christy, "Meg Bennett And Her Search For Tomorrow", United Features Syndicate in Reading Eagle, June 27, 1975.
- ↑ "Bold, Bright Outfits for a Colorful City", Life, Nov 11, 1966, p. 87 (describing her as "18-year-old Helen Bennett, a Northwestern freshman").
- ↑ "Meg Bennett's one of a kind career", Daily TV, 1985, reprinted in Santa Barbara: le site Français, archive copy here
- ↑ Susan Champlin, "As Soap Star and Scriptwriter, Meg Bennett Faces Double Duty on the Young and the Restless", People, June 6, 1983.
- ↑ "A leg up on Allegra", Soap Opera Digest, August 29, 2005, archive copy here
- ↑ "Putting his castle on ice", Los Angeles Times, June 29, 2003.