Her first acting role was as Hayley Vaughan at age 20 on soap opera All My Children, from 1990 until 2002, with two guest appearances in 2010.
And Kelly Ripa spoke out about how landing the role of Hayley changed her career as well as affected her personal life.
The 49-year-old actress and morning host said: ‘It changed my life. It changed my entire life – not just my acting life, but changed the whole trajectory of my life,’ via People.
Candid: Kelly Ripa spoke out about how landing the role of Hayley changed her career as well as affected her personal life; pictured March 4 in New York City
Kelly and Mark met on the set of All My Children in 1995 and the two eloped on May 1, 1996; they are parents to three children: sons Michael, 22, and Joaquin, 17, and daughter Lola, 18.
Kelly and Mark took part in the #UnitedAtHome series with Entertainment Weekly; this week (Tuesday through Friday), 30 cast members from All My Children come together virtually to talk about their time on the soap opera on the EW Cast Reunions: All My Children.
The couple appeared in the first episode of the EW series with Eva LaRue and Sydney Penny.
Other cast members involved in the reunion include Chrishell Stause, Josh Duhamel, Susan Lucci, Cameron Mathison, Cady McClain, Jennifer Bassey, Tamara Braun, Justin Bruening, Rebecca Budig, Bobbie Eakes, Melissa Claire Egan, Ricky Paull Goldin, Alexa Havins, Michael E. Knight, Jill Larson, Eva LaRue, Billy Miller, Alicia Minshew, Sydney Penny, Leven Rambin, Eden Riegel, Walt Willey, Darnell Williams and Jacob Young.
Throwback: The 49-year-old actress and morning host said: ‘It changed my life. It changed my entire life – not just my acting life, but changed the whole trajectory of my life,’ via People; Kelly and Mark seen in a 1996 episode of All My Children
The All My Children cast members involved in the reunion chose to support Feeding America.
Kelly said that she got the role of Hayley because of a happy accident, and was not a professional actor like the rest of the cast.
She explained: ‘I wasn’t like everybody else on this panel – everybody else had jobs and careers and they were professional actors. I truly moved to New York and I was working at the Toy Fair and I auditioned sort of on a whim.’
Adding: ‘I was originally dropping off other people’s headshots, because [that was] my side hustle.’
Catching up: Kelly and Mark took part in the #UnitedAtHome series with Entertainment Weekly; this week(Tuesday through Friday), 30 cast members from All My Children come together virtually to talk about their time on the soap opera on the EW Cast Reunions: All My Children
After she auditioned, she ‘got like, six callbacks and two screen tests, ’cause they were really sure they wanted me,’ she joked.
‘And I would up getting the job. But it was really – I mean, talk about happy accidents. It really was a happy accident. It changed my life. It changed my entire life – not just my acting life, but changed the whole trajectory of my life.’
Mark, 49, said he was in a ‘similar boat,’ and got the role of Mateo Santos after he moved to New York City.
He said: ‘What drew me to the role was that I had never worked as an actor before, so that was very exciting – to get a job.’
Adding: ‘It was one of my first auditions. Similarly, I had to re-screen test a few times as well.’
Kelly joked: ‘We were that good.’
Lovebirds: Kelly and Mark met on the set of All My Children in 1995 and the two eloped on May 1, 1996; they are parents to three children: sons Michael, 22, and Joaquin, 17, and daughter Lola, 18; pictured July 2008
Happily ever after: On May 1, they celebrated their 24th wedding anniversary