‘Passions’ Debuted 25 Years Ago: 11 Stars Who Appeared on the Soap
Implausible as it might sound, the latest daytime drama hit American broadcast television 25 years ago with the debut of Passions on July 5, 1999.
Created by soap veteran James E. Reilly, Passions replaced Another World on NBC and told a wild tale with witches, warlocks, talking dolls, doorways to Hell, and a live-in orangutan nurse named Precious.
“Soap operas should be entertaining,” Reilly explained to The New York Times in 2001. “Some like to deal with major social issues, but we aren’t that. If you’ve given us an hour of your time, we want you to have fun. … I think our audience loves our humor.”
Despite (or because of) those outlandish elements, Passions never became a hit, getting shunted off to DirecTV’s 101 Network in 2007 and then canceled outright the following year.
We caught up with the longest-running Passions stars last year, upon the 15th anniversary of the soap’s series finale, but now that Passions is turning 25, we’re listing other famous alums of the show.
Andrea Evans
This late actor, better known for her role as Tina Lord on One Life to Live, starred as Rebecca Hotchkiss on Passions.
Maureen McCormick
Before Evans took the role of Rebecca, this Brady Bunch alum played the part for about a month but couldn’t extend her contract, as Soap Central reported.
Justin Hartley
Now a star of Tracker and an alum of This Is Us, Hartley starred as Passions’ Fox Crane — and met future ex-wife Lindsay Hartley on the show.
Natalie Zea
John Reilly
Reilly, the late actor behind General Hospital’s Sean Donely, was the third of three actors to star as Alistair Crane on Passions.
Mary Elizabeth Winstead
This star of Ahsoka and A Gentleman in Moscow got her first major acting job on Passions. She played Jessica Bennett on the soap.
Jesse Metcalfe
Just before his Desperate Housewives breakout, Metcalfe starred in Passions as the first of three actors to play Miguel Lopez-Fitzgerald.
Marla Gibbs
After starring on The Jeffersons and 227, Gibbs earned two NAACP Image Award nominations for her recurring role as Aunt Irma.
William Stanford Davis
Now beloved for his role on Abbott Elementary, Davis played a prison doctor in two episodes of the NBC soap.
Brian Tee
Tee, an alum of Chicago Med and Expats, played “Young Asian Man” in one episode in 2004.
Shelley Hennig
This star of Teen Wolf and Obliterated had an uncredited role as a maid in a 2004 episode of Passions after she won the Miss Teen USA pageant.
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