Crystal Elizabeth Chappell /ʃəˈpɛl/ (born August 4, 1965) is an American actress who played Carly Manning on Days of Our Lives from 1990 to 1993, Maggie Carpenter on One Life to Live from 1995 to 1997 and Olivia Spencer on Guiding Light from 1999 to 2009.

Crystal Chappell
Chappell at the 2010 Daytime Emmy Awards
Born
Crystal Elizabeth Chappell

(1965-08-04) August 4, 1965 (age 59)
OccupationActress
Years active1989–present
Spouses
Scott Fanjoy
(m. 1988; div. 1991)
(m. 1997)
Children2

On October 2, 2009, she began reprising the role of Carly Manning. In May 2011, Chappell revealed that her contract was not renewed and her character ended its run in late summer. She has since appeared as Danielle Spencer on The Bold and the Beautiful in 2012 and 2013, as well as appearing in several online soap operas.

Acting

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Soap opera and serial roles

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Chappell's first daytime appearance was as a day player on All My Children in 1989. In a July 2006 interview in industry magazine Soap Opera Digest, Chappell recalled actor Maurice Benard helping her through her first scenes. After a brief run on Santa Barbara in 1990, (she played a classmate of Eden's who died of an ice overdose), Chappell was cast as Dr. Carly Manning Alamain (Katerina von Leuschner) on Days of Our Lives. She portrayed the role from June 1990 to October 1993. Chappell and future husband Michael Sabatino met on Days of Our Lives, where he played villain Lawrence Alamain.

Chappell was front-burner for most of her time on the show, first when her character Carly was featured in a romance with lead character Bo Brady (Peter Reckell, Robert Kelker-Kelly), and then in a complex, Byzantine storyline that featured her heretofore unknown secret identity as a European blueblood. The story culminated in a controversial plot that had Carly buried alive by Lawrence's aunt Vivian (Louise Sorel). Chappell left after difficult contract negotiations and differences with head writer James E. Reilly.

Chappell's next role was as Maggie Carpenter on One Life to Live from October 1995 through September 1997. The character of Maggie was created for Chappell, and she was again paired with a romantic lead on the show, Max Holden (James DePaiva). Her main storyline revolved around the tension between her burgeoning romantic relationship and her plans to profess vows as a nun. The character was eventually written out.

From July 2, 1999, to September 18, 2009, she played complex villainess/anti-heroine Olivia Spencer on Guiding Light. The role of Olivia was initially only intended to be a short-term role, but Chappell's portrayal was so popular she was signed to a contract. She won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Daytime Drama for her work as Olivia in 2002 and was nominated again in the same category in 2005 and 2006. In 2007, she earned her first nomination in the Outstanding Lead Actress category.

In 2009, her character Olivia and Jessica Leccia's character Natalia Rivera were involved in the hugely popular same sex pairing, "Otalia", which saw two presumably heterosexual women move from sworn enemies to a close friendship, to eventually, after a long period of dramatic angst, admitting their feelings towards each other and becoming a couple. The coupling of Otalia was embraced by fans and critics alike, and named a 'super-couple' by Nelson Branco, of TV Guide Canada and writes "In an age of contrived and soulless couples, Olivia and Natalia’s burgeoning romance felt natural, innocent, and most importantly, real." The final episodes of Guiding Light saw Natalia and Olivia move in and start a family together.

Chappell returned to her role on Days of Our Lives in September 2009 and begin airing in October.[1]

In May 2011, her contract was not renewed and her character ended its run in late summer. Chappell joined the cast of The Bold and the Beautiful in 2012 as Danielle Spencer, who was featured in the show's first gay storyline.[2][3]

In 2009, Chappell co-created the soap opera web series Venice: The Series. Chappell executive produces and stars in the series, which centers around the life of Gina (Chappell), a gay interior designer living in Venice Beach, California. Her Guiding Light former co-star Lecchia plays Gina's ex-girlfriend, Ani. In 2011, Chappell won the first Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Class Short Format Daytime as a producer,[4] and won again in 2014 for Outstanding New Approaches - Drama Series.[5] Chappell also produced and starred opposite Lecchia in a pilot for a new soap web series called The Grove in 2013.[6]

In 2014, Chappell executive produced the soap opera web series Beacon Hill,[7][8] and co-starred as Claire Preston.[9][10]

She was nominated for a 2015 Daytime Emmy for Outstanding New Approaches Drama Series as a producer,[7][8] and was nominated for a 2015 Indie Series Award for Best Supporting Actress (Drama) for her role.[11]

Contract controversy

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In 2005, Chappell was ambivalent about re-signing to Guiding Light, as her storyline had ebbed considerably. Shortly after re-signing her contract, she was offered the front-burner role of Paige on One Life to Live. Since Guiding Light had recently cut a number of its actors from the cast roster, Chappell met with the producers to see if she could be released from her contract with Guiding Light. The show ultimately refused. In a July 2006 interview with Soap Opera Digest, Chappell indicated that, while there were no hard feelings, she wasn't sure why the show was so eager to keep Olivia as a character, since the character had not been used much, particularly since the pairing of Olivia and Phillip ended. She has also made appearances in the prime time shows Poltergeist: The Legacy, Silk Stalkings, Pensacola: Wings of Gold, and Burke's Law.[12]

Personal life

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Chappell was born in Silver Spring, Maryland, and later moved to the Annapolis, Maryland area and attended Arundel High School. She subsequently attended the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She was married to Scott Fanjoy from 1988 to 1991. She has been married to actor Michael Sabatino since January 6, 1997. They have two sons, Jacob Walker (born May 11, 2000) and Dylan Michael (born September 2, 2003).[13] Chappell has described herself as attracted to both men and women, and has spoken in support of equal rights for members of the LGBT community.[14]

Filmography

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Film
Year Title Role Notes
1992 One Stormy Night Carly Manning Television film
1993 Night Sins Carly Manning Television film
1994 Bigfoot: The Unforgettable Encounter Samantha
1994 Lady in Waiting Elizabeth Henley
2017 A Million Happy Nows Lainey Allen
2020 Stan the Man Melody Dubois
2020 Loco Martha
Television
Year Title Role Notes
1989 All My Children Nico's Nurse Unknown episodes
1990 Santa Barbara Jane Kingsley 5 episodes
1990–1993, 2009–2011 Days of Our Lives Carly Manning 380 episodes
Soap Opera Digest Award for Hottest Female Star
Nominated — Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
1994 Diagnosis: Murder Eve Laurie 2 episodes
1994, 1997 Silk Stalkings Deborah Buchard
Bertha Roberts
2 episodes
1995–1997 One Life to Live Maggie Carpenter 300 episodes
1995 Walker, Texas Ranger Stacy Episode: "Trust No One"
1995 Burke's Law Marilyn Divine Episode: "Who Killed the Movie Mogul?"
1998 Pensacola: Wings of Gold Lieutenant Commander Keaton Episode: "Trials and Tribulations"
1998 Poltergeist: The Legacy Jessica Lansing Episode: "Dream Lover"
1999–2009 Guiding Light Olivia Spencer 999 episodes
Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Nominated — Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Nominated — Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (2007–2008)
2009–present Venice: The Series Gina Main role
2012–2013 The Bold and the Beautiful Danielle Spencer Recurring role

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Work Result
1993 9th Soap Opera Digest Awards Hottest Female Star Days of Our Lives Won
2002 29th Daytime Emmy Awards Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Guiding Light Won
2002 Online Film & Television Association Award Best Supporting Actress in a Daytime Serial Nominated
2003 Online Film & Television Association Award Best Supporting Actress in a Daytime Serial Nominated
2006 33rd Daytime Emmy Awards Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Nominated
2007 34th Daytime Emmy Awards Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series Nominated
2008 35th Daytime Emmy Awards Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series Nominated
2008 Online Film & Television Association Award Best Actress in a Daytime Serial Nominated
2009 Gold Derby Award Best Lead Actress - Daytime Drama Nominated
2009 Online Film & Television Association Award Best Supporting Actress in a Daytime Serial Nominated
2010 Los Angeles Web Series Festival Best Drama Series Venice: The Series Won
2010 Los Angeles Web Series Festival Best Actress, Comedy or Drama Series Won
2010 2nd Streamy Awards Best Female Actor in a Dramatic Web Series Nominated
2011 38th Daytime Emmy Awards Outstanding Special Class - Short Format Daytime Won
2011 2nd Indie Soap Awards Best Lead Actress Nominated
2012 39th Daytime Emmy Awards Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series Days of Our Lives Nominated
2012 3rd Indie Soap Awards Best Lead Actress (Drama) Venice: The Series Nominated
2014 41st Daytime Emmy Awards Outstanding New Approaches - Drama Series Won
2015 42nd Daytime Creative Arts Emmy Awards Outstanding New Approaches Drama Series Beacon Hill Nominated
2015 6th Indie Series Awards Best Supporting Actress (Drama) Nominated

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Entertainment Entertainment and Celebrity News, TV News and Breaking News". TVGuide.com. Archived from the original on June 15, 2009. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  2. ^ InsideTV.EW.com (April 11, 2012). "Lesbian Storyline Coming to Bold and the Beautiful". Retrieved April 11, 2011.
  3. ^ "Danielle Spencer Played by Crystal Chappell on The Bold and the Beautiful". Soaps.sheknows.com. Archived from the original on August 15, 2012. Retrieved September 5, 2012.
  4. ^ "38th Annual Daytime Emmy® Award Winners" (PDF). National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. June 19, 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 19, 2016. Retrieved July 28, 2014.
  5. ^ "41st Annual Daytime Emmy® Award Winners" (PDF). National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. June 22, 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 6, 2016. Retrieved July 28, 2014.
  6. ^ Fairman, Michael (January 2, 2013). "Crystal Chappell's The Grove The Series Debuts!". On-Air On-Soaps. Archived from the original on September 8, 2017. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
  7. ^ a b Littleton, Cynthia (March 31, 2015). "General Hospital, Ellen DeGeneres, CBS Lead Daytime Emmy Nominations". Variety. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
  8. ^ a b Rodriguez, Briana (March 31, 2015). "General Hospital Leads 42nd Annual Daytime Emmy Nominations". Backstage. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
  9. ^ "A Who's Who Guide For Beacon Hill!". ABC Soaps In Depth. February 28, 2014. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
  10. ^ "The Characters". Beaconhilltheseries.com. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
  11. ^ "6th Annual Indie Soap Awards Nominees". Indie Series Awards. February 2015. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
  12. ^ Crystal Chappell at IMDb
  13. ^ "Chappell biography". CBS. Archived from the original on February 13, 2010. Retrieved May 5, 2010.
  14. ^ "Out Front Colorado - Colorado's Largest GLBT Publication". April 17, 2010. Archived from the original on April 17, 2010. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
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