| Judi Evans Luciano |
| One Year After The End of Another World [Soap Opera Digest] |
JUDI TO HER FANS: "Miss you, miss you, miss you. I wish we could still be there for you because you were always there for us." "It's strange not having a place to go to every day," reflects Judi Evans Luciano. "After ANOTHER WORLD was finished, I would still panic and say, 'I have to learn my script and get to bed early.' So, it was an adjustment. You have to reinvent your life." Luciano's first step was relocating to Los Angeles with husband Michael and their 4-year-old son, Austin. Her second step was to take on the controversial role of Patsy Ramsey in the Fox TV movie GETTING AWAY WITH MURDER: THE JONBENET RAMSEY STORY. "That was very interesting," notes Luciano. "So many dark places there as an actress. It was really hard to play a real person who is not only alive, but in the forefront of the media." Not that Luciano shies away from a challenge. "When I came back after my pregnancy, I certainly wasn't a size 4," the now-slender actress chuckles. "They asked me if I would mind playing a story about weight and I said, 'Please, let's address it. I don't want to pretend that I'm something that I'm not.' I got pregnant, I overate and I couldn't lose the weight quickly. I wasn't ashamed about it. I was eating four or five grilled-cheese sandwiches a day, and I didn't feel fat. I felt beautiful and pregnant. But when the baby was out of me and I didn't lose 80 pounds, I was like, 'Hey, what happened?' " That was pretty much the question that was on the actress's lips when her show was cancelled. "Even though we had been on the chopping block for a while, I don't think any of us ever really thought this could happen," she sighs. "When I first heard the news, I had to sit down because it was like somebody had punched me in the stomach." Luciano has stayed in contact with a few former castmates. "It's hard to maintain the relationships when you don't work together every day," Luciano points out. "You have bonds because you're on the show together and when you take away that common denominator, a lot of times, unfortunately, those friendships drift. And that brings a lot of sadness." What does Luciano miss most about Paulina? "She made me tough," Luciano says. "She could be very strong, and I don't always think I am." On the other hand, she admits, "I don't miss the crying so much. I haven't had swollen eyes in a year."# |
