SHE LOVES HER NEW CO-STAR

AW's JEL says her son's on- and off-screen roles have changed her life

by Marla Cukor SOAP OPERA UPDATE August 1997 It's a Wednesday afternoon on the ANOTHER WORLD set. One-year-old Austin Luciano is taking a nap. Meanwhile, one flight up, mom Judi Evans Luciano is on stage popping diet pills like M&M's. Not to worry. They aren't real pills, and the whole thing is in the script--which currently has Paulina, the character Evans Luciano has played since 1991, in the throes of a serious, post-pregnancy addiction to weight-loss drugs. The story, as it turns out, is based on Evans Luciano's own struggle to drop the last of the 70 pounds she gained during her own pregnancy. "For some reason, I thought after I had a baby, I'd have all this time to get a tan and get back in shape," admits the 33-year-old actress who, with the help of strict workouts--and without drugs--almost has her pre-pregnancy bod back. "But really, you don't." Nor did she realize how much her life--or her three-year marriage--would change. "My husband and I haven't been alone too much. I didn't expect that," she says. Luckily, her hubby, CNBC cameraman Michael Luciano, has been more than understanding. In fact, she reports, "There have been a lot of nights when I work late at the studio and Michael comes home from his long day at work and he has to take care of the baby--feed him and bathe him and put him to bed. But Michael is great. I feel blessed." Her bosses have been supportive, too. Chalk it up to star power, but when Evans Luciano told them she was pregnant, they built her a special dressing room with a nursery. "It's beautiful," says the appreciative actress. "It has all the comforts of home. There's a little refrigerator, a TV, a crib, a fold-out bed, a phone and an alarm clock." Not to mention a highchair, changing table and enough stuffed animals to stock the shelves at FAO Schwarz. Evans Luciano was thrilled when AW offered Austin a chance to get in on the family biz. For the last few months, he has played Dante, Paulina and Joe's son. "He's my favorite scene partner," she gushes. "He loves to be the center of attention, and he loves the cameras." Not that she'll keep the child in the limelight if he doesn't want to be there. "The minute he stops having fun with it, it's over. Austin is my number-one priority. If I had to make a choice between my career and my son, there would be no choice. When I have a bad day, and I come home, and he just beams or smiles at me, it's like, 'World? What world?'" # Return to Press Index