WORK'S A REAL SCREAM!

...but Christopher just loves leaving her troubles at the set

The following article comes from an Australian magazine, which appeared during the time that Christopher was playing "Laura Asher" on SANTA BARBARA.

Having become sick and tired of playing nice-girl roles, Christopher Norris now is having some real fun - as Santa Barbara's Laura Asher, a manic depressive with an alcohol problem. "As Australian viewers will see in the coming months, Laura is a real mess," says Christopher. "While it all sounds quite awful, you won't believe how much fun it is to lose it totally all day and then go home and be normal.

"It's a real challenge for someone like me who has always seemed to have played those good, sweet, all American-type characters."

Santa Barbara is not Christopher's first soap. She made her TV debut while she was still in her nappies as the Ivory soap baby and, when she was 14, joined the cast of The Edge Of Night. "I spent three years on that show, but it didn't prepare me for the long days and 80-page scripts that Santa Barbara serves up."

Fans and friends have always been intrigued by that name. Christopher once asked her parents why they chose her to name her Christopher instead of Christine. The answer was simple. "They liked the name and decided early in the pregnancy that they'd name the baby Christopher regardless of what sex it was," she explains. "As a kid I hated it, but now it's kind of chic to have an unusual name, so it doesn't bother me at all."

In 1980 Christopher married businessman Walter Danley. They don't have any children together - but Walter has five from a previous marriage. "Actually, our house has become our baby," says Christopher. "I virtually did nothing but supervise the builders for three years. I designed the exterior and interior and it's all worked out beautifully.

"I especially like my kitchen. Cooking is a real passion of mine, so a practical, well-designed kitchen was a must."

Many viewers will remember Christopher from her six years as Nurse Gloria Brancusi on TV's Trapper John MD. Her popularity in that role led to a line of Christopher Norris nurse uniforms being designed and the sales from that line continue to provide nursing scholarships, a project of which Christopher is very proud.

back to the index