From ABC Soaps In Depth 7/27/99
Once upon a time, there lived a pretty, all-American lass by the name of Jennifer Hammon. Although she had dreams of becoming a famous actress and telling stories that would move the masses, she resigned herself to the daily duties of a receptionist. But her story doesn’t end there. After fate intervened, she took a leap of faith into uncharted territory, and lo and behold, a soap star was born.
Today, Hammon once again is making a jump and holding her breath, seeing where the winds of fate take her. After two years as medical intern Karen Wexler on PORT CHARLES, she’s leaving the show and daytime television. "I was really starting to understand Karen," sighs her portrayer. "Up until that last day, I was thinking, 'There’s so much more I could have played with her.'"
Breaking Up Is Hard To Do
But Hammon’s choices had been laid out in front of her for some time. She either could move forward with her big dream or stay comfortable with the fantasy come true that she was living. "I was a basket case for about four months," she remembers. "My original contract was two years. Around December, it hit me that it was time to look at it all carefully. I was going back and forth trying to figure this out, weighing which way I should go.
"But when I was the receptionist and had that original dream, the goal was to make movies and have a larger affect on the world and to see how far I could go with it. So ultimately, I feel like I’ve got to do that. If I don’t, I’ll always wonder what would have happened if I had."
When It’s Time To Change…
Looking at the big picture, Hammon’s whole life has changed in the last two years. "Before the soap, I didn’t know what to do or how to become an actress," she relates. "I had gone to an acting class and started getting into Scientology. I started dating John [Livingston, the EDTV co-star]. Then, a couple of months later, I booked this show. It was this whole change…all at once.
"Now my family life is better," she adds. "My whole life is different. This period of being on PC also coincided with me becoming a Scientologist, which is my religious point of view. Somehow that’s changed me completely spiritually. All the levels of who I am have been going through this metamorphosis. And it all feels right."
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Hammon’s last day of shooting PC began as just another day. Then she realized that the place she had called her home away from home no longer would be a part of her life. The baby bird was leaving the nest. "I was brave the whole day. I was fine. Very cheerful. Saying goodbye," she insists casually. "Then, after that last take, I said, ‘I think we should do it again.’ A loud voice came over the speaker, ‘Okay, that’s a wrap, everybody.’ I burst into tears."
Still, it was very difficult for Hammon to get those two simple words out: "I’m leaving." "At first, it felt a little bit like treason," she confesses. "My mom didn’t even understand, to be honest. At first, she kind of berated me. And I was scared of [executive producer] Wendy Riche. I had my agents call rather than going to her myself. I didn’t want her to influence me. I was afraid that she would say some things that I knew would be great, and I’d go, ‘Okay, I’ll stay.’"
In Hammon’s first few days away from the PC set, she did absolutely nothing but recharge her proverbial batteries. Then came the tasks of cleaning out her desk, getting organized and getting back into the business side of being an actor. Next, she’s heading home to Orlando to visit with her mother and to co-host the Miss Florida pageant. After that, she’s got some more growing pains to go through. "I’ve been taking a couple of courses, learning more about myself in that respect," she explains. "While I was a receptionist, I became positive and started doing things in my life. All of a sudden, my life started to move along as an actress because I was taking action. I want to continue that because it seems to work. The times I’ve been successful, it was because I took leaps of faith. That’s one of the things I’m going to do now. I’m totally excited about the possibilities."
"You’re giving of yourself so openly through the character. That’s why acting is so bonding."