Lesli Kay (born Lesli Kay Pushkin on June 13, 1965 in Charleston, West Virginia) is an American actress, known for her roles on the CBS soap operas As the World Turns and The Bold and the Beautiful. For her role in As the World Turns, Kay received Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2001.[2]

Lesli Kay
Born
Lesli Kay Pushkin

(1965-06-13) June 13, 1965 (age 59)[1]
Years active1991–present
Spouses
Mark Sterling
(m. 1992; div. 1999)
Keith Coulouris
(m. 2003; div. 2011)
Children2

Life and career

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Kay was born in Charleston, West Virginia. At age 12, she had the first individual girl's bat mitzvah in the state of West Virginia. She moved to New York City at the age of 15 to pursue a modeling career before graduating from Colorado State University.[2] Kay later worked at MTV and won $27,500 on Wheel of Fortune.

In 1997 she made her daytime debut as Molly Conlan on As the World Turns. For some time the character was not very popular due to Molly's villainous behavior, but she eventually won a 2001 Daytime Emmy for Best Supporting Actress in addition to charming viewers during her romance with Jake McKinnon (Tom Eplin). When Jake was killed off in 2002, Molly again became adrift, and Kay left the show in early 2004 after a number of promised storylines never appeared. Kay popped up a few months later to recast the popular, brassy character of Lois Cerullo on General Hospital. Kay (and the resurrected character of Lois) exited GH in early 2005 after mutually agreeing to part ways with the show.

In November 2005, Kay assumed the role of Felicia Forrester on The Bold and the Beautiful, taking over for Colleen Dion after a year's absence. Bold and the Beautiful Head Writer Bradley Bell had planned to kill her character off from cancer. However, a huge fan outpouring, including petitions and numerous letters, in addition to Kay's job of making the role her own, convinced Bell to keep Kay on the cast. Her character, Felicia Forrester was resurrected from the dead. Lesli Kay invested herself into the cancer storyline so much that she shaved her head for the role.[3] In 2007, Kay was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress at the 34th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards but lost to Genie Francis.

In 2008, it was announced that Kay would crossover to The Young and the Restless, in what was considered to be a semi-permanent basis.[4] Kay's crossover to Y&R was short-lived and she returned to her home series. In 2009, it was announced that Kay would make history in becoming the first actress to hold two roles on two separate coasts, when she was announced to be returning to the role of Molly on As the World Turns, while maintaining her role as Felicia on a recurring status.[5] She stayed with As the World Turns until the show's final episode on September 17, 2010. Kay continued making appearances on B&B until 2014, and then reprised the role in 2016.[6]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1995 Forbidden Games Shannon Douglas
1996 Deadly Charades Julie Sharp
1996 Petticoat Planet Sheriff Sarah Parker
1996 Cyberella: Forbidden Passions Jana
1997 Guarded Secrets Miranda
2005 Carpool Guy Vanessa
2007 The Anna Nicole Smith Story Ginger
2007 Shadow People Gretchen
2009 My New SweetHeart Carrie Short film
2013 Close to Home Night Nurse Short film
2024 Chagrin

Television

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Year Title Character Notes
1991 Hunter Colleen Guest; Episode "All That Glitters" (as Leslie Kay Pushkin)
1993 Counterstrike Frenchie's Secretary Guest; Episode "French Twist" (as Leslie Kay Sterling)
1995 Nowhere Man Tina Guest; Episode "You Really Got a Hold On Me" (as Leslie Kay Sterling)
1996 Hot Line Samantha Guest; Episode "The Gardener" (as Leslie Kay Sterling)
1996 High Tide Agent Robin Foster Guest; Episode "Mission Improbable" (as Leslie Kay Sterling)
1996–1997 The Big Easy Sophie / Nurse Guest; Episodes "The Love Doctor" and "Driving Ms. Money" (as Leslie Kay Sterling)
1997 Women: Stories of Passion n/a Guest; Episode "Table Service" (as Leslie Kay Sterling)
1997–2004, 2009–2010 As the World Turns Molly Conlan Series regular: 1997–2004
Recurring star: 2009–2010
2003 Law & Order Amanda Taylor Guest; Episode "Maritime"
2004–2005 General Hospital Lois Cerullo Series regular
2005 CSI: NY Tanya Daville Guest; Episode "Zoo York"
2005–2014, 2016 The Bold and the Beautiful Felicia Forrester Series regular: 2005–2009
Recurring star: 2010–2014, 2016
2008 The Young and the Restless Felicia Forrester Recurring star
2009 Ghost Whisperer Suzanne Zale / Celeste Barrington Guest; Episode "Stage Fright"
2009 Raising the Bar Massage Complainant Guest; Episode "Happy Ending"
2009–2010 Venice: The Series Tracy Lansing Series regular: Season 1
2010 The Bay Belinda Madison Series regular: Season 1
2013 The Good Mother Lifetime TV movie
2017 The Wrong Crush Lifetime TV movie
2019 The Wrong Cheerleader Eliza Lifetime TV movie
2021 The Wrong Fiancé Melinda Lifetime TV movie
2022 The Wrong Blind Date Angela Lifetime TV movie
2022 Keeping Up with the Joneses Captain O'Neill 3 episodes
2023 Lucky Hearts Harrington TV movie

References

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  1. ^ "Lesli Kay - Rotten Tomatoes". www.rottentomatoes.com.
  2. ^ a b "About the Actors | Lesli Kay | The Bold and the Beautiful on Soap Central". soapcentral.com.
  3. ^ [1][permanent dead link] Soapcentral.com News
  4. ^ Kroll, Dan J. (2008-03-03). "Y&R planning comebacks and crossovers". Soap Central. Soapcentral.com. Retrieved November 8, 2012.
  5. ^ "Lesli Kay makes history in return to ATWT". soapcentral.com.
  6. ^ "Winsor Harmon and Lesli Kay back to B&B". soapcentral.com.
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