Melissa Hayden (born November 13, 1967)[1][2] is an American actress. She is best known for playing the role of Bridget Reardon on Guiding Light from 1991 to 1997, returning for the final episodes in 2009. She won a 1994 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actress for her work on Guiding Light.
Early life
Hayden was born in Santa Monica, California. Her father was a car salesman and her mother worked part time in a pharmacy. She was enrolled in dance classes at the age of three.[2] Hayden was ill from the ages of twelve to sixteen with an undetected ovarian cyst that left her paraplegic for a month. The cyst was finally detected when her appendix was removed. Hayden's mother also suffered from chronic illness.[1]
Career
Hayden was thirteen when she landed an uncredited role as a tap dancer in Pennies From Heaven.[2] This was followed by another uncredited role as an orphan in Annie.[1] Hayden appeared in the TV Movies Silence of the Heart and Not My Kid.[3] In 1988, she had an uncredited role in the film Punchline.[4] She guest-starred on TV 101 and had a recurring role on Almost Grown.[4] In addition to film and TV work, she was a member of the California-based song and dance troupe The Young Americans.
Hayden joined the cast of the CBS soap opera Guiding Light as troubled teen Bridget Reardon.[4][2] She received critical acclaim and appeared in memorable storylines from May 21, 1991, until her departure on June 18, 1997. She was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actress in 1993 and won in the same category in 1994.[5][6] She also won a Soap Opera Digest Award in 1994.[7] In 2009, she reprised the role of Bridget for the show's final episodes.[8][9]
