Cynthia Watros

Cynthia Michele Watros (born September 2, 1968) is an American actress recognized for her roles in both daytime and primetime television. In 1994, she was cast in the regular role of Annie Dutton on Guiding Light, which earned her the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 1998. In 2002, she was cast as Kellie on The Drew Carey Show and in 2005 joined the cast of Lost as Libby Smith. Since 2019, Watros has portrayed the role of Nina Reeves on ABC's General Hospital.

Cynthia Watros
Watros in 2008
Born	Cynthia Michele Watros September 2, 1968 Lake Orion, Michigan, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1994–present
Spouse(s)	Curtis Gilliland ​ (m. after 1996)​
Children	2

Early life

Watros was born in Lake Orion, Michigan. She attended Macomb Community College in Clinton Township, Michigan,[1] and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Theatre from Boston University,[2] where she was part of Boston University's Professional Actors Training Program.

Career

Watros initially became known for her role as Annie Dutton on the CBS soap opera Guiding Light from 1994 to 1998.[3] Her character, a nurse, began as a heroine, but she gained notice and critical acclaim as her character gradually descended into madness. In 1998, Watros won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her role on Guiding Light. In 1998, she briefly filled in for Jensen Buchanan as Victoria Hudson McKinnon on Another World while Buchanan was on maternity leave.[4]

Watros appeared as Erin Fitzpatrick on Titus from 2000 to 2002 and gained recognition as a comedic actress, playing the fiancée of the title character. According to the DVD commentary, Erin was intended to be neurotic and socially awkward, but the character was revised a week before the pilot was shot. After Titus was canceled, she took on the role of Kellie Newmark on The Drew Carey Show, as a replacement for Christa Miller. Watros played the role from 2002–04.

From 2005 to 2006, Watros was a cast member on the ABC series Lost, playing psychologist Libby, a member of the "Tailies", a group of survivors of the plane crash who were in the tail section of the plane (and not seen during Season One). She was a romantic interest to Hurley and was very mysterious showing up in flashbacks.

After her departure from Lost in 2006, Watros filmed a pilot for a show titled My Ex-Life for CBS. She was slated to play the ex-wife of a character played by Tom Cavanagh. However, the pilot was not chosen by CBS.[5] Watros was also the lead in the 2007 CBS television pilot for The Rich Inner Life of Penelope Cloud, a comedy about a former literary genius who, after an awakening, decides to pursue optimism instead of cynicism.

In 2009, Watros filmed a pilot for Valley Girls, a spin-off of the CW series Gossip Girl set in the 1980s, in which she played CeCe Rhodes, the socialite ex-wife of Rick Rhodes, and mother of the series' protagonists. In a May 2009 episode of the USA series In Plain Sight, "A Stand-Up Triple", she guest starred as a mother of three children in the witness protection program. Beginning in April 2010, Watros joined the cast of the TV medical drama House for seven episodes as Samantha Carr, one of Dr. James Wilson's ex-wives.

Watros appeared in the 2012 indie film, Electrick Children. In May 2012, she guest-starred in episode 8.22 of Grey's Anatomy. In June 2013, she guest-starred in episode 4.17 of Warehouse 13. She played Mary Matrix, coach of the FPS Varsity team in the online series Video Game High School. Her character first appears in season two of the series, which started July 2013. Watros starred as Avery Jenning's self-obsessed aunt in Dog with a Blog on December 6, 2013.

In 2013, Watros joined the cast of the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless, but left the show in early 2014 with her character being recast. In July 2014, she joined the cast of the MTV series Finding Carter.[6]

In 2019, Watros joined the cast of General Hospital as Nina Reeves, taking over the role from actress Michelle Stafford who's returning to the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless.[3][7] Watros also makes a guest appearance in the digital drama series Misguided, playing a waitress named Anne, and is a throw back to her role as Annie Dutton on Guiding Light.[8]

Personal life

Watros and Bonnie-Jill Laflin posing with a serviceman on a USO tour

Watros has been married to Curtis Gilliland since 1996. They have twin daughters, born in 2001.[9]

In 2006, Watros pleaded guilty to a DUI charge. She was fined, ordered to undergo counseling, and had her driver's license suspended for 90 days.[10]

In 2008, Watros participated in a USO tour to Iraq, visiting several bases, including COP Callahan in Baghdad's East Adamiyah area.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1995	Cafe Society	Dianna Harris
1997	His and Hers	Pam
2000	Mercy Streets	Sam
2001	The Yellow Bird	Alma Tutwiler	Short film
2002	P.S. Your Cat Is Dead	Kate
2005	Just Pray	Perry Ann Lewis	Short film
2007	Frank	Jennifer York
2008	Duane Incarnate	Connie
2008	American Crude	Jane
2009	Calvin Marshall	Karen
2010	Mars	Allison Guthrie
2012	Electrick Children	Gay Lynn
2013	Park City	Nina
2014	Blood and Circumstance	Mrs. Stabler
2017	Special Unit	Tara Small	[11]

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1994	New York Undercover	Reporter	Episode: "Missing"
1994–1998	Guiding Light	Annie Dutton / Dee	Series regular
1997	Spin City	Gayley	Episode: "Striptease"
1998	Another World	Vicky Hudson	9 episodes
1998	Profiler	Helen Jefferies	Episode: "Perfect Helen"
2000–2002	Titus	Erin Fitzpatrick	Main role, 54 episodes
2002	A Nero Wolfe Mystery	Phoebe Gunther	"The Silent Speaker"
2002–2004	The Drew Carey Show	Kellie Newmark	Main role (Season 8–9), 52 episodes
2005	Washington Street	Maggie	Movie
2005–2006, 2008, 2010	Lost	Elizabeth "Libby" Smith	Main role (Season 2) Special guest star (Seasons 4 & 6) 24 episodes
2007	Avenging Angel	Maggie	Movie
2007	The Rich Inner Life of Penelope Cloud	Eva	Movie
2007	Raines	Sarah Carver	Episode: "Closure"
2007	Law & Order: Criminal Intent	Beth Hoyle	Episode: "Offense"
2008	Fear Itself	Meredith Kane	Episode: "Spooked"
2008	The Bill Engvall Show	AJ	Episodes: "Susan's Best Friend" "Bill Talks a Good Game"
2009	Family Guy	Security System Voice	Episode: "Ocean's Three and a Half"
2009	In Plain Sight	Maureen Stewart / Maureen Sullivan	Episode: "A Stand-Up Triple"
2009	Gossip Girl	Young Celia Rhodes	Episode: "Valley Girls"
2009	CSI: Crime Scene Investigation	Barbie Aubrey	Episode: "All In"
2009	The Closer	Robin Milano	Episode: "Identity Theft"
2009	Criminal Minds	Heather Vanderwaal	Episode: "Reckoner"
2009	Men of a Certain Age	Erica	Episode: "Mind's Eye"
2010	The Secret Life of the American Teenager	Nicky	Episode: "The Second Time Around"
2010	House	Sam Carr	7 episodes
2010	Desperate Housewives	Tracy Miller	Episode: "Pleasant Little Kingdom"
2012	A Smile as Big as the Moon	Dr. Deborah Barnhart	Movie
2012	Retribution	Karen	Movie
2012	Grey's Anatomy	Mrs. Connor	Episode: "Let the Bad Times Roll"
2012	Hawaii Five-0	Katie Burgess	Episode: "Lana I Ka Moana"
2013	Cynthia Watros Gets Lost	As herself	4 pilot episodes on YouTube
2013	Warehouse 13	Janice Malloy	Episode: "What Matters Most"
2013–2014	Video Game High School	Mary Matrix	12 episodes
2013	Dog with a Blog	Aunt Sigourney	Episode: "Twas the Flight Before Christmas"
2013–2014	The Young and the Restless	Kelly Andrews	Series regular
2014–2015	Finding Carter	Elizabeth Wilson	Main role
2015	Stolen from the Suburbs	Katherine	Movie
2017	Washed Away		Movie
2017	Deadly Exchange	Detective Hardy	Movie
2019	Misguided	Anne	Guest Star, 2 Episodes
2019–present	General Hospital	Nina Reeves	Regular role

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Work	Result	Ref.
1998	Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series	Guiding Light	Won	[12]
	Soap Opera Digest Award for Outstanding Villainess in a Drama Series – Daytime		Nominated	[13]
2006	Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series	Lost	Won	[14]
2020	Indie Series Award for Best Guest Actress - Drama	Misguided	Nominated	[15]

References

1. "Cynthia Watros Biography". The New York Times. New York City: The New York Times Company. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
3. SOD (April 11, 2019). "GH Recasts Nina With Cynthia Watros!". Soap Opera Digest. United States: American Media, Inc. Odyssey Magazine Publishing Group Inc. Archived from the original on April 11, 2019. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
4. https://www.welovesoaps.net/2010/01/classic-clips-cynthia-watros.html
5. My Ex Life at TV.com
6. "Cynthia Watros - Finding Carter". mtv.com. MTV. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
7. Stone, Natalie (April 11, 2019). "Lost Actress Cynthia Watros Is Replacing Michelle Stafford on General Hospital". People. United States: Time Inc. / Meredith Corporation. Retrieved April 11, 2019.
8. "GH's Cynthia Watros Joins Web Series MISGUIDED". Soap Opera Digest. May 22, 2019. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
9. "The Young and the Restless ACTOR - Cynthia Watros". Archived from the original on April 19, 2014. Retrieved June 2, 2014.
10. https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2006/04/25/lost-actress-chooses-jail-over-service/
11. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5539284/fullcredits?ref_=tt_cl_sm#cast
12. Margulies, Lee (May 18, 1998). "'All My Children' Tops Daytime Emmys". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California: Tribune Company. Archived from the original on December 24, 2013. Retrieved May 6, 2013.
13. "Event: Soap Opera Digest Awards (1998)". Internet Movie Database. February 4, 1993. Retrieved February 27, 2013.
14. "12th Annual Screen Actors Guild Award Recipients". Archived from the original on August 19, 2007. Retrieved August 28, 2007.
15. "11th Annual Indie Series Awards Nominations". INDIE SERIES AWARDS. Retrieved April 25, 2020.

External links

• Cynthia Watros at IMDb