Don't hate her because she's beautiful
By Richard Spencer, Soap Opera Update, 1992	Home   Cette page en Français

If your life isn't going right for you now, don't read this interview. Because Sydney Penny will probably get on your nerves. This woman is together. Her positive outlook is as enviable as her peace with her past. She feels strongly about what she believes in. In fact, friends have encouraged her to run for office. The bottom line is that her life make sense, and although the actress has impressed Santa Barbara viewers as the complex B.J. Walker with her talent and beauty, it's obvious that her physical beauty is matched by an inner beauty that - to repeat - can make you downright jealous.

She was a very normal child

In her eyes. But was Sydney Penny normal to the point of being boring ? Because some normal people really aren't much fun to be around. "No," Sydney Penny answers. "I was blessed with a family that are all very artistic and interesting. My father was a country / western comedian and guitarist. My mother sang with him. They would play in all kinds of places, and I was introduced to the club life very early.”

"I still love it", Sydney Penny interjects into her own reply. "I never saw the seamy side of humanity. It was a beautiful experience. I was often the only child around, so I didn't have to deal with a lot of kids my age, which was to me when I was growing up, the most annoying thing - dealing with kids my age. They were immature and had no life, and any opportunity that I had to be around adults, and people who had character, I would take it."

Her father had incredible character

He died on Good Friday of this year. He was 73. "He became more and more fascinating to me", Sydney describes. Her words aren't faced with the pain that she has endured. Instead, positive feelings are all over the place. "He was like a great old book that you look at, and even on the shelf it is fascinating : then you start flipping through it and it is mind-blowing. People amaze me", she volunteers. "People are one of my favorite things on Earth."

Sydney's parents always supported her, even when she wanted to be a test pilot. "They were like, "All right, cool"". How her father's death has changed her life is something that she's still finding out. "I have found out how powerful your memory is and how those wonderful and good feeling stay with you, and fortunately I don't recall a single bad time because we adored each other". Sydney pauses. "He was my life and breath. My first thought was, "What am I going to do now ? Where is my continuity going to be ? And who's going to tie this whole package together ?""

Sydney was born in Tennessee. She's lived in Kansas, Nevada, but most of her life she's been in the Los Angeles area.

She admits that she chooses her friends very carefully

"They are unique… and I couldn't find people like them anywhere else in the world. In a friendship, I am honest and open. There are no secrets, and I don't see any point in holding back any part of myself. I expect the same, and all of my friends take the same attitude."

You can't help but to wonder if Sydney Penny has had a blessed life. Not that she hasn't had her problems, but growing up in an entertainment environment, being loved as she claims she has been… it gives her an edge. Even today she doesn't find herself worrying about personal things. "I worry a lot about people's attitudes towards themselves or other people. We need to see that we are not just individuals - we are all part of something bigger."

She's sounding just like a politician

"Everybody has been telling me that lately," Sydney laughs. "But I don't think that I would make a very good politician, because I think that I would say a lot of things that people don't want to hear."

Forget the economy, abortion and the environment. Let's talk soap opera issues. Does Sydney think that the age difference between Warren and B.J. is a problem ? "It's funny - my parents are 20 years apart, so obviously I see no problem with it. I don't think of Jack Wagner (Warren) as being that much older. He acts like he's 16 for God's sake."

Speaking of Jack Wagner

Working with the soap superstar didn't phase Sydney in the least when she first joined the show. "I've worked with Richard Chamberlain and Sophia Loren, and what somebody is or who they are or whatever name they carry with them really doesn't generally impress me."

Of course it doesn't. This woman sees the bigger picture. But back to her comment that she doesn't worry about personal things. Does that mean she is very happy ? "I am. I was always given a sense of self-esteem, and I've been through several things in my life that have been trying in one way or another, and I've always managed to come through them. When something else is coming, I know that I can deal with it. You just put your head down and barrel through it. You can't do it alone. You have to have people next to you who say : "I believe in you, you can do this, and I'll help you if you ever need me.""

She realizes who she is

"I am a person that loves people. I think a person is really just a compilation of everything that they see and hear and learn to value… and absorb. I think what makes a person who they are is what they choose to allow into their lives."

That's a wonderful perceptive thought. Let's hear that again. "I think what makes a person who they are is what they chose to allow into their lives. And I feel that I've chosen to absorb good things." She pauses. "And true things that keep the love that I have for people encouraged, alive and growing."