Robin Wright : her dream of having a baby and raising it in France
By Alena Prime, Télé Star, 1985	Home   Cette page en Français

At fourteen years old, this pretty Texan was already a model and it was only natural that she became a television actress, the star of the soap-opera Santa Barbara. But a stay in France gave her forever the love of our country.

Robin, it's a female name, right ? If you have any doubts, do not waste time opening a first names dictionary. Instead, take a look at the young beauty who plays Kelly in the soap-opera Santa Barbara. Her name is Robin, Robin Wright. And there is little risk that she will be mistake with Robin Hood...

Born in Dallas, Texas on April 8, 1966, Robin would certainly have been better at her place in the show which is named like her hometown than in another. Texans are often accused of being boastful and of finding that everything is better in their home. For once, we have to agree. Texan to the end of her fingernails, Robin is also a natural success story : tall, thin, with long blond hair, she is able to wear blue jeans like no other and admits that it is her favorite clothes...

She was born on Easter Sunday, the second child (her brother is three years more than her) of a beautiful Texan, model since the age of sixteen. Yet not everything has always been rosy in the little girl’s life. She was only three when her parents divorced. Courageously, her mother began to seek regular work to feed her two children. She joined a cosmetics company that was going into the market. Becoming one of the company’s executives, she had to travel a lot, taking her two little ones everywhere with her. Robin went to school in several states before settling in California.

When her mother remarried an Englishman who also had two children, Robin felt rejected. She was only eleven years old, but she decided that from now on her life would be her own. At twelve years old, she was already posing for swimsuits for teenagers. And, at only fourteen, she became a cover-girl : a star model ! This in no way prevented her from continuing her studies which she brilliantly completed at the age of seventeen.

To reward her, her mother offered her a trip to Europe. And here is Robin backpacking with a girlfriend for a six-week hike, which finally lasted eight months. In the meantime, this is right, she had met a Parisian photographer whom she fell in love with. It was then not very difficult for her to get hired as a model by the Paris Planning agency, where she quickly gained enough to live widely and visit all Europe and North Africa. At Christmas 1983, she decided to go to California to spend the holidays with her family. As soon as she arrived, she was hired for television commercials.

Things then rushed. Her agent sent Robin to audition for a new soap-opera in the works : Santa Barbara. The young woman immediately pleased the producers. But everyone had a different idea of the role they wanted to give her. So, she first auditioned for the role of Laken. Then for that of Jade, but the character was only fifteen years old.

For Kelly, the producers wanted a sophisticated actress, much like a young Grace Kelly. With her hair up or pulled in a bun, Robin is able to have all the distinction in the world. However, it took almost six months for the production, so enthusiastic at the beginning, to decide.

Tired of waiting by her phone, Robin then left for Hawaii, where her mother has many friends. She quickly found a job... sailor on a beautiful sailboat that made small cruises between Hawaii and the Bahamas. To be up to the task, the girl very seriously prepared and passed her sailing certificate.

Two days before boarding, a phone call from her agent : Robin had the role of Kelly and she could start a week later. However, she hesitated and we understand her. At 18, she was about to embark, with her hair in the wind, for the adventure and the wide open. In Hollywood, it was the slavery of soap-opera actors that awaited her : she should be ready to shoot at half past seven a.m.. And she wouldn’t finish her day till eight p.m..

On weekends, soap stars are so tired that they usually spend the two days and two nights recovering to be able to stand on Monday mornings. Nothing like a luxury cruise, even if the fee is important.

After two days of reflection, Robin decided to accept the part. Did she hear the call of love ? Still, it was on the set that she met Dane (who plays the role of Joe Perkins), whom she is now seriously considering marrying. Alas, Joe's character quickly faded from the show and Robin currently finds herself the only female star to have been there from the start.

Her dream, as soon as she is free again, is to have a child. "I want him to be raised in France and his first language to be French," she says. "And I wish it will be a girl. When she is born, I will stop working for three years to raise her properly in France."

But Robin’s health has been a little concerning lately. A doctor has obtained that her contract no longer requires her to work five days a week, twelve hours a day. So she only goes to the studio for three days. This is much more bearable and she will be in great shape when she comes to raise her baby with us.