Highlight Reel
Y&R’S Tracey E. Bregman (Lauren) looks back on five powerful storylines.
THE “MEAN GIRL” YEARS, 1983-85, 1994
■ You were originally brought on as Traci’s nice friend but then-head Writer William J. Bell took Lauren into bad girl territory. How did you like that? “That was a lot of fun. And, in fact, somebody sent me one of the pool parties scenes with Beth [Maitland, Traci] and Michael [Damian, ex-danny], where Lauren announced her engagement to Danny, knowing Traci had feelings for him. Oh, my God ... I was even meaner than I thought.”
You tormented that poor girl. Today it’s called bullying. “I remember I had a lot of hard times saying bad things to Beth because she’s one of my best friends. It was really difficult. But in looking back, I forgot how really mean I was! But as Beth will tell you, I cried more than she did!”
While Lauren and Traci were vying for Danny’s attention, you, Beth and Michael put on some elaborately staged concerts. Were those fun or grueling? “They were so much fun. It took a lot to do them. In those days, we were working four-to-five days a week, 20-to-40 pages of dialogue a day, and I was going to the recording studio every night. Thank God, I was young!”
Lauren and Traci fought over Brad, even literally when, in 1994, they had a catfight. Fast-forward to 2008, when Lauren made amends with Traci. Was that gratifying for you? “Yes! I was so thrilled and the audience loved that Lauren got the chance to apologize. Beth and I were both so excited. You know, I wish they would do more of that and kind of bring it back. I think now there can even be some kidding with each other.
Beth and I always try and put some stuff like that in.”
MARRIAGE TO PAUL, 1984-86
■ No one really saw her relationship with Paul coming. Did you? “No, but what I loved about Bill is he would try things out and put people together that were never together before for an episode. Lauren’s father [Neil] had cut off her allowance and she freaked out, so she started stealing from [his department store] Fenmore’s. He hired Paul to do surveillance and Paul caught her shoplifting, and that’s how he and Lauren met. I love Doug [Davidson, Paul] and wanted to work with him. When they tried us out, we were just really hopeful.”
Well, they suddenly got married and Lauren trying to be the good wife was a hoot. What did you like about that? “I just loved that [Paul’s mother] Mary hated Lauren. She could never get that woman’s approval. She couldn’t cook, she was just not equipped for marriage. Carolyn Conwell [Mary] was brilliant. Around that time of Paul and Lauren, she sort of stopped being such a mean girl. What I loved is Bill then wanted to give insight into why Lauren acted the way she did, and that’s when they brought in Susan Seaforth Hayes [Julie, DAYS] as her mom, Joanna.”
Boy, and that explained a lot about Lauren! Then came Lauren’s deranged fan, Shawn Garrett. Did Bill lay out the story of what was going to happen? “I was rarely told stuff ahead of time; Bill wanted the story to unfold. We had a great relationship. He would always listen to me, but we went through our own little trials and tribulations as well over the years. I certainly did not see the buried-alive part coming, that’s for sure!”
Shawn buried Lauren in a coffin. She was unconscious through the whole thing but you weren’t, right? “Nope and I’m very claustrophobic, so I was like, ‘Okay, Who’s going to do it?’ They had to literally put the lid on at the very last minute. I was not happy that day. It was me trying not to have a panic attack on camera.”
LAUREN TAKES OVER, 1986
■ Paul and Lauren’s marriage went bust after she submitted his nude photo that ended up running as a centerfold. “That was funny. I don’t think the audience had a problem with it. First of all, could you believe Doug’s body? He was so beautiful, still is. But that picture, I was like, ‘Oh, my God!’ And then Lauren had to run around and buy all the magazines back. It was hilarious.”
Not too long after the centerfold debacle, Lauren’s father died, which, wouldn’t you say, was a seismic shift in her life? “It was huge. She really had to grow up if she was going to run a chain of department stores. A lot of people didn’t have confidence in her except two men: Brad and Victor. Brad was working with Lauren and he kept saying, ‘You can do
this. You can do this.’ And it was Victor who was on the board of directors and said, ‘Lauren’s going to run it.’ And that’s why Lauren and Victor have such a deep bond. He stood up for her. She was so young and she didn’t even think she could do it and she had these two men that believed in her.”
Of course, Lauren’s dad dying meant you were no longer working with Jim Storm (ex-michael, THE DOCTORS et al). “Yes, that’s very true. It was so funny when he ended up on BOLD AND BEAUTIFUL [as Bill Spencer, Sr.] and I did a crossover. It’s like, what are we going to say to each other? Our characters did have a moment. There was an homage.”
TERRORIZED BY SHEILA, 1990-92, 1993, 1995, 2005-07
■ Of course, what Lauren will long be remembered for is her adversarial relationship with Sheila that spanned decades on two shows when you include your time on B&B. “Just before that story, I had purchased a condo and Bill asked me, ‘How much did you pay for it?’ At first I was taken aback, and when I told him, he said, ‘Okay, let’s pay it off this year.’ He was really wonderful to me.”
Sheila entered Lauren’s life, stole her husband and then her infant son in one of daytime’s most memorable baby-switch stories. From there, it seemed Lauren was a damsel in distress. What did you think of that? “There was a complete shift where Lauren became victim-y, which made her softer than she’s ever been. It was to show the dichotomy between the characters. Kimberlin [Brown, Sheila] was scary, creepy good.”
You were pregnant in real life, so Lauren became pregnant but sadly, you had a miscarriage, so Lauren miscarried, as well, and then she got pregnant again. Was that a pretty emotional time for you? “Yes, because Bill made me do Lauren’s miscarriage on camera after my own. And then when I got pregnant again, with [my son] Austin, I was scared to tell Bill I was pregnant. I didn’t tell anybody on set until I was safely six months along.
No one knew. What’s funny is that I gained
15 pounds in the first five months and I’ll never forget the hairdresser asking, ‘Did you mean to gain this much weight?’ and I was like, ‘Yes, I did!’ When I was at six months I finally said something and Lauren’s pregnancy was quickly written in.”
Sheila “died” and Lauren got her baby back. Were you surprised when Kimberlin was sent over to B&B to continue playing Sheila? “Yes. Bill called her on set which, of course, is usually the kiss of death. You do not want to get called like that, but he said to Kimberlin, ‘What if you go to Los Angeles and you start over?’ It was a testament to her.”
Lauren and Sheila’s catfights were legendary. Did you ever get tired of them? “They weren’t my favorite, but I’ve got to say that Kimberlin and I were always in complete sync. I was usually in high heels and she was always in tennis shoes. She had traction, I had none. Whenever I’d start to slide down or fall over, she’d hold on to me. She was really good at keeping me upright. She was stronger and it came in handy, let me tell ya.”
THE BALDWINS, 2004-PRESENT
■ Two men, Michael and Kevin, would come into Lauren’s life. First there was Kevin, who became obsessed with Lauren. How did you like working with his portrayer, Greg Rikaart? “It was such a treat to work with Greg and it still is. That led to the story I really loved, when Lauren and Michael teamed up to help [his little brother] Kevin and ended up falling in love. Christian [J. Leblanc, Michael] and I loved working with each other right away and we were hoping the writers would pick up on our chemistry.”
Y&R staged quite the splashy wedding for Michael and Lauren. Weren’t you in a really tight dress? “I was wearing a mermaid wedding dress and yes, it was very tight. I just remember we shot all day and then we did our one-page wedding vows at 1 in the morning in one take.”
Lauren’s son Scott, who was now 24 years old, popped up. “I’ll never forget, my sister-in-law came to visit on set and I introduced her to Blair [Redford, ex-scott] and she asked, ‘Oh, is this your new love interest?’ I was like, ‘I wish, but no.’ ”
Michael and Lauren had a son, Fenmore, and we got the chance to see her really be a mother, especially when he became 16. “I know. I loved all of that. And Zach [Tinker] playing Fen, fit in at moment one. It was like he played that character forever. I think he’s so talented. I wish we could see more of him.”
Well, until then, Michael and Lauren are happily married. “Yes — for now.”