Crystal Chappell
Crystal Chappell (born August 4, 1965) is an American soap opera actress.
Personal life
Chappell was born in Silver Spring, Maryland, and attended Arundel High School. She subsequently attended the University of Maryland Baltimore County.
She was married to Scott Fanjoy from 1988 to 1991. She is currently married to actor Michael Sabatino since 1997. They have two children, Jacob Walker (born 2000) and Dylan Michael (born 2003).
Acting
Soap opera and Serial Roles
Chappell's first daytime appearance was as a day player on All My Children in 1989. In a July 2006 interview in industry magazine Soap Opera Digest, Chappell recalled actor Maurice Benard helping her through her first scenes.
After a brief run on Santa Barbara, Chappell was cast Dr. Carly Manning Alamain (Katerina von Leuschner) on Days of Our Lives. She portrayed the role from June 1990 to October 1993. Chappell and future husband Sabatino met on Days of Our Lives, where he played villain Lawrence Alamain. Chappell was front-burner for most of her time on the show, first when her character Carly was featured in a romance with lead character Bo Brady (Peter Reckell, Robert Kelker-Kelly), and then in a complex, byzantine storyline that featured her heretofore unknown secret identity as a European blueblood. The story culminated in a controversial plot that had Carly buried alive by Lawrence's aunt Vivian (Louise Sorel). Chappell left after difficult contract negotiations and differences with head writer James E. Reilly.
Chappell's next role was as Maggie Carpenter on One Life to Live from October 1995 through September 1997. The character of Maggie was created for Chappell, and she was again paired with a romantic lead on the show, Max Holden (James DePaiva). The character was eventually written out.
Since July 2, 1999, she has played complex villainess/anti-heroine Olivia Spencer Lewis on Guiding Light . The role of Olivia was initially only intended to be a short-term role, but Chappell's portrayal was so popular she was signed to a contract.
She won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Daytime Drama for her work as Olivia in 2002 and was nominated again in the same category in 2005 and 2006.
Contract controversy
In 2005, Chappell was ambivalent about re-signing to Guiding Light, as her storyline had ebbed considerably. Shortly after re-signing her contract, she was offered the front-burner role of Paige on One Life to Live. Since "GL" had recently cut a number of its actors from the cast roster, Chappell met with the producers to see if she could be released from her contract with GL.
The show ultimately refused. In the July 2006 interview with Soap Opera Digest, Chappell indicates that, while there are no hard feelings, she's not sure why the show was so eager to keep Olivia as a character, since the character has not been used much, particularly since the pairing of Olivia and Phillip ended.
Other roles
Chappell has also made appearances in the prime time shows Walker, Texas Ranger, Silk Stalkings, Pensacola: Wings of Gold, and Burke's Law.
Awards
Won
- 2002 Daytime Emmy Award Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (Guiding Light)
- 1993 Soap Opera Digest Award Hottest Female Star (Days of Our Lives)
Nominated
- 2006 Daytime Emmy Award Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (Guiding Light)
- 2005 Daytime Emmy Award Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (Guiding Light)