BROADCASTS.com

Lauren Koslow has been making waves as the crafty Kate Roberts since 1996, but she didn't begin as an actress. The second of three children studied art at University of Massachusetts, then transferred to Virginia Tech, where she obtained a degree in costume design. After graduating, she worked as a costumer/actress for a regional summer-stock theatrical company and soon segued into acting full-time, winning roles in local productions, such as Dial M for Murder and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

In the early 1980s, she moved to California, eventually landing a role in the Rick Springfield (ex-Noah, GENERAL HOSPITAL) movie Hard to Hold. Soon after, she joined Y&R. A year after leaving that show, she joined up with Y&R's sister show, B&B, where she remained until 1992 (and made a guest appearance last year).

During her four-year break from soaps, she continued to act, guest-starring on SILK STALKINGS (in 1993) and THE NANNY (in 1994). When she returned to daytime as Kate, she had the unenviable task of being a recast for Deborah Adair, but it didn't take Koslow too long to win over fans and critics. In 2000, she received a SOAP OPERA DIGEST Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress.