joie lenz

take a look at her now

 cbs soaps in depth (may 23, 2000)

All grown up, Joie Lenz sinks her teeth into a more mature Michelle Santos

When Joie Lenz returned to GUIDING LIGHT in November 1998 as golden child Michelle Bauer (after a short stint as the teenage Clone Reva), she was a high school senior teetering on the brink of adulthood. Over the course of the past 18 months, the actress—and the character she's made her own since replacing Rebecca Budig (now Greenlee, ALL MY CHILDREN)—have crossed the bridge into the scary realm where grown-ups reside, and along the way, learning some valuable lessons.

"Working here has brought to my attention a lot of differences in actors and how they work and how you have to cooperate," she says. "It's been the most incredible experience in learning how to work with other people."

For Lenz, achieving that harmony didn't come easily. As Michelle was thrown into a hot-and-heavy romance with mobster Danny Santos, her portrayer still was penning term papers in between studying her lines, and, at times, felt like she was not being taken seriously.

"Sometimes I get slack from people," she admits. "They see me as an 18-year-old kid, so they try to push me around and make me go to their way of working.

"It's really taught me a lot about patience," she continues. "In terms of realizing that sometimes people are going to perceive a young person who is goal-oriented and not afraid to stand up for what they believe in as aggressive. You can handle that situation by being snobby about it, or you can be graceful and swallow your pride when you need to. I think that in the past two years, I've really learned how to handle that situation maturely, and pick and choose my battles."

Modern Maturity

Much of Lenz's emotional growth came within the few short months following her graduation. All at once, she said goodbye to her mother, who moved to California (Lenz's dad still lives in New Jersey), and farewell to her friends who headed off to college.

"The first six months were awful," she confesses. "I was all by myself. It was like I had gone from a high school kid to businesswoman, and that was really hardening. I basically lived at work."

And then the dam broke. "I was going through a real rough spot," Lenz recalls. "My friend, Tighe, and I were in the car, and I just started sobbing. Two years ago, I never would have cried in front of anyone. But it was like a snap of the fingers, like God was saying, 'Release! It's better for you!'

"And from that day forward," she adds with a laugh, "whenever I needed to cry on cue, it just came."

Mother Mayhem

Since Lenz assumed the role of Michelle, the character has grown up as well. "Michelle's gotten a lot more secure with herself, and part of that is because of the relationship she has with Danny [Santos, the mobster to whom she is married]," she muses. "All of the things that they've been through—especially with [his mother] Carmen—have really... given her more compassion for people."

For the most part. The recent return of Michelle's biological mother, Claire Ramsey, has rocked her world in a way from which Lenz isn't sure her alter ego may ever recover. "I doubt that Michelle will ever call Claire Mom," she laughs. "I don't think Michelle likes what she's feeling toward this woman—a lot of spite, unforgiveness and bitterness."

Musical Chairs

Since Lenz is 19, it's no surprise that she is spontaneous and full of energy. And with all that's on her plate, she has to be. Next month, not only is the songwriter meeting with a record label to discuss her demo, but she and a pal will be traveling to France to pen a Paris-set screenplay. "We're just going to go out into the countryside and write all day," she declares.

In less than two decades, Lenz has seemed to touch upon nearly every aspect of the entertainment industry—daytime, primetime, theater, film, commercials, writing. Is there anything left? "Musical theater!" she sings. "Oh, my dream. My passion. Music is in my veins. I am constantly writing songs. Just being able to mix that passion with my other passion, for acting, would be unbelievable. I have to brush up on my dancing, but I'd definitely love to hit Broadway."

Taking A Bow?

With all of her side projects, Lenz may not be long for Springfield. Following her appearance as Mary Tyler Moore's daughter in the Mary & Rhoda reunion telepic, there was much speculation that she would be spreading her wings once her GL contract expires this fall. And while she admits that she has received "a lot of calls from networks, wanting me to read for pilots," she feels that it's too early to make a final decision.

"A lot can happen in six months," she states, adding that whatever comes to pass, she always will carry with her what she's learned at GL. "It's like getting paid to take acting lessons.

"It all comes down to whether you respect the work you're doing and feel like you're getting something. That's all you could ever ask for. And I'm satisfied with my work. I'm doing it to the best of the ability that God's given me, and that's what matters."

— Michelle Ann Moro