joie lenz

 dressing for success

 soap opera weekly (june 8, 1999)

The acting career of GL's Joie Lenz is due partly to ambition and partly to the clothes.

When you talk with a high school girl, it usually ends up being about clothes. Joie Lenz, Guiding Light's newest Michelle Bauer, is hardly an exception. Although the actress first came to soap viewers' attention with her highly sophisticated portrayal of Clone Reva—and she looks plenty grown-up in the photographs accompanying this story—inevitably youth will out. And more often than not, it will be about clothes. Take torch songs, for example.

While setting up this photo shoot, Lenz expressed an interest in a torch-song theme. Curious as to whether one so young had experienced the heartbreaks expressed in these sad songs, I asked what made her identify so strongly. I learned it wasn't the sadness. "The period is intriguing," she said, "and I think it's fun. I love anything that is costumey, and any era that is beautiful." The clothes. And as you can see for yourself, she wears them well, with a very mature effect. Is this high school senior, then, in a hurry to grow up?

A charming laugh greets this query, and Lenz instantly becomes the young girl she is. "If I were eager to grow up fast," she says, "I certainly could have in this business. I love the fact that I have my friends in high school and that I can relate to them. I did Stephen King's Thinner when I was a freshman and everyone thought that was really cool. Then all the fuss died down a bit. It is nice when friends come up to me and say they've seen articles about me. Sometimes I get these questions from people and I'm like, 'It's OK. I'm normal!'"

Although Joie Lenz may be perfectly "normal," her high-profile acting job makes her anything but usual in the everyday school world. It makes her special and conspicuous, two conditions that can breed envy in onlookers. "Inevitably, you will encounter that with people," she says. "I know who my friends are, and they accept me. They will come up to me and say, 'Joie, you shouldn't say that because maybe it sounded a little bit snobby." Then I will apologize. But there will always be people who will resent you no matter what you say. My friends would correct me if I developed an attitude."

Lenz's unusual poise and self-possession, coupled with a spoken syntax and vocabulary far more correct and flexible than the current norm, could certainly be read as attitude by the envious. But one doesn't have to spend much time with her to understand that she is, indeed, a very normal young woman, enthusiastic about the possibilities of her talent, eager to make opportunities for herself and excited about life in general.

Her career dream began when she played a Munchkin in a community theater production of The Wizard of Oz at the age of 7. "When I was 5 or 6," she says, "my mother noticed that I loved to sing, and she asked me if I wanted to take an acting class. Both of my parents have always tried to find out what my gifts are and encourage them. I tried it, and then I couldn't get enough. Before I went to acting class, I wanted to be the queen of England." Why her? "The costumes. I wanted to walk around in a dress."

And we're back to the clothes. After all, girls will be girls. They just want to have fun, and that must go for Lenz as well. Is she having any at GL? "Honestly, at first, I thought I was having a really great learning experience. I didn't think I was having fun. I started doing scenes with Tammy (Blanchard; Drew), and I realized that this is fun! It has suddenly become so much fun. I enjoy going over my scripts more. It is a wonderful group of people. I don't even mind having to get up at 5 in the morning to catch the bus. I would never admit that at 5, though."

At home in New Jersey, the fun continues. Although Lenz is an only child, "My mother tells me that I am like having three children," she says. "She always tells me that I will never understand until I have children." Children are definitely a part of Lenz's eventual plan, along with other elements that might surprise her fans. "I am a down-home girl. I love home and a German shepherd and an old red pickup truck from the '50s. I would love an old house in Alabama with little kids running in the yard." But that is a dream for the future; for now, she lives with her mother and spends time working on her music.

"I just got a new guitar," she says with shining eyes. "It's called Stella. My old guitar, Ginger, broke because I got tangled up with my dog on the floor and crushed it. Its neck snapped off." When not engaged in the violent demolition of her musical instrument, Lenz practices and writes songs, something she has been doing since she was 14. "I have been playing for a year. I can strum and fingerpick some songs. I like the guitar because it's portable." She characterizes her songs as "Sheryl Crow-ish" and declares that she would like to be the opening act for Shawn Mullins. It all ties in with her creative ambitions; she is a firm believer in divine guidance. "I know this was what I was made for. I really feel like God put me here for a reason. Even if it took many more years, I would not have given up. I am at peace right now."

At peace, gainfully employed and blissfully single. "I am just sticking with my own life right now," she insists. "Any guy is down the line. Any guy who gets to know me will have to know me as a friend. I have enough trouble trying to find out how my relationship with friends and family will work out. I could go crazy." Lenz is unlikely to go crazy or burn out, because she has her priorities firmly in place and is careful to avoid agenda overload. "I am not a people person. It's not that I am shy, but I am more comfortable in an atmosphere of one-on-one. I hate crowds and parties. I like to get together, with friends, and I am not a 'small talk' kind of person."

What she is is a professional person, focused on the task at hand, and that would be Michelle. "I know that they are taking Michelle in a different direction," she states, sounding more like a seasoned veteran than a soap opera debutante. "She has become more strong and durable. I knew that she would need to get stronger. I think that I could be an old soul, and that is coming across on-screen. I want to keep the sweetness of Michelle, and I don't think that I have being playing that up enough. I think now I will get more of an opportunity to do this. When she became involved with the FBI, this gave me the opportunity to really get into her. I like what they are doing with me right now. This whole Mafia princess thing with the Prada shoes. It's great to wear expensive things that I would never buy for myself. It's fun. The jeans that Michelle was wearing before she got in the Mafia were OK, but I like this better."

When you're a teen-age girl, it always comes back to the clothes.

— Freeman Gunther