Carolyn Hennesy has been stirring up trouble and sipping the tea as the smart and sassy Diane Miller on General Hospital since 2006. Her work on the show even earned her a 2010 Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress.
More:Carolyn Hennesy Discusses Diane Miller, Horror, the Trapeze
Fans love Hennesy both on and off screen for her sharp wit, trapeze tricks and her frankness about “women of a certain age.” It’s what makes her one of the most refreshing actresses in the entertainment industry.
SheKnows caught up with Hennesy, not only to ask about GH, but to find out the inside scoop on the rumored Gilmore Girls sequel.
Since fans adore the antics of Diane Miller, we gave Hennesy a quiz on how Diane Miller would respond to these pop culture topics:
- The O.J. Simpson trial: “First of all, if she had been defending him, she would have incurred major bad karma points. I don’t think she would have wanted to be in the same room with him, but she would have given him the best defense.”
- J.Lo dating Alex Rodriguez: “She would say, ‘Honey, stop jumping from man to man. You are not a flea going from dog to dog. Take some time and give yourself a year at a nice spa with a good therapist — reflect and revamp your whole way of doing things.'”
- How to united a divided country: “Diane Miller would run for president. It’s as simple as that. Like our current commander-in-chief, I would take not any B.S., but I would do it in much more binding and bonding way. I would make a no-divisive law.”
If those answers don’t make you love Hennesy even more, how about her next big storyline on GH? She teased us with a few upcoming plot points.
“One of the main characters is going off on a nebulous, inner psychological tangents and Diane is heavily involved,” she laughed. “Frank Valentini [General Hospital‘s executive producer] loves me for a reason and it’s because I know how to spin the spoil.”
With the Nurses Ball happening again this year, Hennesy revealed that she has not been asked to participate as of yet. She did have a great idea for a plotline, though.
“I think Diane Miller, using Carolyn Hennesy’s trapeze skills, should descend from the ceiling of the ballroom and do a delightful little trapeze number,” she offered. “I think that would be Hi-larious!”
Her artful comedy was also seen in last fall’s Gilmore Girls reboot as Toni, one of Emily Gilmore’s friends in the Daughters of the American Revolution club. While she doesn’t think her character will be back after Emily’s evolution and move to the beach, she does have an opinion on Rory’s baby daddy.
“I’m not thrilled with that Logan in London who is cheating on his fiancée,” she said. “And I am not thrilled that Rory’s is doing that. Come on!”
More: So, Basically, Milo Ventimiglia Just Doesn’t Have Any More Time for Gilmore Girls
We couldn’t agree more with her Rory assessment and her thoughts on women in Hollywood. Hennesy is vocal about the entertainment industry needing to share stories about women over the age of 45.
“I would love to see the industry cater to women who are not millennials,” she explained. “I understand that you need to keep that audience going, but I think there are so many women who need to see themselves, that age category that I call ‘women of a certain age.’ We need to see women over 45, over 50 and over 60 represented.”
While the entertainment industry needs to rethink how they are handling women over 45, Hennesy believes daytime television is setting the bar for how women’s stories are handled.
“I think daytime TV is doing remarkably well. I think they’re starting to explore LGBT issues, women of a certain age with great friendship issues, cougar issues and why it’s not wrong — I think they’re making the women smarter. Women are doing great!”
Before you go, check out our slideshow below.
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