APPLAUSE by Michael Logan, TV Guide, the week of June 15th, 2002
AMC's Finola Hughes gets the royal treatment she deserves in Lifetime's Intimate Portrait: Finola Hughes (june 17, 7p.m.) Don't miss it! The program boasts rare footage of the ABC soap queen dancing in the original company of "Cats" in London, as well as tasty insight into her big screen break as John Travolta's bi##hy girlfriend in "Stayin Alive" (the much hyped but notoriously stinky sequel to "Saturday Night Fever"). We also get to the truth behind her tacky and abrupt dismissal from General Hospital in 1991 which occurred not long after she won an Emmy and a generous peak into her private life, from her lengthy love affair with Dynasty's Michael Praed to her off the wall marriage to wild-man artist, Russell Young. Yet, like the true star she is, Hughes, emerges from this tell all with mystique in tact. Alternately joyous, sexy and deeply moving, this tribute to a remarkable actress is one Portrait definitely worth framing.

Lifetime TV- Finola Hughes: Family Woman
Finola Hughes has made her mark in the world of daytime television, but this British actress's real life is refreshingly down-to-earth.

Finola Hughes was born and raised in the 1960s in Notting Hill, a bohemian neighborhood in London. The oldest of two children born to her Italian mother, Maria, and her Irish father, Bill, she was raised to appreciate creativity over obedience. Hughes' mother encouraged her daughter to learn ballet and enrolled her in a performing arts school. The young girl thrived-  her first public performance was at age 11, at London's Royal Opera House. She was accepted to a professional ballet company soon after graduating from high school, but her dancing days were cut short by her mother's battle with breast cancer. The dutiful daughter moved home and took care of her mother until she died six months later. Despite the grief, Hughes decided the show must go on. She auditioned and landed parts in the theater, most notably as Victoria the White Cat in the original London production of "Cats."

After a few more years on the London stage, Hughes decided to broaden her horizons and move to the United States. In 1984, she auditioned for the casting directors of "General Hospital," who offered her the role of a spy named Anna Devane. She instantly attracted attention and daytime TV fans. When her father succumbed to a heart attack the following year, Hughes brought her teenage brother, Sean, over from England to raise him on her own.

After a few more years on the London stage, Hughes decided to broaden her horizons and move to the United States. In 1984, she auditioned for the casting directors of "General Hospital," who offered her the role of a spy named Anna Devane. She instantly attracted attention and daytime TV fans. When her father succumbed to a heart attack the following year, Hughes brought her teenage brother, Sean, over from England to raise him on her own.

In 1992, Hughes married music video director Russell Young in England. She continued to appear in numerous TV and film projects before returning to daytime television in 1999, when she joined the cast of "All My Children" to reprise her role as Anna Devane and portray a new character: Anna's twin sister, Alex. She recently earned another Daytime Emmy nomination. Another proud day was November 9, 2000, when Hughes gave birth to a little boy, Dylan Joseph.

Did You Know? 

• Finola Hughes was born on October 29, 1960. She is a Scorpio.
• Hughes won a Daytime Emmy Award.
• Hughes likes to wear rock 'n' roll fashion.
• Her husband proposed to her in the desert, wearing a pair of angel's wings and leather pants.
• Hughes has a dog named Jagger, and one of her favorite pastimes is walking him on the streets of New York City.
• Her best friend is Ian Buchanan, who played Duke, the second husband of her character on "General Hospital."
• Hughes says the worst job she ever had was cleaning apartments when she was 17 years old.

      *To view videos of Finola answering Lifetime TV questions, click here.