Being born to parents who were musicians in addition to her father being a comedian, it was almost natural for Sydney Penny to follow in their footsteps and take to the stage. Speaking in an interview, the Tennessee-born actress revealed that it was her early projects as an actress that taught, shaped, and provided her with the platform to work with some of the industry’s best stars and directors both in the U.S and in Europe.
Penny began her acting career as early as the age of 11 and has since starred in many TV series and feature films. Her most popular roles include Julia Santos Keefer on ABC series All My Children and Samantha “Sam” Kelly on The Bold and the Beautiful which has been airing on CBS since 1987.
Sydney Penny’s Age and Ethnicity
The actress was born in Nashville, Tennessee, on August 7th, 1971 as Sydney Margaret Penny. Her parents are Hank Penny (former Western Swing bandleader and comedian) and his wife, Shari. Sydney grew up in Chatsworth, California. She is American of majorly Caucasian ancestry. There are claims that she has Hungarian, Scots-Irish, French, English, and Cherokee roots but the claims have, however, not been confirmed.
Sydney Penny started off her acting career as early at the age of 11 making her first credited appearance as Maggie in a 1983 ABC miniseries The Thorn Birds. Her next role was as Dani in The New Gidget, a sequel to the original version of the sitcom which aired in syndication from 1986 to 1988. She also starred in the police drama series T. J. Hooker.
Penny was only thirteen when she portrayed Megan Wheeler in the Clint Eastwood western Pale Rider, her performance in the movie earned her a Young Artist Award at the 7th Youth in Film Awards that year. Between 1993 and ’96, she played Julia Santos Keefer on All My Children and made guest appearances in 1997 and 2002 before returning to the show in 2005 prior to her exit in 2008 when her character was killed off.
Within these periods, Sydney also appeared in Santa Barbara as B.J. Walker, played Meg Cummings in Sunset Beach, was in Hyperion Bay as Jennifer, and also starred in Beverly Hills, 90210. She also played Samantha Kelly on The Bold and the Beautiful.
Sydney Penny then starred in Bernadette a film directed by former French actor, film director, editor, and screenwriter Jean Delannoy. She had to travel to France for the shooting of the movie and on arrival, Delannoy informed her there were going to be two versions of the movie, one in English and the other in French. The only French she knew at this time was the basics she was taught in high school but with the help of a coach Martha des Cars (wife of writer Guy des Cars), she was able to learn and master her lines word by word.
The Tennessee-born actress would later return to France to star in the sequel of that movie La Passion de Bernadette, where she spoke only in French, she also had to spend six months in the convent for that movie. Penny spent some more time in France working on the show Largo Winch which was shot in Paris and in Montreal. Thus Sydney Penny learned to speak French as well as she speaks English. While in France, she translated a site about the film industry in France in the French language.
For her performance on the soap opera Santa Barbara, in 1993, she was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series; in 1995 also, she was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, for her role as Julia Santos on All My Children.
Sydney Penny Husband and Son
Penny has been married to Robert Powers since 1995. Powers has a degree in Film, with a minor in Art from Chapman University, and later furthered his studies at the Art Students League in New York City.
He previously worked in the film industry as a coordinating producer on Santa Barbara as well as an assistant to Danny DeVito, it was probably during this time that he met Sydney. The couple has a son together named Chasen. They also have two Siamese cats, named Yo-Yo and Slinky.
Where Is She Now?
Sydney Penny’s most recent appearance in a movie was as Gaby in the 2015 TV movie Killer Crush; these days, she is a business owner, a wife, mother, a performer, and a member of the Wilmington community.
