As the World Turns

Background:

Two time Daytime Emmy Award winning American actress Martha Byrne is associated with her role of Lily Walsh on the long running series “As the World Turns” (1985-1989, 1993-2008), in which she also played Lily's twin, Rose D'Angelo, during 2000 to 2005. For her performance, she collected eight Daytime Emmy nominations, two of which she won in 1987 and 2001, and seven Soap Opera Digest nominations. Other acting credits include guest roles in such series as “Kate and Allie,” “Murder, She Wrote,” “Jake and the Fatman,” “Silk Stalkings” and “Parker Lewis Can't Lose” and roles in movies like “Anna to the Infinite Power” (1983), “Pink Lightning” (1991, TV), “The Marksmen” (1997) and “Mergers & Acquisitions” (2001). Also a singer, Byrne has released the albums “Martha Byrne” (1996), “Woman Thing Music” and “The Other Side” (2006).

Byrne and her husband, former New York Police officer Michael McMahon, have three kids. They currently live in Waldwick, New Jersey. When she was younger, Byrne dated actor Luke Perry.

New Jersey

Childhood and Family:

Martha Byrne was born on December 23, 1969, in Ridgewood, New Jersey. She was educated at The Immaculate Heart Academy.

On November 12, 1994, Martha married Michael McMahon, a retired undercover police officer from the New York City Police Department (NYPD). She gave birth to her first child, son Michael Terrence, on May 29, 1998. Her second son, Maxwell Vincent McMahon, was born on September 3, 2002. Martha and her husband welcomed a new addition to their family, daughter Annmarie McMahon, on June 12, 2006.

The Other Side

Career:

Martha Byrne kicked off her acting career at age 8 when she landed a role in a Broadway production of “Annie.” Five years later, she broke into the cinematic industry with a supporting part in the independent thriller “The Eyes of the Amaryllis” (1982), directed by Frederick King Keller. She then starred in the Sci-Fi movie “Anna to the Infinite Power,” with Dina Merrill and Mark Patton. In between the projects, she portrayed Elizabeth McCall in the television comedy “Drop-Out Father” (1982).

Byrne found herself working in several more projects throughout the 1980s. She supported Wayne Rogers and Karen Valentine in the CBS comedy “He's Fired, She's Hired” (1984), was featured with Andrew McCarthy, Jennifer Dundas and Charles Fields in the drama “The Beniker Gang” (1985) and appeared in episodes of “The Hamptons” (1983), “Kate & Allie” (1985) and “In the Heat of the Night” (1989). However, Byrne did not hit the big time until she landed the role of Lily Walsh on the daytime drama “As the World Turns.” She was in the long running show from 1985 until 1989. While on the soap opera, she won a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Ingénue in a Drama Series (1987) and received two additional nominations, including one for Outstanding Juvenile Female in a Drama Series (1989). She also received a Soap Opera Digest nomination for Outstanding Youth Actor/Actress on a Daytime or Prime Time Serial (1986).

After leaving “As the World Turns,” Byrne guess starred in a string of TV series, including “Jake and the Fatman,” “The Young Riders,” “Doogie Howser, M.D.,” “Over My Dead Body” (all 1990), “Murder, She Wrote,” “Silk Stalkings” (both 1991) and “Parker Lewis Can't Lose” (1992). She also starred in the TV film “Pink Lightning” (1991), opposite Sarah Buxton, Jennifer Blanc, Jennifer Guthrie and Rainbow Harvest. It was in April 1993 that she was invited back to “As the World Turns” to reprise her role of Lily. She received Daytime Emmy nominations for Outstanding Younger Leading Actress in a Drama Series in 1994 and 1996 and Soap Opera Digest nominations for Hottest Female Star in 1994 and 1997. She was also nominated for Soap Opera Digest Awards in the categories of Outstanding Younger Leading Actress (1996) and Hottest Romance (1998), which she shared with costar Jon Hensley. Meanwhile in 1997, Byrne also portrayed Alison Wells in the independent film “The Marksmen” and costarred with Jay Schillinger and Donna McDermott in the television film “When the Cradle Falls,” directed by Paul Schneider.

From 2000 to February 2005, Byrne took up the dual roles of Lily and her twin, Rose D'Angelo, and won a 2001 Daytime Emmy in the category of Outstanding Lead Actress for her work. She went on to work on “As the World Turns” and play Lily until April 2008. Byrne also received a supporting role in the independent film “Mergers & Acquisitions” (2001), which won a Festival Prize for Best Feature Film - 16mm at the 2001 Long Island International Film Expo and a Jury Award for Best Screenplay - Feature Film at the 2002 Atlantic City Film Festival.

Byrne is also a singer. She contributed a Christmas medley to “A Soap Opera Christmas,” a 1994 album released by RCA, and released her own album in 1996 called “Martha Byrne.” She followed her debut with “Woman Thing Music,” sponsored by the cigarette brand Virginia Slims and the Phillip Morris Company, and “The Other Side,” which was released in 2006.

Returning to soap operas, Byrne portrayed Andrea Floyd in “General Hospital” in 2009.

Awards:

• Daytime Emmy: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, “As the World Turns,” 2001

• Daytime Emmy: Outstanding Ingénue in a Drama Series, “As the World Turns,” 1987