Megan Ward

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Megan Ward
Ward in 2014
Born
Megan Marie Ward

(1969-09-24) September 24, 1969 (age 54)
OccupationActress
Years active1990–present
Spouse
Michael Shore
(m. 1995)
Children2

Megan Marie Ward (born September 24, 1969) is an American actress. She is best known for her numerous credits in science fiction and horror movies and television series. In 2007, she joined the cast of the American daytime drama General Hospital as Kate Howard. She also appeared in the 1990s comedies Encino Man, Freaked, PCU, The Brady Bunch Movie, and Joe's Apartment.

Early life

Ward, born on September 24, 1969, in Los Angeles, California,[1] is the youngest of four siblings, and her parents were both professional actors and acting coaches.[2] When Ward was four years old, her family moved to Honolulu, Hawaii. At the age of nine, she began doing commercials for local department stores. In her early teens, she went to Japan for modeling jobs and stayed for several years. Having previously learned to speak the language from her schooling in Hawaii, she landed a job hosting a Japanese television show, Science Q, a science TV program broadcast in NHK from 1988 to February 1989.[3][4]

Career

After graduating from Kaiser High School, Ward moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career, and secured roles in science-fiction and comedy movies (including leading roles in Charles Band's classics Crash and Burn, Trancers II and Trancers III (as Jack Deth's future-wife), Arcade, and the 1993 Tom Stern/Alex Winter horror/comedy Freaked). She is also well known for playing Robyn Sweeney, the teen crush of Dave (played by Sean Astin), in the 1992 comedy Encino Man.[2]

In the mid-1990s, Ward had a recurring role on the show Party of Five. Following the exit of her Party of Five character, Ward took the lead role in the Cold War UFO thriller-series Dark Skies.[5] Since the cancellation of Dark Skies, she was appearing in mainly direct-to-video films such as Tick Tock and Mirror Man as well as TV series such as Summerland, Sports Night, Kevin Hill, and Boomtown, in which she had a substantial part.

She later debuted as Kate Howard on General Hospital on May 4, 2007. Ward was taken off contract in March 2009 and remained on the series as a recurring character. In 2010, Ward was dropped completely from the cast of General Hospital. She made a special guest appearance on the show in 2018.[6] Ward has also made a guest appearance on CSI: NY.[7]

Most recently, Ward portrayed Michelle in the horror-thriller film The Invited under the direction of Ryan McKinney.[8]

Personal life

In 1995, Ward married Michael Shore, whom she met in acting class. They have two children, a son named Oliver (born in 2001) and a daughter named Audrey (born in 2006).[9][10]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1990 Crash and Burn Arren Direct-to-video film
1991 Trancers II Alice Stillwell Direct-to-video film
1991 Goodbye Paradise Little Sharon
1992 Encino Man Robyn Sweeney
1992 Amityville: It's About Time Lisa Sterling Direct-to-video film
1992 Trancers III Alice Stillwell Direct-to-video film
1993 Arcade Alex Manning Direct-to-video film
1993 Freaked Julie
1994 PCU Katy
1995 The Brady Bunch Movie Donna Leonard
1995 Glory Daze Joanie
1996 Joe's Apartment Lily Dougherty
1999 Say You'll Be Mine Melanie
2000 Tick Tock Rachel Avery also known as A Friendship to Die For
2003 Mirror Man Cheryl Parker Short film
2005 Complete Guide to Guys Kelly
2007 Wedding Dreams Rebecca
2010 The Invited Michelle
TBA Teller's Camp Kate Teller post-production

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1990 What a Dummy Tracy Episode: "The Substitute"
1990 Out of This World Kimberly Episode: "Evie's High Anxiety"
1991 Sons and Daughters DiDi Episode: "Dating Game"
1993 Class of '96 Patty Horvath Main role, 17 episodes
1994 Winnetka Road Nicole Manning Main role, 6 episodes
1994 Sweet Justice Dedra Episode: "One Good Woman"
1994–1995 Party of Five Jill Holbrook Recurring role, 9 episodes
1995 Naomi & Wynonna: Love Can Build a Bridge Ashley Judd Television film
1995 The Single Guy Monica Episode: "Gift"
1996 Voice from the Grave Renee Perkins Television film
1996–1997 Dark Skies Kimberly Sayers Main role, 18 episodes
1997–1998 Melrose Place Connie Rexroth Recurring role, 7 episodes
1998 Four Corners Kate Wyatt Main role
1998 Don't Look Down Carla Engel Television film
1998 Fantasy Island Ashley Gable Episode: "Wishboned"
1999 Jesse April Episode: "My Casual Friend's Wedding"
1999 Friends Nancy Episode: "The One Where Rachel Smokes"
1999–2000 Sports Night Pixley Robinson Episodes: "A Girl Named Pixley", "The Giants Win the Pennant, the Giants Win the Pennant"
2000 Rated X Meredith Television film
2001 All Souls N/A Episode: Pilot
2002–2003 Boomtown Kelly Stevens Recurring role, 8 episodes
2003 Mr. Ambassador Amy Television film
2003 The West Wing Jane Episode: "Guns Not Butter"
2003 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Audrey Hilden Episode: "A Night at the Movies"
2004 Without a Trace Hillary Sterling Episode: "Life Rules"
2004 Summerland Karen Westerly Episode: Pilot
2004 Murder Without Conviction Christine Bennett Television film
2004 Kevin Hill Heather Valerio Episode: "House Arrest"
2004 NCIS Laura Rowens Episode: "Forced Entry"
2004 Boston Legal Susan May Episode: "Hired Guns"
2005 CSI: Miami Jennie Hale Episode: "Vengeance"
2005 ER Judy Anderson Episode: "Blame It on the Rain"
2005 7th Heaven Sally Episode: "Chicken Noodle Heads"
2005 Sleeper Cell Angela Fuller 4 episodes
2007–2010, 2018, 2020 General Hospital Kate Howard Recurring role, 365 episodes
2010 Ghost Whisperer Daisy Episode: "Dead Air"
2010 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Lisa Adams Episode: "Fracked"
2011 CSI: NY Annie Cartland Episode: "Vigilante"
2018 Party Mom Caroline Television film

References

  1. ^ "Megan Ward Bio". Soap Opera Digest. Archived from the original on February 2, 2016. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
  2. ^ a b Call, AMY LONGSDORF (A free-lance story for The Morning. "CAUSE FOR LAUGHTER MEGAN WARD POKES FUN AT POLITICAL CORRECTNESS IN CAMPUS SPOOF 'PCU'". mcall.com. Retrieved 2020-12-12.
  3. ^ "WITH AN EYE ON ... : Fox's 'Class of '96' star Megan Ward proves she's a quick study". LA Times. April 25, 1993. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
  4. ^ Times, N. F. MENDOZA, Los Angeles. "AFTER STINT IN JAPAN, WARD BRINGS CLASS TO FOX". Sun-Sentinel.com. Retrieved 2020-12-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ Spelling, Ian (September 13, 1996). "Exploring 'Dark Skies' With Megan Ward". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
  6. ^ "Megan Ward On Her Surprise GH Return". Soap Opera Digest. 2018-01-18. Retrieved 2020-12-12.
  7. ^ Jeffery, Morgan (2010-11-18). "Megan Ward to guest on 'CSI: NY'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2020-12-12.
  8. ^ Trailer and Sales Art for New Spooker The Invited
  9. ^ Soaps in Depth, Love Letters, Megan Ward. Archived 2008-04-22 at the Wayback Machine Issue of February 25, 2008.
  10. ^ "Megan Ward talks about her family to Soaps in Depth; love of West Village Kids". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved 2020-12-12.

External links