Soap Opera Weekly
June 13, 1993
The Turning Point

What decision changed your life?

I decided to accept a role in War Zone Zero (an Italian film) and go to the Amazon rain forest for two months. I don't know if it changed my life, but it certainly changed me emotionally and changed my philosophy of life. We worked in a Third World country, and once you've seen how those people live you can't come back to the United States and look at your own life in the same way. It changed my values completely. I now look at life differently and appreciate it more. I came to realize we are, in general, a spoiled, greedy society, and so many of us never seem to have enough. My exposure to life in the rain forest made me realize I have enough. Now I'm happy with what I have and I cherish it. The important things to me are the love I have with my husband, family and friends, not a larger and larger collection of material things. I give more thought to people who lack even the basic necessities of life and want to help them in any way I can.