Sydney Andrews: (1993-1997)
Comes to town from Chicago. Tries to unseat Jane by working for a fashion designer. Sets her sights on Michael. Has a fling with Michael, is upset when he continues fling with Kimberly. Syd falls into the high priced hooking world. Goes to jail for hooking, Michael bails her out. Michael convinces sydney to set up Jane's beau Robert with one of her hooker friends. After Michael rejects Sydney once more, she confesses to Jane that Michael set up the hooker/tape scheme. High on painkillers, Sydney hears Michael mumbling about Matt's tinkering with his blood alcohol levels in the computer. She blackmails Michael into marrying her. Works in a strip club. Sydney goes to work one day and finds the customers are Billy and the gang celebrating Billy's bachelor party. Madam Lauren refuses to re-hire Sydney. She owes Lauren $15,000. Sydney turns to streetwalking. She gets attacked by experienced hookers. Kimberly lures Sydney into the the plan to bring Michael down and the two first drug him, drag him to his garaged car and turn on the ignition and close the door. After Kimberly mows down Michael dressed as Jane she gives Sydney an alibi and then lies to the cops. Kimberly plants the blonde wig in Sydney's apartment. Sydney is arrested for attempted murder. Sydney's parents won't post bail, she freaks, they place her in a sanitarium. Jane and her lawyer try to convince her to plea bargain but she maintains her innocence. After a guard sexually assaults her (or tries to) she confesses just to get out of there. Michael offers to buy Sydney out of their marriage. She asks for his half interest in Mancini designs. She meets with him and blinded by his new promises of love, signs away everything. Sydney waitresses at Shooters. Chris Marchette, Jane's sleazy business partner and new love interest attacks Sydney. Jake comes to her rescue by punching Chris and sending him into the pool. Chris makes obscene phone calls to Sydney. Syd has a romance with Jake. When Jake gets muscled by a protection racket, Sydney agrees to sleep with the top man to get Jake off the hook, the man turns out to be Chris. After Kimberly attempts suicide, Sydney walks in on Michael just sitting there. As he sees Sydney and springs to action, she pockets Kimberly's suicide note. After Kimberly frames Michael for her attempted murder Sydney agrees to plant Seconal tablets among Kimberly's vitamins for $50,000. She then offers to return Kimberly's suicide note for another $50,000. Michael gives her the money. Sydney buys Mancini Designs and installs herself as president. Jane outs Sydney as president of Mancini Designs. When Chris attacks Sydney, again, Jake beats him up, again. Chris steals Jane's $500,000 line of credit and kidnaps Sydney to Las Vegas. She begins to enjoy the new lifestyle Chris is treating her to. When she finds out that Chris has gambled and lost Jane's business funds, she calls Jake and Jane to the rescue. Amanda ups her rent so Sydney takes in roommate and cult member Rikki. Sydney's not easily brainwashed so the cult locks her in a semi-buried box. Jake and Jane come to Sydney's rescue. Sydney's back to waitressing at Shooters. Michael sends Sydney to spy on Kimberly and discovers that she's gone wacko. Kimberly traps her in the laundry room and ties her up. Michael comes to her rescue, knocks Kimberly out, he and Sydney run for cover and the building blows up. Sydney and Michael go to court and convince the jury that Kimberly is crackers. Sydney and Michael's romance is back on. Michael dumps Sydney. Sydney becomes receptionist at Burns/Mancini Medical Group. Sydney and Michael hire an actor to drive Kimberly over the edge. Sydney has therapy sessions with now psychiatrist Kimberly on how to get Michael back. Jane decides to pretend to seduce Michael to make Richard jealous, she makes Sydney jealous instead. Hoping to get Jane out of Michael's system, she slips some Phenobarbitol into Jane's champagne at the hospital benefit. Jane has a stroke. Wheelchair bound, Jane recuperates at Michael's. Determined to get Jane away from Michael, Sydney tries to plant Jane at a senior's nursing home. Sydney then parks her sister's wheelchair on the beach as the tide is about to take her away, Jake saves her. Sydney overhears Amanda telling Peter that if her first husband Jack survives his 2nd floor balcony fall she'll kill him, so she tapes the conversation. While Sydney sneaks a peek at the door, Jack wakes and grabs Amanda by the throat, Amanda punches him in the jaw. Jack dies. Sydney demands half of Amanda's stake in Jack's estate to keep her mouth shut. Peter and Amanda reduce Amanda's inheritance to one dollar in exchange for the sealing of the incriminating autopsy results. When Michael tells Jane, Sydney spiked Jane's drink Jane blackmails Sydney into helping her kill Richard. Richard rapes Jane, so Sydney and Jane kill Richard. Richard still alive haunts Sydney and Jane. Richard blackmails Sydney and Jane. Sydney invests in a porn film. Jane owes money on back taxes so Sydney invests and becomes half owner of Jane's boutique. Bobby becomes Sydney's roommate, she wants more. Sydney tells Bobby that Alicia tricked Peter and became sole owner of Parezi Enterprizes. When Sydney finds out that Michael fixed Matt's medical school entrance exams, she blackmails Michael into becoming part owner of Burns/Mancini Medical Group. Michael fires Sydney, she charges sexual harassment and gets 30% of Burns/Mancini. Sydney's bummed when Jane's real mom shows up. Sydney falls for married Kyle and sleeps with him. Jane moves home to Chicago and gives Sydney the boutique. Sydney falls for computer kid Carter but holds a torch for Kyle. When a customer fakes a fall in Sydney's shop, she gets sued. Sydney loses her car and her boutique in the settlement and waitresses at Kyle's. Sydney takes a fake fall while catering a D&D party to get back at Amanda for being with Kyle. She ends up a little hurt and sues D&D. Amanda sends Craig to charm Syd into dropping the lawsuit. Craig and Syd fall in love. They begin their own agency 'Sky High Advertizing' and get all the D&D employees to join them. In the process the companies that used D&D swiched to 'Sky High'. Syd and Craig get married. While Syd is being photographed outside the church, Samantha, who has been taken hostage by her father, run Sydney down with the speeding car. Sydney is hit hard and rolls on the ground, while Craig cries by her side.
Laura's Biography:
Laura Leighton made her professional acting debut on Melrose Place.
After high school, she moved from Iowa City, Iowa, to Los Angeles and performed as a singer and dancer with The Young Americans on their national tour. She then appeared in several national television commercials. Though she plays one of nighttime soap's most compelling characters, she says, "I didn't even have a television when I was growing up." Laura married Melrose costar Doug Savant (Matt) in June of 1998. They both currently reside in Los Angeles.
Laura's Other Roles:
1. "In the Name of Love: A Texas Tragedy" (1995) as "Laurette Wilder." — WATCH!
2. "The Other Woman" (1995) as "Carolyn."
3. "The Larry Sanders Show" as Herself. — WATCH!
4. TV commercial for Dep hair spray (1992). — WATCH!
5. Laura as a dancer with "The Young Americans." (1987). — WATCH!
6. Host of "Saturday Night Live," November 18, 1995, with Grant Show — WATCH.
7. "Duckman" as the voice of "Ditzi." — WATCH!
8. E! interview @ Godzilla premiere — WATCH
9. A Day in the Life of Laura Leighton! — WATCH
10. Beverly Hills 90210 (1998) as "Sophie Burns." — View 81 Pictures!
11. The Outer Limits (2000) as "Anne/Marie." — WATCH!