Daytime Emmy flashback: 30 years ago Melissa Hayden won as ‘Guiding Light’s’ rebellious Bridget Reardon

It was 1994. Three decades ago. And it was surely a year that actress Melissa Hayden will never forget.

First, here’s a bit of Hayden’s back story.

In 1991 she joined the cast of “Guiding Light” as Bridget Reardon, the rebellious young niece of Springfield’s most upstanding couple, Dr. Ed Bauer (Peter Simon) and his wife, Maureen (Ellen Parker). Bridget was the daughter of Maureen’s brother, Sean. Bridget was sent by her family in Michigan to live with the Bauers, with the hope that they could instill some discipline in her. Ed was wary of the teen and her antics, but the noble Maureen sincerely wanted to give Bridget a chance.

While Bridget was initially preoccupied with typical teenage girl dilemmas — like having a crush on the older Dylan Lewis (Morgan Englund) and attempting to run away with her wild boyfriend, Elvis, she soon became a key player in some of the show’s biggest storylines. For instance, she and her blow dryer were responsible for Springfield’s infamous blackout in 1992.

That same year she discovered that she was pregnant after having had a one night stand with Hart Jessup (then played by Jeff Phillips, a 1992 Daytime Emmy nominee for Best Younger Actor). Bridget was convinced by ditzball Nadine Cooper (Jean Carol) to secretly have the child and then give it to Nadine, who would pass it off as her own. Nadine was desperately trying to save her marriage to Billy Lewis (Jordan Clarke) and thought that having a baby (one that Billy believed to be his) would help. Bridget told the Bauers that she was attending a school trip to “Appalachia” (a puzzling choice of locations on the part of the show’s writers) to score extra credit on a college course that she was failing. But she and her pregnant self would actually end up hiding in Nadine’s attic. That’s where she was when she learned that her beloved Aunt Maureen had died in a car crash, and that Nadine had waited until after the funeral to tell her.

The delicious drama paved the way for Hayden’s first Emmy nomination for Best Younger Actress in 1993. She submitted the episode where she learned of her Aunt Maureen’s death, and secretly visited her gravestone. “Aunt Maureen, I’m going to have a baby. I know it’s the thing you most wanted in the world. And if I could give it up to you, I would,” Bridget wept.

When asked by the E! on the 20th Daytime Emmy Awards red carpet where her speech was, Hayden nonchalantly responded, “I don’t have one.” When questioned if she was nervous, she replied that she wasn’t. “I have this theory,” she told reporters. “If I win, it’s just one more thing to dust.”

It would be Heather Tom as Victoria Newman on “The Young and the Restless” who would be stuck with the task of dusting off the Emmy. Tom would have to do a lot more dusting in the years that followed, as she went on to receive five more Daytime Emmys in various categories (and for different shows.)

Even without the gold, Hayden continued to shine on “Guiding Light.” Bridget gave birth to a baby boy named Peter. Nadine’s scheme was eventually discovered, and Billy and Vanessa Chamberlain (1992 Best Supporting Actress winner Maeve Kinkead) would assume the role of the baby’s parents. Bridget would later regret her decision to give up Peter, and would fight to regain custody of him.

Getting back to Hayden’s highlights of 1994 …

In February she won the Soap Opera Award for Best Younger Actress. The prize was decided by the readers of Soap Opera Digest. I should disclose that I enthusiastically voted for Hayden, hence contributing to her victory.

A month later Hayden would earn her second consecutive Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Younger Actress. Her competition included Martha Byrne as Lily Walsh Grimaldi on “As the World Turns,” Sarah Michelle Gellar as Kendall Hart on “All My Children,” “Guiding Light” castmate Melina Kanakaredes as Eleni Andros Cooper, and Tom from “The Young and the Restless” once again.

Hayden shrewdly submitted an episode where Bridget complained to Dylan about the way that she was being treated by Vanessa after having given up Peter. “You know something? I will never forget where Peter came from, never!” she raged to Dylan. Her reel also included some tender scenes in which she professed her love to Hart (then being played by Leonard Stabb).

On the red carpet of the 21st Daytime Emmys, Hayden was asked again if she viewed the award as “just one more thing to dust.” She admitted that she really did want it this time.

”I feel like I worked really hard this year,” she explained to reporters.

Hayden’s hard work and superb acting clearly impressed the Emmy blue ribbon panel. She was named the year’s Best Younger Actress. And she didn’t hold back her excitement. After kissing her “Uncle Ed” Peter Simon (a nominee for Best Lead Actor), she danced her way to the stage to collect her trophy.

“I want to thank my family, my friends … the academy! Oh my god, I’m saying that and I’m not in the shower!” she exclaimed in disbelief.

One Emmy seemed to be enough for Hayden, who declined to submit her name for consideration the following year. She played Bridget until 1997, but returned for a few episodes before “Guiding Light” went dark in 2009. She has since made some appearances on “The Young and the Restless,” and also had a small role in 2015’s Best Picture nominee “American Sniper,” directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Bradley Cooper.

But fans will always remember Hayden for the color, the laughter and the light that she brought to “Guiding Light.” And hopefully the actress will always feel proud of her bravura performance as Bridget Reardon. She has the 1994 Daytime Emmy Award for Best Younger Actress to show for it.

It’s so much more than “just one more thing to dust.”

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