Natalia Livingston

Natalia Livingston
Born (1976-03-26) March 26, 1976 (age 48) [citation needed]
OccupationActress
Years active2002–present
Spouse
Matt Aldag
(m. 2016)
Children2

Natalia Livingston (born March 26, 1976[citation needed]) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Emily Quartermaine[1] (for which she won a Daytime Emmy Award) and Rebecca Shaw[2] on ABC's General Hospital, and for playing Taylor Walker on the NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives.

Early life and education

Livingston was born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.[3][4] Her father, James Livingston, is a physician, and her mother, Martha Echavarría, was an artist and Spanish teacher.[4] Livingston is of half Mexican descent, and is fluent in Spanish. She was raised in Macon, Georgia, and spent her summers in Mexico.[4]

Livingston obtained a degree in sociology from Emory University. She started acting in high school and continued her interests in acting by taking acting classes in college.[4] After graduation, she took an internship in the field of social work, and later moved to Los Angeles to pursue her acting career.[4] While working at Home Depot, she was discovered and started acting in national commercials.[4]

Career

Livingston first appeared as Emily Quartermaine on General Hospital on April 1, 2003.[1] The adopted daughter of established characters Alan and Monica Quartermaine, Emily was a prominent character who notably battled breast cancer in 2003.[1] On May 20, 2005, Livingston won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her portrayal of Emily.[5] She decided to leave the series, and Emily was murdered in November 2007; however, Livingston continued to appear periodically until May 7, 2008 as a hallucination of Emily seen by her love interest, Nikolas Cassadine (Tyler Christopher).[1]

On January 15, 2009, Livingston returned to General Hospital for eleven (11) months as new character Rebecca Shaw, Emily's biological twin sister who was put up for adoption by their father and mother.

Livingston also appeared in the films Popstar (2005), and West of Brooklyn (2008), as well as the 2012 film Rough Hustle.[4]

Livingston was cast as Taylor Walker, Nicole's sister, on Days of Our Lives on January 26, 2011.[6]

In 2011, Livingston produced a documentary, The Man Who Ate New Orleans, which aired on PBS in 2012.[7]

Personal life

Livingston dated her General Hospital co-star Tyler Christopher from mid-2004 to early 2006.[8] Livingston married longtime boyfriend Dr. Matt Aldag, a neuroscientist and scientific author, on September 3, 2016, in Bedford, Pennsylvania.[9] In February 2018, Livingston announced she was expecting her first child, a daughter, born on September 6, 2018.[10] It was reported on Instagram that she was named Colette Allegria Ginny-Martita Aldag. On September 2, 2020, via instagram, she announced the birth of a son, John Huxley Livingston Aldag.[citation needed]

Prior to her role as breast cancer survivor Emily Quartermaine, Livingston had performed a breast self-exam after watching an episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show that promoted awareness for the disease. She found a lump, which turned out to be benign.[11][12]

Livingston has been actively involved with the Susan G. Komen Foundation and Revlon Run/Walk for Women, helping to raise money and increase awareness through national campaigns and PSAs. She has traveled widely in Europe, the Middle East, Russia, Africa and North and South America, and during a trip to India worked at Mother Teresa's Home for the Dying.[7]

Filmography

Film and television roles
Year Title Role Notes
2002 Big Fat Liar Girl at Movie Premiere Film
2003–2009, 2013–2014 General Hospital Emily Quartermaine Regular role
2005 Popstar Mary Brighton Film
2008 West of Brooklyn Matty Jensen Film
2009 General Hospital Rebecca Shaw Regular role
2011 Days of Our Lives Taylor Walker Regular role
2014–2017 Tainted Dreams Liza Park Web series
2014 Rough Hustle Allie Film
2015 Cyber Case Jackie Fletcher Film; also known as Online Abduction
2019 Full Count Katherine Young Film

Awards

References

  1. ^ a b c d "General Hospital: Emily Quartermaine". Soaps.com. Archived from the original on April 23, 2009. Retrieved May 31, 2009.
  2. ^ "General Hospital: Rebecca Shaw". Soaps.com. Archived from the original on April 14, 2009. Retrieved May 31, 2009.
  3. ^ "General Hospital Cast: Natalia Livingston". Soaps.com. Archived from the original on April 22, 2009. Retrieved May 31, 2009.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g "General Hospital Bios: Natalia Livingston (Rebecca Shaw)". ABC.com. Archived from the original on February 10, 2009. Retrieved May 30, 2009.
  5. ^ a b "Daytime Emmy Winners & Nominees: 2005". SoapOperaDigest.com. Archived from the original on April 2, 2009. Retrieved May 31, 2009.
  6. ^ Natalia Livingston profile, soapcentral.com; October 26, 2010; accessed December 13, 2015.
  7. ^ a b Natalia Livingston profile, nbc.com; accessed December 3, 2015.
  8. ^ "It's Official They're In Love". Vol. 15, no. 49. Sopa Opera Weekly. December 7, 2004.
  9. ^ Cushman, Dustin (September 6, 2016). "Natalia Livingston Weds Matt Aldag". Soaps.sheknows.com. Retrieved September 16, 2016..
  10. ^ SOD (February 14, 2018). "GH Alum Expecting". Soap Opera Digest. United States: American Media, Inc. Odyssey Magazine Publishing Group Inc. Archived from the original on February 15, 2018. Retrieved February 15, 2018.
  11. ^ Morgan, John (August 5, 2003). "General Hospital star prescribes breast self-exams". USA Today. USAToday.com.
  12. ^ Gallagher, Kristin (16 June 2003). "Talking with... GH's Natalia Livingston". Soap Opera Digest. SoapOperaDigest.com. Retrieved May 30, 2009.