Barbara Ryan is a fictional character from the American CBS soap opera
As the World Turns. In the early 1970s, Barbara was played by a
succession of actresses, but the actress most associated with the role
is Colleen Zenk, who played her since September 1, 1978. Better known
as simply Barbara Ryan she is portrayed as a heroine who experienced
many tragedies, mostly at the hands of her controlling ex-husband, the
villainous James Stenbeck (Anthony Herrera). Barbara is the daughter
of Jennifer Sullivan.Over her 32 years on the show, Barbara has been
shot through the heart, nearly gored by a bull in Spain, kidnapped 15
times, married nine times, burned in a chemical explosion and jumped
out of a three-story window.After years of being a heroine, Barbara
was transformed when writer Douglas Marland came on board at ATWT in
1985. He decided to make Barbara a "bitch" of sorts, and had her break
up long standing couple Tom Hughes and Margo Montgomery. This proved
to be unpopular, and Marland quickly reverted the character back to
being "good" by pairing Barbara with Oakdale police detective (and
later chief) Hal Munson (Benjamin Hendrickson). Again, in the early
2000s (decade), writer Hogan Sheffer turned Barbara back into a
scheming villain. Burned up in a chemical explosion in 2001 with the
actress donning special effects make-up for a full year, Barbara
returned to her evil ways and culminated in her committing crimes such
as drugging a police officer and hiring a hit man to murder Rose
D'Angelo (Martha Byrne). She then kidnapped three of her female
adversaries (Emily Stewart, Carly Tenney and Rose D'Angelo). Though
the character has since reformed and become a more or less law-abiding
presence in Oakdale, she can still be manipulative and devious when
she feels she needs to be.Entertainment reporter Lisa Joyner described
the character as a "sultry vixen" who'd made the transition from
"helpless victim to scheming villain," whilst TV Guide's Michael Logan
called the character Oakdale's "firecracker."
As the World Turns. In the early 1970s, Barbara was played by a
succession of actresses, but the actress most associated with the role
is Colleen Zenk, who played her since September 1, 1978. Better known
as simply Barbara Ryan she is portrayed as a heroine who experienced
many tragedies, mostly at the hands of her controlling ex-husband, the
villainous James Stenbeck (Anthony Herrera). Barbara is the daughter
of Jennifer Sullivan.Over her 32 years on the show, Barbara has been
shot through the heart, nearly gored by a bull in Spain, kidnapped 15
times, married nine times, burned in a chemical explosion and jumped
out of a three-story window.After years of being a heroine, Barbara
was transformed when writer Douglas Marland came on board at ATWT in
1985. He decided to make Barbara a "bitch" of sorts, and had her break
up long standing couple Tom Hughes and Margo Montgomery. This proved
to be unpopular, and Marland quickly reverted the character back to
being "good" by pairing Barbara with Oakdale police detective (and
later chief) Hal Munson (Benjamin Hendrickson). Again, in the early
2000s (decade), writer Hogan Sheffer turned Barbara back into a
scheming villain. Burned up in a chemical explosion in 2001 with the
actress donning special effects make-up for a full year, Barbara
returned to her evil ways and culminated in her committing crimes such
as drugging a police officer and hiring a hit man to murder Rose
D'Angelo (Martha Byrne). She then kidnapped three of her female
adversaries (Emily Stewart, Carly Tenney and Rose D'Angelo). Though
the character has since reformed and become a more or less law-abiding
presence in Oakdale, she can still be manipulative and devious when
she feels she needs to be.Entertainment reporter Lisa Joyner described
the character as a "sultry vixen" who'd made the transition from
"helpless victim to scheming villain," whilst TV Guide's Michael Logan
called the character Oakdale's "firecracker."
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