In the world of daytime television, she’s a veteran. But Jackie Zeman, who has played the role of nurse Barbara Jean “Bobbie” Spencer on ABC’s General Hospital since the late 70s has recently broadened her horizons past the television media. Recently named the national spokeswoman for Zestra, the first clinically proven topically applied sexual enhancement product for women, she’s spreading the word that women over 50 can still be fabulous, sexy and powerful both in and out of the bedroom. TheCelebrityCafe.com’s Sari N. Kent had the opportunity to speak to Jackie about her new position as Zestra’s national spokeswoman, her thoughts on sexuality and dating over 50 and of course, whether or not Nurse Spencer will be reappearing in Port Charles in the near future.
Sari N. Kent: First off, there’s the obvious question. With General Hospital having a new head writer, Garin Wolf, fans have been hoping that legacy characters like Bobbie Spencer, who have been noticeably absent from key happenings on the show such as her granddaughter Josslyn’s bout with kidney cancer and her brother Luke’s fragile mental state after accidentally killing Jake, will return to the canvas. So, are there plans for Bobbie to resurface?
Jackie Zeman: You know that’s more of a question for Garin Wolf. *laugh* Because one thing I’ve learned after all these years of being in daytime is that head writers they’re creative and have to be inspired, they come up with their own ideas. So, I have absolutely no idea what the future is for Bobbie or for anyone on General Hospital. I so appreciate you asking me that because I was on General Hospital for 33 years so my whole grown-up life I’ve been Bobbie Spencer. And I have such a love for the show and for the fans and they aren’t even fans to me, they’re friends. I mean the people that watch the show, we’ve grown up together. I mean, we have mutual memories not just of Bobbie and the other characters on the show but also with things that have happened in our personal lives. I have a lot of warm fuzzy feelings in my heart for the people on the show and for my character. So, it makes me very happy for someone to ask me, ‘Oh, are you coming back on the show?’ and it makes me feel like Bobbie is still in their hearts and in their minds and it makes me feel good because she’s in mine.
Sari N. Kent: Oh, I can say without a doubt, that Bobbie is DEFINITELY still on the minds of the show’s fans. I mean, my mother watched Luke & Laura’s 1981 wedding while still pregnant with me so I guess you can call me a fan from the womb. *laugh* But, I will tell you that on ALL of the soap sites that I frequent, people keep mentioning Bobbie’s glaring absence. With everything that’s gone on with Carly [Bobbie’s daughter] and Bobbie not being a participant in Luke’s intervention. Believe me, the fans have noticed.
Jackie Zeman: Oh well, I thank you SO much. For you to say that makes me feel good.
Sari N. Kent: Well, it’s the truth and you should know how much you’re missed. Going back a bit, in your biography, it mentions that you’re a professionally trained dancer. How did you segue from that to becoming an actress?
Jackie Zeman: It was quite natural for me. When I was a little girl, I used to dance around in the living room. I always loved to dance and I have two sisters so there were three of us. And they said to us when we were young, ‘Pick something that you love to do.’ So, I picked dance. So, my dad went to work every day and my mom was a housewife and she would drive me to my dance lessons. It started out once or twice a week then three times a week. I took ballet, tap dancing, acrobatics and all of the jazz and I was happy when I was dancing. I had a passion for it. So, when I got older and went to school, I auditioned for the high school plays. I went to a public school and they had a drama department that was absolutely wonderful. So, I auditioned for the plays and I was fortunate enough to be cast and WE HAD SO MUCH FUN! So, I got the acting bug in high school and once I got it, I said, ‘This is interesting,’ It wasn’t a pressure on me. I always had a good short term memory, which to end up in soap operas you got to have that to learn all the lines. *laughs* But, when you’re 15 -16 years old, your mind is like a sponge. It amazes me the things you learn, So, when I was 15, I won a dance scholarship to New York University, which was a thrill for me. Then, I was in a dance contest at the Garden State Arts Center in New Jersey and was spotted by someone and was asked to audition and go to New York. And my girlfriend, my best friend at the time, we were best friends all through junior high and high school, and we would go to our dance lesson and we would go to New York. Every Saturday, we’d take the bus and we’d take the subway and we’d take three dance classes. We were like 11 – 12 years old. We opened a dance studio in our neighborhood and we were around 13. I was one of those kids, I’d round up everybody and we’d put on shows. My mom, since she was such a great homemaker, would make the costumes for all my dance recitals and I’d recycle the costumes. We’d do production numbers and recitals in the driveway. *laughs*
And as I got older, it’s hard to make money when you’re starting out. You know, dancing, acting, you do it because you love it but it’s not for free. But, I was very fortunate to earn a living. So, when I started auditioning for things, I was about 17 – 18, in the city and u was sitting in this bagel nosh one day with Murray Kaufman, Murray the K, [the famous DJ] who was my boyfriend at the time, and I had been hired to dance at a music festival in New York, a big show they have every year in Central Park. And we were dating and I was doing a lot of the choreography for the production numbers he was doing. So, we were sitting at this bagel nosh and I said to him, ‘I’d REALLY like to be on a soap opera. I LOVE soap operas.’ I’d been watching them since I was 5 years old with my mom. It’s generational, like you said before. I’d run home from school for lunch every day. My mom would have my lunch all made and I’d sit on the floor and in those days the soaps were a half an hour long and in black and white. You’d turn the TV on and there would be the three channels, ABC, NBC and CBS, and we’d watch the soaps. So, I was a fan before I ever worked on one professionally. So, I auditioned and got lucky. It was a wonderful, wonderful chapter in my life.