Reader TTS

CLAIM:   Soap opera actress Eileen Davidson used to be a man. STATUS:   _FALSE._ EXAMPLE:   _[Collected on the Internet, 1999]_ What about the rumour about the woman who currently plays

Ashley Abbott on the Young & the Restless? A few years back people were saying that she was once a man, and had a highly successful sex-change operation. ORIGINS:   Imagine being one of

the most beautiful women in the world and having a rumor that you were once a man dog your steps for close to two decades. That is the reality of TV soap actress Eileen Davidson. She's

been Ashley Suzanne Abbott on _The Bold and the Beautiful_, Kristen Blake, Kristen's lookalike Susan Banks, and Susan's sister Sister Mary Moira on _Days of Our Lives_; Kelly

Capwell on _Santa Barbara_; and Ashley Abbott on _The Young and the Restless_. _Soap Opera Digest_ has repeatedly named her one of the most beautiful women in daytime drama. The rumor is

false, but it's amazing how even the most specious of rumors can stick with a person year upon year. Davidson, a typical high school student who'd grown up a typical little girl in

a Southern California home, started down the road to fame when as a 19-year-old she was approached on a beach by a photographer who asked if she'd consider becoming a model. Modeling

led to acting, and she began her soap opera career in 1982 as Ashley Abbott on _The Young and the Restless_ when she was 23. She was married to Jon Lindstrom, who plays Dr. Kevin Collins on

_Port Charles_. In 1999, Davidson offered the following possible explanation as to why this claim has attached to her: People swear they saw me on _Donahue_ talking about my surgery. But it

was Tula [a transgender model], who has long blond hair and angular features like I do. I never appeared on _Donahue_, and I am not a transexual. This is a pleasing explanation for the

origin of this silliness (because it's based upon nothing more than a confusion over similarity of appearances), but it's wrong. Caroline Cossey (a transsexual model and actress

known professionally as Tula) appeared on _Donahue_ on 29 June 1990, yet we found the "Eileen Davidson is a man" canard discussed in a 1987 newspaper article, proving that the

gossip predates Tula's talk show appearance. Moreover, in that article a CBS spokeswoman reported that this tale was then about two years old, which dates it to 1985. Being the subject

of gossip and silly rumors is often part and parcel of being famous. Barbara "born to be riled" Mikkelson LAST UPDATED:   14 June 2008 -------------------------   _Sources:_ *    

Logan, Michael.   "TV Confidential 2."     _TV Guide._   24 July 1999   (p. 20). *     Reichardt, Nancy.   "Ratings Don't Bother Veteran Soap Actress."     _South

Bend Tribune._   6 May 1994   (p. C11). *     Williams, Jeannie.   "A Godfatherly Brando Skates in 'The Freshman.'"     _USA Today._   29 June 1990   (p. D2). *     _The

Providence Journal-Bulletin._   "Questions & Answers."     14 December 1997   (p. T4). *     _St. Petersburg Times._   "TV Dial: Ask Monika."     6 December 1987  

(p. 14).