General Hospital

Background:

American actress Natalia Livingston is best known for portraying Emily Quartermaine (April 1, 2003 - May 7, 2008) and Rebecca Shaw (January 15, 2009 - December 22, 2009) on the ABC soap opera “General Hospital.” She won a Daytime Emmy Award for playing the first character. She also played Taylor Walker on “Days of Our Lives” from January to March 2011 and appeared in the films “Big Fat Liar” (2002), “Hired Help” (2004), “Popstar” (2005) and “West of Brooklyn” (2008).

Livingston lives in Los Angeles. She enjoys hiking and previously dated actor Tyler Christopher, who played her husband on “General Hospital.”

Natty

Childhood and Family:

“Macon is my home. When I was growing up, it was pretty small. Now it's the second largest city in Georgia. But being Georgia, that's not really too large.” Natalia Livingston

Natalia Livingston was born on March 26, 1976, in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, but was raised in Macon, Georgia. Her father, James Livingston, is a physician and her mother, Martha Livingston, is an artist and Spanish teacher. She has a younger brother named Jimmy. She is a half Mexican and spent two years living in Puerto Rico. Natty, as her family and close friends call her, graduated from the North Carolina School of the Arts. She went on to attend Emory University, from which she earned a degree in sociology. Natty studied ballet for 12 years when she was young.

Days of Our Lives

Career:

Natalia Livingston began acting in high school, took acting classes in college and participated in student films. After completing college, she worked at an orphanage in Mexico, at a hospital, taught Spanish, and interned with a social worker for a year and half. She eventually made the move to Los Angeles, California, to try her luck as an actress. She was discovered while working in the gardening section of a Home Depot in Hollywood and started doing commercials for McDonalds in Spanish.

Livingston's first feature gig arrived in 2002 when she landed an unaccredited part in “Big Fat Liar,” a teen comedy directed by Shawn Levy that starred Frankie Muniz, Paul Giamatti and Amanda Bynes. She did not enjoy a big breakthrough until she was cast as Emily Bowen Quartermaine on the ABC soap opera “General Hospital,” where she replaced actress Amber Tamblyn. As Emily, Livingston played the role from April 2003 until November 2007. She returned for a guest appearance in May 2008 and was nominated for a Special Fan Award for Irresistible Combination at the 2004 Daytime Awards. She eventually won the award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2005. She also received a 2005 Soap Opera Digest nomination for Favorite New Couple for her performance on the show.

In 2004, Livingston was featured as an interpreter in “Hired Help,” a short film directed and written by Aundre Johnson. She then portrayed Mary Brighton on “Popstar” (2005), a comedy starring Aaron Carter and Alana Austin that was directed by Richard Gabai. Three years later, she costarred with Ronnie Marmo and Joe Mantegna in the film “West of Brooklyn” (2008), which was directed by Danny Cistone and written by Ronnie Marmo. In 2009, Livingston returned to “General Hospital” to portray Emily's twin sister, Rebecca Shaw. She was on the show from January 15, 2009, to December 22, 2009.

On January 26, 2011, Livingston began her role of Taylor Walker, Nicole's sister, on the NBC long running daytime soap “Days of Our Lives.” She was on the show until March 2011. She will next costar with Matt Bushell, Michael Welch and Joe Estevez in the upcoming film “Rough Hustle,” which is set to be released in 2011.

Awards:

• Daytime Emmy: Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, “General Hospital,” 2005