| JUST THE FACTS: Birthday - February 2 Hails From - Grand Rapids, MI All In The Family - Husband A.C. Weary and their children, Rachel (21), Max (16) and Jake (13) Official Web Site - www.okzfc.com Currently Reading - The Da Vinci Code Broadway Bound - "The lead woman in Mamma Mia would be my ideal part in musical theater right now." Favorite Ski Resort - Taos Ski Valley in New Mexico. "I like it because there are no snowboarders allowed. So it's just pure downhill skiing." Where She Keeps Her Emmys - "They move around. Right now, they're on the top of a bookshelf in our living room." Does She Think About Winning Another One? - "I don't think about it, but everyone does." (laughs) For years, Kim Zimmer has been told that she's the star of GL. It was an epithet given to her by countless executives, one that magazines have been known to exploit, one that fans ardently supported (or grudgingly accepted) --- but one she always rejected, unsure that a soap could have any single actor assume that title. "I would always say that no one is a star on this show. This is an ensemble," she declares firmly. But that was then. Now, 20 years to the month after starting on GL, Zimmer has found herself in an odd position --- claiming the power that people presumed she already had. And it's not because she's a diva who insists on getting her way simply for kicks. Taking this interview, for instance. After a several-hour photo shoot, Zimmer spends the rest of the day answer any question that's thrown at her. Nothing is off-limits. Her pauses aren't buying time to rephrase a point diplomatically, but to search for the words that will best describe what she wants to convey. She's still an animated force, a high-wattage personality, and perhaps she's just coming to terms with that. She has changed her mind about a few things, but, as always, she's not afraid to share her opinions, popular or not. "Now I know being a star is more about them respecting you enough to acknowledge the fact that they need you, that you have an important part to play in what is GL. And if that is the definition of a star, then I'm more comfortable with that now than I ever was before. Maybe it's just [being a] wise old bitch," she laughs. Zimmer found herself in this newfound place of contentment after taking a good, hard look at her life and finally liking (for the most part) what she saw. "I've just come to peace with the fact that I wasn't going to be a movie star. I wasn't going to be 'Kim Zimmer: Live at Caesar's Palace.' I am happy with what I've spent my life doing," she explains. "I still have my demons that I battle, like seeing all these young, beautiful women come on the show, and as you're putting on your size 12, they're putting on their size minus 2. I so adoringly remember Beverlee McKinsey (ex-Alexandra) and the stuff she used to say to me, like, 'Oh, you pretty little thing.' [It was] stuff I would take offense to that I find myself saying to Lindsey [McKeon, Marah] or Aubrey [Dollar, Marina] or to all these pretty little things. I think, 'Ooh, I didn't mean that bitchy.' You know, I'm becoming Beverlee McKinsey, which isn't a bad thing. She's a great dame, and I would like to be remembered that way, too." Sure, Zimmer has regrets about what it has taken to become a daytime dame, but as the song goes, they're practically too few to mention. "Early on, I might not have stayed so long at the fair," she muses. "Before I had children, I got what we refer to as the golden handcuffs. They were clipped on me early [in my soap career]. A.C. and I were doing a lot of traveling, and it was a great, consistent job. But I think I would have done what Jordi [Vilasuso, ex-Tony] is doing: Reaped all the benefits of a three-year contract and then left. That may be the only thing I would have done differently, to try and do the L.A. scene a little earlier than 35 years old. I was about 15 years too late." Zimmer's candid outlook played a role in why she decided to re-sign with the show last summer: "I'm really overweight right now and I don't think I could get any other work at the present time," she confesses, erupting into laughter. "That and the fact that I'm at such peace with what I am doing with my life and my career. My family is healthy and happy. I feel really, really good with GL. I am sure I will go through times when I am cursing the fact that I signed again, but I don't see myself having the time yet to do what I ultimately want to do, which is theater." She wants time for other things, too, which may seem like no big deal, considering her position with the show --- surely, they must give her whatever she wants, you might assume --- but until recently, Zimmer, the actress, wasn't even sure how to ask for it. It turns out that Zimmer, the Star, didn't really have to. "My contract came up for renegotiations right as Rachel was finishing her term abroad in Australia, so we all wanted to go," the actress explains. "I though, 'The only way we can go is if I don't re-sign.' (laughs) Then I though, 'No, wait, let's think about this. I just won't re-sign until I have this extended vacation.' And it turned out to be so easy to get the three weeks; we just didn't do anything with the contract until that three weeks was over. And I thought, 'Damn, I should have gone for six.' (laughs) That would have been really great with six. Then, we could have done New Zealand." Perhaps therein lies the current balancing act for Zimmer. She doesn't want time off just to stick it to the-powers-that-be, but, well, hasn't she earned it? "That's been a new revelation for me, too, that I don't have to give, give, give all the time anymore. I'm at the point where I can take a little, too, --- and I'm taking." ONCE UPON A TIME IN OKLAHOMA: "My first day as Reva, I was in a towel, being massaged, eating fresh crab and drinking Reva's own brand of champagne. It was a great day and Chris Bernau [ex-Alan] was fabulous," recalls Kim Zimmer about when it all started at GL: November 28, 1983. "I just remember feeling very comfortable there, but I was also gun-shy because I had signed a three-year contract on OLTL, and I was fired after six months. I knew Reva was a great character, but she was also the kind of character that could have been written into a corner the same way Echo was. So, I really didn't want to get too comfortable because jobs end. Well, 20 years later..." |