Brytni Melicia Sarpy (born September 21, 1987) is an American actress best known for her portrayal of Valerie Spencer on the ABC soap opera General Hospital, and Elena Dawson on the CBS soap The Young and the Restless

Brytni Sarpy
Born
Brytni Melicia Sarpy[1]

(1987-09-21) September 21, 1987 (age 36)
Alma materUniversity of California, Santa Barbara
Occupations
  • Actress
  • Model
Years active2008–present
Known forValerie Spencer (General Hospital)
Elena Dawson (The Young and the Restless)
Websitewww.brytni.com

Early life edit

Sarpy was born on September 21, 1987, in California.[2][3] Her father is Mel Sarpy and her mother's name is Kim.[2][4] For most of her childhood, Sarpy lived in Sherman Oaks and attended high school in Upland. Sarpy attended the University of California, Santa Barbara and graduated in 2008 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.[5] Sarpy began auditioning for professional gigs and upon graduation worked several jobs to stay afloat. She worked as a bartender, a personal trainer at Equinox Fitness, and also did commercial work as an athletic print model.[2]

Career edit

Sarpy started in theater where she appeared in several main stage and local productions where she received critical acclaim for her dramatic range and comedic timing. Brytni is also a trained dancer. The actress currently resides in Los Angeles where she is represented by Pantheon Agency for theater and Vision Talent and CESD for commercial and print work. She has appeared in commercials and print work for Nike, Yahoo!, AT&T, New Balance, and several others.[6] In 2010, Sarpy starred alongside Jamie Lee Curtis and Sigourney Weaver in You Again. In addition to auditioning for the NBC soap opera, Days of Our Lives, Sarpy had previously auditioned for the General Hospital roles of Taylor DuBois and later Jordan Ashford for which she was too old and too young, respectively.[2] Sarpy later won the contract role of Valerie Spencer made her debut on March 20, 2015.[7] In March 2016, it was announced that Sarpy was set to host the a new reality series The Pitch Room.[8] In December 2016, Sarpy was dropped from a series regular to recurring status at General Hospital.[9][10] In 2017, Sarpy starred alongside Heather Langenkamp in Truth or Dare. She was cast in the regular role of Elena Dawson on The Young and the Restless in February 2019.[11][12] In March 2019, Sarpy announced that she'd also booked a recurring role on the new season of The Haves and the Have Nots.[13]

Personal life edit

Sarpy's parents split when she was about six years old and Sarpy was primarily raised by her father. Sarpy is very close with her father, who suffers from Parkinson's disease.[2] She has a younger half brother, Aiden through her father. Sarpy also has two other half brothers and a half sister on her mother's side.[2] She got a rescue dog named Charlie for her birthday in 2012. Sarpy is also a pescatarian.[2] She has opened up about her anxiety and depression on World Mental Health Day, October 10, 2018.[14]

Sarpy began dating her co-star Bryton James in May 2019.[15][16][17]

Filmography edit

Film edit

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2009 Awkward Courage Love Interest Short film co–written and story by Ryan Turner with Jameson Jordan and directed by Turner
2010 You Again Marcia Comedy film directed by Andy Fickman [18]
2017 Truth or Dare Maddie Sotarez
A Boy. A Girl. A Dream: Love on Election Night Herself
[19]

Television edit

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2014 My Crazy Ex N/A Episode: "Flipped, Followed & Framed" (S 1:Ep 1 – Pilot)
2015–2019 General Hospital Valerie Spencer
  • Regular role from: March 20, 2015–December 2016
  • Recurring role from: December 2016–March 14, 2019
[9][10]
2015 My Crazy Ex Maria
2016 New Girl Babs Episode: "Es Good" (S 6:Ep 9)
2019– The Young and the Restless Elena Dawson Regular role; role held from March 19, 2019–present [11][12]
2020–2021 The Haves and the Have Nots Rianna Recurring role [13]

Theater edit

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2008 Plumfield, Iraq Beth Hatlen Theater: May 16–May 24, 2008 [20]
2008 Much Ado About Nothing Hero Shakespeare: August 2–August 24, 2008 [21]
2009 Time and the Conways Joan Helford Hatlen Theater: March 2009 [22]

References edit

  1. ^ "Brytni Sears". Interviews. Soap Opera Digest. 44 (22). American Media, Inc.: 54–57. June 3, 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Levinsky, Mara (September 21, 2015). "Spencer for Hire". Soap Opera Digest. 40 (38). United States: 44–47. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |agency= ignored (help)
  3. ^ Palland, Renier (May 31, 2015). "'General Hospital' Interview: Brytni Sarpy Talks GH, Playing Valerie Spencer and More". Soap Opera Spy. Retrieved August 1, 2015.
  4. ^ "MEET SWIRL GIRL ICON: BRYTNI SARPY!". Swirl Girl Army. 2013. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
  5. ^ "Milestones". Coastlines Magazine. 40 (3) (Winter ed.). University of California, Santa Barbara Alumni Association. 2010. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-11-05.
  6. ^ Walker, Katrina (June 15, 2015). "Brytni Sarpy (Bio)". Kroll Call. Kroll Call Productions. Retrieved October 5, 2015.
  7. ^ "GH CASTS A NEW SPENCER!". Soap Opera Digest. United States. American Media, Inc. March 20, 2015. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
  8. ^ deboard4 (March 20, 2016). "Brytni Sarpy, Expected Host For The Pitch Room". Box Office Pitch. Retrieved August 6, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)[permanent dead link]
  9. ^ a b Goldberg, Michael (December 28, 2016). "Brytni Sarpy Off Contract at 'General Hospital'". Serial Scoop. Blogger (Google). Retrieved December 28, 2016.
  10. ^ a b "BRYTNI SARPY SPEAKS OUT ON GH STATUS". Soap Opera Digest. American Media, Inc. December 31, 2016. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
  11. ^ a b SOD (8 February 2019). "Exclusive! GH Star To Y&R!". Soap Opera Digest. United States: American Media, Inc. Odyssey Magazine Publishing Group Inc. Archived from the original on February 9, 2019. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  12. ^ a b Eades, Chris (March 14, 2019). "Brytni Sarpy Previews Her New Role of Elena on Y&R (EXCLUSIVE)". CBS Soaps In Depth. United States: Bauer Media Group. Archived from the original on March 15, 2019. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
  13. ^ a b Dionne, Ashley (April 5, 2019). "Young and the Restless Star Brytni Sarpy Talks Transition from General Hospital, Valerie's Recast and Potential Pairing with Genoa City's Hottest Billionaire". TVSource Magazine. SoSource Media, LLC. Retrieved April 5, 2019.
  14. ^ Eades, Chris (October 11, 2018). "GENERAL HOSPITAL's Brytni Sarpy Opens up About Her Struggles With Anxiety and Depression". ABC Soaps In Depth. United States: Bauer Media Group. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
  15. ^ Young, Candace (May 26, 2020). "Real-Life Young & Restless Couple Bryton James and Brytni Sarpy Share Photos to Mark One-Year Anniversary". Soaps.com. SheKnows Media. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  16. ^ "Real-Life Status". Comings and Goings. Soap Opera Digest. 45 (10). American Media, Inc.: 13. March 9, 2020.
  17. ^ Bazarian, Charlene (21 March 2020). "Life Isn't A Short Race: An Interview With Actress Brytni Sarpy". Womenfitness.net. p. 2. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
  18. ^ "You Again". Turner Classic Movies. Atlanta: Turner Broadcasting System (Time Warner). Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  19. ^ Busch, Anita (April 27, 2017). "Omari Hardwick, Meagan Good To Star In 'A Boy. A Girl. A Dream: Love On Election Night'". Deadline Hollywood. United States: Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  20. ^ "Plumfield, Iraq". theaterdance.ucsb.edu. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
  21. ^ Donelan, James Hanley (April 7, 2008). "Much Ado About Nothing, presented by Shakespeare Santa Barbara". The Independent. London: Independent Print Limited. Archived from the original on April 9, 2016. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
  22. ^ Donelan, Charles (March 5, 2009). "Time and the Conways at UCSB's Hatlen Theatre". The Independent. London: Independent Print Limited. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved November 5, 2015.

External links edit