Actor Rena Sofer was born in Arcadia, California, in 1968. Her mom was a professor of developmental psychology, and her dad was a Rabbi. Rena recently spoke of her difficult childhood on the State of Mind podcast with Maurice Benard.
Benard plays mobster Sonny Corinthos on General Hospital. In the early ’90s, Cerullo starred alongside him as Lois Cerullo. Both characters grew up in Brooklyn and were close friends on the soap.
Benard referred to their characters, along with Brenda Barrett (Vanessa Marcil) and Ned Quartermaine (Wally Kurth), as “the fearsome foursome.” Cerullo was a fan favorite, but GH was not Sofer’s first foray into acting.
Rena Sofer began acting right out of high school
Sofer’s parents divorced when she was very young. She and her brother moved with their father to the east coast, where they grew up. She called herself a “really messed up kid” and said that she “never fit in anywhere.”
She was discovered while hanging out with friends in New York City’s Greenwich Village when she was a teen. An agent for the petite division of the Elite Modeling Agency approached her and asked if she would be interested in modeling.
At 15 years old, she began taking the bus to Manhattan by herself to get pictures taken. Benard asked if she did well as a petite model, and her response was, “Oh no, no, no, I did terribly.” She said the rejection was too hard, so her agent suggested she try acting.
She began to act and “started getting stuff right out of high school.” Her first job was on the daytime drama Another World, and then she got a big role on Loving. She has been a working actor ever since.
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Rena Sofer the soap star
Sofer played Rocky McKenzie on the ABC soap Loving from 1988-1991. But she really made her mark in daytime TV as Cerullo on General Hospital. Her Brooklyn accent, attitude, and style were legendary, as was her romance with Eddie Maine.
Sofer left GH in 1996 but made a few guest appearances over the next few years. In 2013 she made her return to daytime as Quinn Fuller on The Bold and the Beautiful. Fuller was a jewelry designer who spent years scheming on the soap.
Sofer decided to leave B&B in August 2022. Executives had asked her to stay on as a “recurring character” to see what direction they would take Quinn. Sofer decided to leave the show to see what she wanted out of her career.
Rena Sofer in other roles
Rena Sofer has played many non-daytime roles. She had a recurring role as Eve Cleary on the popular ’90s drama Melrose Place. Any Friends fan will remember her as the baby store salesgirl who flirts with Ross. Other sitcoms she appeared in were Just Shoot Me!, Seinfeld, Two and a Half Men, and Spin City.
She began her stint in TV Movies with Saved by the Bell: Hawaiian Style and continued with numerous Hallmark films. Sofer also guest starred in dramas such as Ghost Whisperer, Bones, and Once Upon a Time.
