Emma Samms

As an actress, Samms has worked with some of the biggest names in the business and has starred in some of the most iconic shows and films of her time. She has seen the industry change and evolve, and can speak to the challenges and opportunities that come with such a dynamic field.

At the age of 11 Emma was accepted into the Royal Ballet School but after attending the school for nearly six years, an injury forced her to give up her childhood dream of becoming a ballet dancer.

Compelled to explore new fields, Emma began modelling at 16, representing Kanebo Cosmetics, a leading Japanese cosmetic firm. She appeared in fashion magazines around the world, including Vogue among others.

No-one was more surprised than Emma when her first film audition won her a starring role in the film Arabian Adventure opposite Christopher Lee and Mickey Rooney. Soon afterwards, Emma relocated to the United States and was cast in the mini-series Goliath Awaits opposite Mark Harmon.

In 1982 Emma was offered a leading role in the ABC daytime drama General Hospital. Audiences enthusiastically followed her character until she departed the show in 1985. Much to the delight of her devoted General Hospital fans, Emma has returned to the show numerous times, most recently in September of 2022.

From 1985 to 1989 Emma appeared as Fallon Carrington Colby on the prime-time dramas Dynasty and The Colbys. Her post-Dynasty work has been extensive, concentrating on feature films for television and theatrical distribution, including starring roles in Delirious opposite John Candy and in The Marksman opposite Wesley Snipes. Most recently Emma returned to her recurring role in Doctors, the BBC television drama.

Emma made her stage debut in 2009, dancing with Adam Cooper in Shall We Dance at London’s Sadler’s Wells theatre, finally realizing her dream to dance on stage.

Alongside her career as a performer, Emma has been enjoying another career as a writer with her very first screenplay His Bodyguard being produced by USA network in 1998.

In 2013 Emma made her directorial debut, directing a music video for Hat Trick Productions and then in 2014 she wrote and directed a short film called ‘The Law of Moments’, shooting it over two weekends in and around London. ‘The Law of Moments’ had its world premiere at the Vancouver International Film Festival and also screened at the BFI and the Boston Film Festival, receiving enthusiastic reviews.

In 2015 Emma wrote and directed a radio drama series, ‘Visitors’ for BBC Radio Gloucestershire, which won a bronze at the New York Festivals International Radio Awards in June 2016.

For more than seven years, Emma has also written a popular monthly column for the glossy UK magazine Cotswold Life.

Emma Samms co-founded the Starlight Children’s Foundation (www.starlight.org), an international organisation, which helps seriously ill children and their families throughout the United Kingdom, United States, Canada and Australia. This was inspired by Emma’s brother, Jamie, who died aged eight of aplastic anaemia.

It was because of her ongoing efforts on behalf of Starlight that Emma received an MBE from HRH Queen Elizabeth in her 2016 90th Birthday Honours.

Emma currently lives in England with her husband, broadcaster and journalist Simon McCoy. She has a son, Cameron, and a daughter, Micha.