Laken Lockridge was a fictional character

Fictional character

A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...

 on the American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 soap opera

Soap opera

A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...

 Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara (TV series)

Santa Barbara is an American television soap opera, first broadcast in the United States on NBC on July 30, 1984, and last aired on January 15, 1993. The show revolved around the eventful lives of the wealthy Capwell family of Santa Barbara, California...

. She was first portrayed by American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 actress Julie Ronnie

Julie Ronnie

Julie Ronnie is an American actress who appeared on the daytime TV soap Santa Barbara as Laken Lockridge from 1984 to 1985. Raised in Torrance, California, Julie is a Torrance High School Alumni....

 from July 29, 1984 to September 10, 1985, and she returned for a Christmas episode on December 24, 1985. Susan Marie Snyder

Susan Marie Snyder

Susan Marie Snyder is an American actress.-Career:She is most notably recognized for her role as Julie Kinney Wendall Snyder on CBS' soap As the World Turns. She portrayed the role from 1989 to 1995 and returned shortly twice in 1998 and 2002. Prior to joining the show, Susan had a starring role...

 played the role from May 15, 1987 to January 22, 1988, and the final actress to portray the role was Shell Danielson

Shell Danielson

Shell Danielson is an American actress most notably recognized for her role as the third Laken Lockridge on NBC's soap opera Santa Barbara. She played the role from 1990 to 1991. She then joined the cast of ABC's soap General Hospital as the second Dominique Stanton and played the role until 1993...

, from May 31, 1990 to July 19, 1991.

Character history

Laken was the part of the very first teen set on the soap, having interfered with Danny Andrade, Jade Perkins and most notably Ted Capwell. Both Laken and Ted knew that their love for one another would be challenged many times, mostly because their families had been rivals for years. Although they battled to stay with each other, the people around used every chance to hurt them, most notably Augusta who had cooked the carrier pigeon that the lovers used to send each other messages. Their love was eventually overshadowed by family problems, and Laken ended up leaving the city for better opportunities.

Laken returned to town in 1987 only to find her family in shatters. Some people left town, and her ex-boyfriend Ted was now married to Hayley Benson. Laken tried to seduce Ted on various occasions, but she didn't manage to win him over. At the time, her father Lionel was dating Caroline Wilson, the mother of Jane Wilson, who had a secret illness, but she promised to keep the illness hidden from everyone else. Then, once again, Laken left town.

The third return for Laken was everything but successful. She returned and fell in love with a movie producer named Steven Slade, but that love was soon shattered. She then found love in the arms of Amado Gonzales, but the man was tragically murdered weeks later. Realizing that, once again, she had nothing to do in town anymore, Laken left town, this time forever.