Jacklyn Zeman Biography, Spouse, Plastic Surgery, Daughters

-Jacklyn Zeman is an actress best known for her role in “General Hospital” as Barbara ‘Bobbie’ Spencer since 1977.
-She has a net worth of over $1 million and has won numerous awards for her performances.
-She grew up in a Jewish family in New Jersey and attended New York University on a dance scholarship.
-She is also the spokeswoman for Excedrin aspirin and has been married 3 times.
-She was close to many of the cast and crew of “General Hospital” and last known home was in Malibu, California.

Known for movies

One Life to Live (1968)
as Lana McClain (1976-1977)

General Hospital (1977-2017)
as Bobbie Spencer / Bobbie Spencer, R.N. / Barbara 'B

The Bay (2011-2017)
as Sofia Madison

The Edge of Night (1956)
as Bobbi (the stewardess) (1976)

Who is Jacklyn Zeman?

Jacklyn Zeman was born on 6 March 1953, in Englewood, New Jersey, USA, and was an actress, best known for her role in the soap opera “General Hospital”, in which she portrayed the character Barbara “Bobbie” Spencer, a role she had from 1977. She also appeared in other television projects, such as “One Life to Live”.

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On set today at Patrick’s Roadhouse. Lucky us shooting by the beach. @thebaytheseries

A post shared by Jackie Zeman (@jacklyn.zeman) on Oct 7, 2019 at 4:23pm PDT

The Net Worth of Jacklyn Zeman

Jacklyn Zeman had a net worth at over $5 million, earned through a successful career in acting since 1974, and  won numerous awards thanks to her performances.

Early Life, Education, and Career Beginnings

Jacklyn grew up in a Jewish family. Her mother was a magazine supervisor, while her father worked as a systems engineer. The family later moved to settle in Bergenfield, New Jersey, where she attended Bergenfield High School, a public school with over 1,000 students in their population, and a student-teacher ratio of 12.4:1. She completed her high school education at 15 years old.

Afterwards, she enrolled at New York University on a dance scholarship; their alumni consists of heads of state, royalty, media figures, CEOs, scientists, founders, and many more. Following the completion of her education, she didn’t take to acting immediately, instead becoming a Playboy Bunny, and working primarily at the Playboy Club.

Acting Career

Zeman began her foray into acting In 1976,, with her first role being the character Lana McClain in the soap opera “One Life to Live”. The soap aired as a part of ABC programming for 43 years, following the story of the Lord family, especially their relationships. She stayed with the show for a year, and around the same time had a guest role in the CBS soap opera entitled “The Edge of Night”. The series was one of the most watched soaps of its time, with numerous popular personalities professing their enjoyment of the show.

In 1977, she had one of her biggest roles,  cast as Bobbie Spencer in “General Hospital”, a character which she would identify with for most of her career. The medical drama holds the Guinness World Record for longest running American soap opera in production, and the second longest drama in US TV history after ‘Guiding Light”. It airs through the ABC network, and holds the record for Most Outstanding Drama Series Daytime Emmy Award wins. The show is set in a hospital in a fictional city, though would later expand its story to focus on two core families.

Other Projects

Jacklyn played the role of Bobbie Spencer from 1977 to 2010, before taking a three year break; she returned to the soap in 2013, and has been with the show since then. She has taken very few acting projects aside from the soap, but with the most notable being “National Lampoon’s Class Reunion” which was released during the 1980s. It’s the third film based on the “National Lampoon” magazine, though the second to be released due to “National Lampoon Goes to the Movies” being delayed, leading to a change up in the release schedules.

Thanks to her performances, Jacklyn was nominated four times for a Daytime Emmy Award, including three for Outstanding Supporting Actress and one for Outstanding Lead Actress. She also won a Soap Opera Digest award for Favorite Villainess.

Aside from acting, she was the spokeswoman for Excedrin aspirin for most of the 1990s. In recent years she was been a frequent collaborator on the Home Shopping Network, on which she was often seen presenting a signature line of jewelry. In recent years, she put all of her focus towards “General Hospital”, and the show remains relevant thanks to its continued popularity.

On set today @GeneralHospital #happyactress #lifeisgood pic.twitter.com/NihdKhdiVM

— Jackie Zeman (@JackieZeman) October 1, 2019

Personal Life

Zeman married three times, firstly to Murray Kaufman, a DJ better known as Murray the K. He was highly popular in the New York area from the 1950s to the 1970s, referring to himself as the fifth Beatle. Their marriage lasted onlyfrom  1979 to 1981. Four years later she married Steve Gribbin, but they lasted just a year. Her last marriage was to Glenn Gorden – they were together from 1988 to 2007, and have two children together. Apparently, she then remained single until her death in 2023.

She was known for being close to many of the cast members and crew of “General Hospital” including a lot of their former cast members. She was a close friend of Shell Kepler who played Nurse Amy Vining, and delivered a eulogy during the actor’s funeral. She was also very close to actress Anna Lee, who played the matriarch Lila Quartermaine in the soap, paying a tribute to her prior to her death, expressing her admiration and love for her in several interviews. Jacklyn’s last known home was in Malibu, California, but in 2012 it was reported to be in foreclosure. It’s unknown if she continued to reside in the area.

Jacklyn Zeman passed away on 9 May 2023, after a relatively short battle with cancer.