One of my favorite former soap stars Vivica A. Fox addresses speculation about her plastic surgeries, aging in Hollywood and much more in the current issue of Upscale on newstands now.  I have always loved how Fox  speaks fondly of her time on soaps unlike so many of her Hollyweird peers.

For those of you who aren't familiar with Ms. Fox's soapy past, she played Maya on the short-lived Sally Sussman Morina NBC soap Generations. Generations was the first soap to premiere with a black family-The Marshalls- at the core of the show.

Fox's character was paired opposite Kristoff St. John's Adam Marshall, heir to the Marshall ice cream chain fortune. Adam's big sister Chantal was played by All My Children's Debbie Morgan, who left the signature role of Dr. Angie Hubbard to take a risk on the groundbreaking soap. As did James Reynolds, who vacated the popular role of Abe Carver on Days of Our Lives for a time to portray Marshall family patriarch Henry Marshall.

While Generations only lasted two short years (It didn't stand a chance against ratings powerhouse Young and the Restless which has always been extremely popular among African-American audiences), the show still made history and launched the careers of St. John-who was quickly snatched up by Y&R as budding Newman exec Neil Winters-and Kelly Rutherford (ex-Sam) who went on to a lead role on the Fox hit Melrose Place and now stars on The CW's Gossip Girl.

As for Fox, she  went on to sitcom acclaim, guest starring on The Fresh Prince of Belair and starring in the Patti LaBelle sitcom Out All Night, before joining the cast of Young and the Restless herself as a love interest for Shemar Moore's Malcolm in 1995. Not that her character Stephanie had much time to steam up the screen with Malcolm. Shortly after joining Y&R in the recurring role, she won a part in a little film called Indepence Day opposite her Fresh Prince leading man Will Smith. The rest is post-soap history. 

The cover of the new Soap Opera Digest set to hit the stands tomorrow (March 14) doesn’t make the possible return of former Y&R star Lauralee Bell (ex- Christine "Cricket" Blair) for the show’s upcoming 35^th anniversary all that likely. While we haven’t had a chance to read the actual article (the cover page was released online a day earlier than usual), a picture of Bell with the words “No Thanks” in quotes across it appears on the cover near the right side at the bottom. Beside the picture reads the caption: “Lauralee Bell: Why She Refused To Return”. This could prove disappointing for fans who were looking forward to a mini-reunion of 90’s Y&R supercouple Danny and Cricket. It has already been confirmed that Bell’s former co-star Michael Damien (Danny Romalotti) is returning to the show. Danny's return will be at the behest of another of his exes, Phyllis (Michelle Stafford), who summons him to town to deal with the latest drama concerning their son Daniel (Michael Graziadei), however  pop star Damien is reported to be performing at least two songs when not dealing with his troubled offspring. Perhaps Danny will do a set with Neil (Kristoff St. John) 's current squeeze Karen (Nia Peeples) or Daniel's friend with benefits Amber (Adrienne Frantz)?

The NAACP Announced their 38th Annual NAACP Award Nominations yesterday including their nominees for the TV Daytime Drama categories. The awards show will air on February 14th on FOX.

This year's nominees are as follows:

Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series
• Nazanin Boniadi – General Hospital
• Christel Khalil – The Young And The Restless
• Brook Kerr – Passions
• Tracey Ross – Passions
• Tika Sumpter – One Life to Live

Outstanding Actor in a Daytime Drama Series
• Kamar de los Reyes – One Life to Live
• Kristoff St. John – The Young And The Restless
• Bryton McClure – The Young And The Restless
• Mykel Shannon Jenkins –  The Bold and the Beautiful
• Tobias Truvillion –  One Life to Live