#WCW: Natasha Livingston (ex-Emily)

Our #WCW (Woman Crush Wednesday) Natalia Livingston (born March 26, 1976) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Emily Quartermaine (for which she won an Emmy Award) and Rebecca Shaw[2] on ABC's General Hospital and the role of Taylor Walker on the NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives.

Livingston was born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Her father, James Livingston, is a physician, and her mother, Martha Livingston, is an artist and Spanish teacher. Livingston is of half Mexican descent, and is fluent in Spanish. She was raised in Macon, Georgia, and spent her summers in Mexico.

Livingston obtained a degree in Sociology from Emory University. She started acting in high school and continued her interests in acting by taking acting classes in college. After graduation, she took an internship in the field of social work, and later moved to Los Angeles, California to pursue her acting career. While working at Home Depot, she was discovered and started acting in national commercials.

Livingston first appeared as Emily Quartermaine on General Hospital on April 1, 2003. The adopted daughter of established characters Alan and Monica Quartermaine, Emily was a prominent character who notably battled breast cancer in 2003. On May 20, 2005, Livingston won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her portrayal of Emily. Livingston eventually decided to leave the series, and Emily was murdered in November 2007; however, Livingston continued to appear periodically until May 7, 2008 as a hallucination of Emily seen by her love interest, Nikolas Cassadine (Tyler Christopher). General Hospital for 11 months as new character Rebecca Shaw. Livingston also appeared in the films Popstar (2005), and West of Brooklyn (2008), as well as the upcoming 2012 film Rough Hustle. Livingston was cast as Taylor Walker, Nicole's sister, on Days of Our Lives on January 26, 2011. In 2011 Livingston produced a documentary entitled The Man Who Ate New Orleans. It aired on PBS in 2012.

Currently she is working on a series for National Geographic.

Prior to her role as breast cancer survivor Emily Quartermaine, Livingston had performed a breast self-exam after watching an episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show that promoted awareness for the disease. She found a lump, which turned out to be benign. Livingston was actively involved with the Susan G. Komen Foundation and Revlon Run/Walk for Women, helping to raise money and increase awareness through national campaigns and PSAs.

Livingston has traveled widely in Europe, the Middle East, Russia, Africa and North and South America, and during a trip to India worked at Mother Teresa's Home for the Dying.

(From wikipedia)