Roberta Leighton (actress)

Roberta Leighton (born Roberta Lee Weimar; June 23, 1953) is an American actress. She is best known for playing the roles of Dr. Casey Reed on The Young and the Restless (1978 to 1981, return appearances from 1984 to 1998), Shirley Pickett on General Hospital (1983), and Ginger Dawson on Days of Our Lives (1991 to 1992).

Early life
Leighton was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She has one sibling, a sister. She studied acting at the Guthrie Theater. She then enrolled at Stephens College in Missouri. She received two Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees, one in acting and the other in writing.

Career
After college, Leighton spent three seasons performing in summer stock. She appeared in stage productions of The Taming of the Shrew, Anything Goes, Sweet Charity, and A Midsummer Night's Dream. Leighton faced a decision about whether to move to New York to continue theater work or move to Los Angeles for film and television roles. She flipped a coin and it landed on heads for Los Angeles, so that was where she went.

Leighton guest starred on The Blue Knight, Baretta, Barnaby Jones, Switch, and Rosetti and Ryan. She made her film debut with an uncredited role in One on One. She played Liza Williams in the 1978 thriller film Barracuda.

In 1978, Leighton joined the cast of the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless as Dr. Casey Reed. She played the role until 1981. She made return appearances to the show from 1984 to 1998.

Leighton had roles in the films Stripes (1981) and Covergirl (1983). She played Shirley Pickett, a love interest for Luke (Anthony Geary) on the ABC soap opera General Hospital in 1983. She guest starred on an episode of The Dukes of Hazzard in 1984.

From 1991 to 1992, Leighton played Ginger Dawson on the NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives.

Personal life
Leighton had a four-year relationship with her co-star on The Young and the Restless, David Hasselhoff. She also dated Anthony Geary when they worked together on General Hospital.

She met actor Corey Young through their mutual publicist and they began a relationship after he escorted her to a charity ball. They dated for about a year before marrying on August 20, 1988.

In 1991, Leighton underwent surgery to have four malignant tumors removed from her thyroid.