User:Livelikemusic/Carly Tenney Snyder

Carly Tenney Snyder is a fictional character from As the World Turns an American soap opera on the CBS network, portrayed by Daytime Emmy Award winner Maura West. First introduced in March 1995 by then-executive producer Laurence Caso and head writer Richard Culliton, she arrived in town for a piece of the Cabot family fortune. She set her eyes on her material half-sister, Rosanna Cabot only to make enemies of her after having a one-night stand with her boyfriend Mike Kasnoff (Shawn Christian). After suffering a miscarriage and failing to make deadlines placed on her by her sister, Carly intended to make her own amends and a life for herself in Oakdale.

During the character's run on the series, she was linked in many high-profiled romances with several of the show's leading men including Hal Munson (Benjamin Hendrickson), Craig Montgomery, and most notably Jack Snyder (Michael Park) which helped launch them into the super-couple known as Jack Snyder and Carly Tenney, otherwise known by their pseudo name "CarJack". Carly also had a brief fling with Holden Snyder (Jon Hensley), which sparked controversy and put a dent in the character's long-lasting friendship with Lily Snyder.

West's portrayal of Carly earned her several nominations, including two-wins in the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series category, first in 2007 and secondly in 2010.

Casting and creation
West joined World Turns in early 1995 in the role of Carly Tenney. She made her \\debut in March of that year under contract status. A year later, in 1996, West requested out of her contract with As the World Turns so she could concentrate on being a full-time mother, as she was expecting her first child with her then-husband, Jonathan Knight. Then executive producer John Valente spoke on her decision, stating, "Maura has asked to be released from her contract in order to pursue her role as a full-time mother. [...] It's hard to say no to the call of motherhood. On that basis, we have agreed to release her." Valente continued saying, "Her character and her talent have had a tremendous impact on the show [...] and we will miss her. ... We had always planned for her to take a maternity leave, and we'll take that time to assess what we want to do with the character in the future." While the show wrote West's pregnancy in the show (which resulted in a still-birth), West departed the soap on May 29, 1996.

In 1997, West was announced to be re-joining the soap, and began re-appearing on September 16, 1997. In the November 25, 1997, issue of Soap Opera Digest, West spoke of her 1996 exit, stating: "What you have to understand is, I was having a baby and I was told I would only get six weeks maternity leave,” she begins. “My son was nine days late! I would have had a month before I had to go back to work." She also opened up about her return, stating: "I think it would have been weird to come back doing the same storyline. [...] I’m not saying I wouldn’t want Shawn to come back; I’d be thrilled. But they’ve been giving me great scenes with Michael Park [Jack] and Benjamin Hendrickson [Hal], and that’s fabulous."

Following the series finale, West made her debut as Diane Jenkins on the fellow CBS soap, The Young and the Restless in October 2010. In May 2011, West was let go from the role. In early 2013, it was announced that West would join ABC's General Hospital as Ava Jerome, reuniting her with former ATWT co-star, Roger Howarth (ex-Paul Ryan).

Storylines
Carly returns to Oakdale in 1997, after losing her fortunes in Hong Kong.