‘General Hospital’: Jacklyn Zeman Reveals the ‘Most Famous Person’ She Has Met — And It’s Not a Hollywood Celebrity

Jacklyn Zeman is best known for playing Bobbie Spencer on General Hospital. She is one of the longest-serving cast members on the show, which means Zeman also has some interesting stories about her time in the acting world over the years.

Zeman has met many famous people, and she recently revealed the “most famous person” she has met. However, that person is not a Hollywood celebrity.

Jacklyn Zeman has been a soap opera star for over 40 years

Zeman has been in the soap opera world since 1976. That year, she joined the show One Life to Live to play Lana McClain, a small role that was eventually killed off.

In 1977, she moved to General Hospital to play nurse Bobbie Spencer, the sister of Luke Spencer. As Zeman shared in her interview with Voyage LA, she was originally supposed to play Bobbie for just three years, but she ended up staying for over 40 years.

As with many soap characters, Bobbie’s life is full of ups and downs. She was once known for having a rivalry with Laura Webber, who later went on to marry Bobbie’s brother. Bobbie’s life is also filled with unfortunate relationships that never lasted. She had relationships with Roy DiLucca, Noah Drake,  D.L. Brock, Jake Meyer, Tony Jones, Stefan Cassadine, and Scot Baldwin—not to mention all the short affairs she had as well.

These days, Bobbie’s story lines are less prominent on the show than before. She mostly appears as Carly Corinthos and Lucas Jones’ mother, giving them advice from her many years of life experiences.

The ‘most famous person’ Jacklyn Zeman has met is a former president

Zeman has been recognized many times for her work on General Hospital. She even had a chance to meet a former president. As she shared with Hollywood Hi recently, President Gerald Ford is one of the most famous people Zeman has talked with.

“I had the pleasure of being invited to a cocktail party where I met President Gerald Ford and First Lady Betty Ford,” Zeman explained. “At that time their son Steve was getting involved in acting and had been offered a part on a soap. They were very interested in hearing about life as an actor in Daytime so we spent quite a long time in a private conversation. They had a lot of questions which I was happy to answer. They were both so kind and very down to earth.”

Steven Ford ended up landing the role of Andy Richards on The Young and the Restless in 1981. He was a regular cast member until 1987, though also reprised the role briefly in the early 2000s.

When asked if she was the reason Ford got the role on The Young and the Restless, Zeman told Hollywood Hi, “I don’t know about that but it was very exciting to be with the former President and First Lady.”