is a reporter, as her parents had been. They were killed in a fire at the Trinity Guardian building when Gail was 8 years old (on 4th July 1976, as seen on their gravestones in the Pilot). Since then, Gail had lived in Charleston, though we never find out who raised her. When she heard the news about Merly's death on TV, she came back to Trinity, to help Caleb and to finally find out who was responsible for her parent's death. Her relationship to Caleb isn't an easy one. She loves him and tries to be there for him, but seems unable to form a truly close relationship with him--and with other people. Maybe that is a result of her childhood trauma? After making a deal with Lucas, Gail finds out more about her family than she'd like in Ring of Fire, but is 'his end of the deal' the truth? Despite mistrusting him, Gail has been drawn to Lucas from the beginning, and in Plague Sower she finally loses her fight against Lucas' charms and her own feelings, though she keeps pretending their relationship is only physical. Only after Lucas' 'death' in The Buck Stops Here is she able to admit that she loves him.

Paige Turco's Gail is a woman who hides her insecurity behind the façade of the successful, investigative reporter, and is often unable to overcome the wall she built around herself. For some reason, I felt a special bond with her from the beginning. I could relate to her ambiguous feelings towards Lucas, as well as to her often-seen behavior of keeping everyone at a distance, or drawing back when something or someone got too personal. Too bad we didn't get more scenes of Gail verbally sparring with Selena. :-)

A few favourite Gail quotes:

"What could I possibly be hiding from you?" (Damned if You Don't)
"There's a lesson in everything, isn't that what you said to Caleb? What's our lesson here? What is it that we're supposed to learn from this little adventure?" (The Beast Within)
"Is it that you want me? Or do you want to just see me suffer?" (Ring of Fire)
"Wait. But it's not about anything else." (Plague Sower)
"You don't have a heart. You're not even human." (Triangle)
"Didn't you know how much I loved you? I'm carrying your child." (The Buck Stops Here)

was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, on May 17th 1965. She graduated from the University of Connecticut with a degree in drama. Her first career led Paige into ballet, and she performed as a soloist at the New England Dance Conservatory, the Western Massachusetts Dance Company, and the Amherst Ballet Theatre Company. After an injury forced her to give up dancing, she ventured into acting. Her film credits include the second and third parts of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Vibrations, Dead Funny, The Pompatus of Love, Urbania, and the recently completed The Empath. On TV, Paige was a regular on The Guiding Light and All My Children, and played a lesbian police officer on NYPD Blue. She is currently working on CBS primetime series The Agency. Paige is married to John Mese, who played Dr. Billy Peele on American Gothic.

Paige Turco Links

1. August 2002