Nicole Forester, who was born Nicole Theresa Schmidt on November 19, 1972 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, joined the cast of CBS' Guiding Light in November 2005 as Cassie Layne Winslow. Her previous television appearances include those in Two and a Half Men, Will & Grace, Monk, and Beverly Hills 90210. She also recently worked with Chris Kattan of Saturday Night Live to produce a new sitcom for ABC. As a guest star, she appeared on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Enterprise. Aside from acting, Forester is involved with charity organizations in New York and Los Angeles, and also performs as a singer with the acoustic band Telegraph Road. Having hailed from Western Michigan University with an extensive background on jazz and ballet, the 35 year old actress had also studied performance arts at American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

Cassie Layne Winslow of Guiding Light is played by Nicole Forester. The late Sarah O'Neill Shayne gave up her baby daughter, Cassie, upon birth, thus the baby was raised by adoptive parents. She grew up to be an exotic dancer who went under the alias of Shady Lane, and it was only when Reva Shayne, her maternal half-sister, tracked her down that she found out about her family. Growing up modestly, she had a hard life and became quite distrustful.



(Photo courtesy of CBS.com)