Hillary Bailey Smith, who was born on May 25, 1957 in Boston, Massachusetts, was educated at Pine Manor College, in Chestnut Hill in Massachusetts. Her television appearances include those in Nurse, No Soap, Radio, The Doctors, Too Close for Comfort, As the World Turns, Something Wilder and Law & Order: SVU. In 2007, Smith was cast for the role of Nora Hanen on the soap opera One Life to Live. Her film credits include It Had to Be You, Maid in Manhattan and Palindromes.

Nora Hanen is played by Hillary Bailey Smith in One Life to Live. Nora is a district attorney who worked on the rape trial of Marty Saybrooke. She became involved with Bo Buchanan. When Bo's son, Drew, was killed in the line of duty, Nora wanted to conceive a child to lighten up Bo's devastated outlook. Out of desperation, she turned to her ex-boyfriend Sam Rappaport who impregnated her. Bo eventually divorced Nora when he found out that the child was Sam's. After Sam's death in 2003, it was revealed that Nora's son was indeed fathered by Bo and that Sam knew this from the beginning.