She left "Annie" for movie and television work. After a year, in 1984, she was cast as Lily on ATWT. So, in 1985 she was "leading a dual life" of attending Catholic school and also playing opposite a 20-year-old man.






In 1987 she received her first Emmy nomination. Her story line involved Dusty Donovan, Lily's first love, being hit by a car and in a coma. She lost the Emmy, and she cried a little bit. In 1988 she was nominated again. She won. This happened at a time when her real-life boyfriend had broken up with her on prom day, and she was a high school senior. It was "mind-blowing" to win. It made the boyfriend way less important.


After four years on ATWT, she left to work on episodic televison. Being in Los Angeles all alone at 20 was a rough transition. Her mother had always donated a percentage of Martha's earnings to St. Jude's Hospital when she was a child actor. Now, in Los Angeles, every single day she went to church and prayed for help, and promised to raise funds for St. Jude's the rest of her life if He would help her. When Douglas Marland, the legendary writer of ATWT, called and asked her to return, she knew it was the answer to her prayers. She returned, and has been a major influence raising funds for St. Jude's ever since.

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