Dahlia Salem
After seeing Jessica Lange's performance in 1982's "Tootsie," 11-year-old Dahlia Salem knew she wanted to be an actress. Before long Salem was taking theater courses at Boston University and performed in the university's production of Shakespeare's "Othello." After college she headed to New York City, where she made her Broadway debut as an understudy in the Tennessee Williams play "The Rose Tattoo." Since she was in New York City, Salem began auditioning for soap operas. She landed her first role as Sofia Carlino on "Another World," a character she played for three years. Salem left the show in 1998 to pursue a career in primetime television, and by 2000 she was guest-starring on shows like the supernatural thriller "Medium," the medical drama "House M.D.," and the procedural drama "CSI: Miami." In 2010 Salem returned to daytime television, playing the role of Claire Walsh, a determined federal prosecutor, on the soap opera "General Hospital."