Background and career
Sydney Margaret Penny (born August 7, 1971) is an American actress. She began her career as a child performer appearing in made-for-television movies. She made her big screen debut in the 1985 Western film Pale Rider directed by Clint Eastwood. She received a total of six Young Artist Awards nominations and won two—for playing Young Meggie Cleary in the miniseries The Thorn Birds (1983), and for Pale Rider. Penny also starred in the sitcom The New Gidget (1986–1988), and played Bernadette Soubirous in the French drama film Bernadette (1988) and its sequel The Passion of Bernadette (1990) both directed by Jean Delannoy. Penny starred as B.J. Walker during the final season of NBC soap opera Santa Barbara (1992–1993), that earned her a nomination for a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series. She later joined the cast of ABC soap opera All My Children in a recurring role spanning fifteen years (1993–97, 2002, 2005–08) as Julia Santos Keefer. Her portrayal led to her being nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 1995. She also starred in the drama series Hyperion Bay (1998–1999) and Largo Winch (2001–2003).
Penny was born in Nashville, Tennessee, and raised in Chatsworth, California, the daughter of former Western swing bandleader and comedian Hank Penny and his second wife, Shari, who trained as an opera singer and later performed with her husband.
Penny began performing when she was three years old, singing during one of her parents' concerts. She made her screen debut playing a supporting role in the made-for-television movie The Night Rider (1979) starring David Selby, Kim Cattrall and Hildy Brooks. She performed as Lucy Van Pelt in the 1981 television special It's Magic, Charlie Brown and also that year appeared in the Primetime Emmy Award-nominated television movie Through the Magic Pyramid. She played Tessa Dahl in the television film The Patricia Neal Story (1981) starring Glenda Jackson and Peg Adams in The Capture of Grizzly Adams (1982). At the 4th Youth in Film Awards, Penny received two nominations for Best Young Actress in a Movie Made for Television for these performances, as well a nomination for Best Young Actress in a Television Special, for The Circle Family. She later guest-starred on Fame, T. J. Hooker, St. Elsewhere and The Twilight Zone. In 1983, Penny played Young Meggie Cleary in the miniseries The Thorn Birds. For her performance she won Best Young Actress in a Movie Made for Television at the 5th Youth in Film Awards. In 1985 she played Megan Wheeler in the Western film Pale Rider directed by and starring Clint Eastwood. For this performance she was awarded a Young Artist Award for Exceptional Performance By a Young Actress - Motion Picture at the 7th Youth in Film Awards in December 1985. The following year, Penny went to star in the science fiction family film Hyper Sapien: People from Another Star distributed by Tri-Star Pictures. She starred as Danielle 'Dani' Collins-Griffin in the syndicated sitcom The New Gidget from 1986 to 1988. She later played the role of Bernadette Soubirous in the French drama film Bernadette (1988) and its sequel The Passion of Bernadette (1990) both directed by Jean Delannoy. She starred alongside Sophia Loren in the Italian drama film Running Away (1989), and opposite Malcolm McDowell in the Switzerland-filmed thriller film In the Eye of the Snake (1990). In 1991 she appeared in the made-for-television horror film Child of Darkness, Child of Light. In 1992, Penny made her daytime television debut in the role of B.J. Walker in the NBC soap opera Santa Barbara, appearing on the show until its finale in 1993. For her performance, she received her first Daytime Emmy Award nomination, for Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series. She then moved to another soap opera, as Julia Santos Keefer on ABC's All My Children. Her first stint in the role was from 1993 to 1996, with guest appearances in 1997 and 2002; she returned to the show in 2005. Penny left the show in May 2008 when Julia was killed off. She received a nomination for a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 1995. In the mid-1990s she returned to film, starring in independent productions Hearts Adrift (1996), Enchanted (1998) and The Pawn. From 1998 to 1999, Penny starred alongside Mark-Paul Gosselaar in the WB drama series Hyperion Bay. In 1999 she took the role of Meg Cummings in the NBC soap opera Sunset Beach, replacing Susan Ward for one month during Ward's filming of the movie The In Crowd. The serial's creator, Aaron Spelling, was impressed with Penny's portrayal of Meg so he cast her in another series he created; a recurring role as Josie Oliver during the final season of Beverly Hills, 90210. From 2001 to 2003, Penny starred in the internationally-produced action adventure series, Largo Winch. In August 2003, she was cast as Samantha Kelly on The Bold and the Beautiful. The character never caught on and Penny was bumped to recurring status in late 2004. She last appeared on April 26, 2005, and rejoined All My Children a few months later. She stayed with the show for an additional three years. Since leaving daytime television, Penny guest-starred on Drop Dead Diva and Pretty Little Liars. She starred in a number of movies for Hallmark Channel and Lifetime, notably Hidden Places (2006), The Wife He Met Online (2012) and Killer Crush (2015). Penny is the narrator of the audiobook version of her mother's 2019 children’s book The Enchanted Carousel.
In 1995, Penny married producer Robert Powers (1965–2024), whom she met while appearing in Santa Barbara; he was working behind the scenes of the show as a production coordinator. The couple moved to Wilmington, North Carolina in 2005 and had a child in 2007. Powers died of cancer on December 31, 2024, the day before his 60th birthday.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
