Parents: Jordan Rydell and Suzanne Rogers

Siblings: Benji Rydell

Children: Violet (with Brett)

Relationships: Stormy Blackthorne, Will Thomerson, Brett Armstrong

Appearances: Seasons 1 – 6

Who’d Play Her: Sarah Michelle Gellar

A Life on the Edge: The daughter of powerful Hollywood producer Jordan Rydell and actress Suzanne Rogers, Heather grew up amid wealth, fame, and deeply buried family secrets. She married her high-school sweetheart, Stormy Blackthorne, but their seemingly ideal life began to collapse when he became consumed with the career of rising singer Lauren Spencer. Heather’s hopes of launching a singing career of her own were ignored while Stormy carried on a secret affair with Lauren. After catching them together, Heather ended the marriage, though her complicated bond with Stormy would continue for years.

Heather’s vulnerability made her a target for Will Thomerson, who sought revenge after she helped Brett Armstrong steal valuable movie deals from him. Under the guise of an audition, Heather was drugged and secretly filmed with two men. The trauma left her withdrawn and contributed to a series of blackouts. While searching for the recording, Heather and Miranda discovered hidden tunnels connecting Will’s estate to the Blackthorne mansion. Heather later passed through those tunnels in a dissociative state and fatally shot Will, though she initially had no memory of doing so. Her family protected her by arranging for the death to be ruled self-defense.

As Heather struggled with guilt and fractured memories, she found unexpected comfort in Brett, despite the damage he had caused her family. Their attraction grew while Brett’s marriage to Miranda unraveled, and Heather eventually fell in love with him. Their relationship survived his manipulations, his involvement with dangerous Congressman Seth Walker, and a terrifying hostage crisis on the roof of the Los Angeles Theatre, where Brett saved a pregnant Heather and sent Seth falling to his death. Heather and Brett married, and she later gave birth to their daughter, Violet.

Motherhood coincided with the return of painful memories from Heather’s childhood. Years earlier, she had witnessed her mother kill Jordan’s half brother while under the hypnotic control of Victor Distefano, but the trauma had been buried following a serious car accident and brain surgery. Disguised as psychiatrist Dr. Anderson, Victor later began treating Heather and implanted commands instructing her to murder Jordan. Heather kidnapped her father and nearly shot him before Brett intervened and was wounded. Although Victor’s scheme was exposed, the psychological damage remained. Heather subsequently suffered a complete break from reality and nearly drove herself and Violet off a cliff, leading Brett to have her committed to a mental health facility in San Francisco.

After eighteen months of treatment, Heather returned home stable but frustrated by the way everyone treated her as though she might shatter. Determined to reclaim her place in Violet’s life, she made motherhood her priority and warned Brett that rebuilding their marriage would take time. Their reunion was further complicated by the revelation that Brett had begun an affair with Suzanne while Heather was institutionalized.