Occupation: Student

Parents: Renee Merteuil and Nathan Blackthorne

Relationships: Malcolm Harris, Benji Rydell, Hunt Roberts

Appearances: Seasons 3 – 6

Who’d Play Her: Davetta Sherwood

The Girl Everyone Tried to Control: Sierra Merteuil was raised as the adopted daughter of Renee Merteuil, unaware that Renee was actually her biological mother. Renee had conceived Sierra during a relationship with legendary actor Nathan Blackthorne and secretly given birth to her in Europe. Fearful of the scandal attached to Nathan’s name, Renee arranged to adopt her own child and constructed a more respectable history for them both.

Sierra spent much of her youth away at school in New York, sheltered from the secrets and rivalries surrounding her family in Los Angeles. When she returned home, she attracted the attention of Benji Rydell. Their immediate connection frightened Renee, who knew Benji’s reputation for reckless behavior and emotional instability. Renee encouraged Sierra to distance herself from him, but the attraction between them never fully disappeared.

Sierra later returned to Los Angeles with Malcolm Harris, an ambitious young man with whom she had developed a serious relationship. Benji remained determined to win her, however, and his opportunity came during the earthquake at Hotel Terranova. When Sierra was trapped inside the damaged hotel, Benji risked his life to carry her to safety. His heroism deepened her feelings for him and made it increasingly difficult for her to remain committed to Malcolm.

Her life changed dramatically after she discovered that Renee’s husband Kenny had never been told she existed. Distraught by the growing evidence that Renee had lied about her past, Sierra ran into the path of Ethan Blackthorne’s car. She was critically injured, and the need for a rare blood transfusion exposed the biological connection between her and Renee. Forced to confess, Renee revealed that she was Sierra’s birth mother and that Nathan Blackthorne was her father.

The revelation shattered Sierra’s sense of identity. The woman she had trusted as her adoptive mother had deceived her for her entire life, while the father she had unknowingly been drawn toward carried a history of sexual attacks. Sierra was left to determine what Nathan meant to her while coping with the realization that her life had been carefully designed to protect Renee’s reputation.

Her romantic life was equally manipulated. Benji arranged for Sierra to discover Malcolm in bed with Angela Warner, driving her directly into Benji’s arms. Sierra slept with him but soon admitted that she still loved Malcolm. Renee then joined forces with Malcolm’s father, T.T. Levitt, to force Malcolm out of Sierra’s life. Tired of being treated as a prize in other people’s schemes, Sierra returned to New York.

She eventually came home with Hunt Roberts and a serious drug problem. Benji tried to separate her from Hunt, but Sierra resented his attempts to control her. At Magnum Rainer’s birthday party, Jeff Branigan secretly drugged her, causing a terrifying reaction. Benji confronted Jeff, and during the struggle Jeff was struck and killed by a passing car. Renee later persuaded Benji to frame Hunt as a police informant, leading to Hunt’s disappearance and presumed murder.

After overcoming her addiction, Sierra reconciled with Benji. Their relationship remained passionate but volatile, and they impulsively ran away and married. The ceremony was later discovered to be invalid, giving Sierra time to reconsider whether she truly wanted a permanent life with him. As Benji became increasingly jealous, possessive, and violent, she began to understand that his love could not be separated from his need to control her.

Sierra found comfort in a growing friendship with Ashton Childers. Benji became convinced that Ashton was replacing him and spiraled further out of control. Although Sierra still cared for Benji, she refused to continue accepting responsibility for his anger and instability. For perhaps the first time in her life, she chose her own safety over the expectations and desires of everyone around her.

Benji asked Sierra to meet him at the Hollywood Bowl overlook and begged her to take him back. When she refused, he shot and killed her. Unable to accept a future in which Sierra no longer belonged to him, Benji destroyed the person he claimed to love and set in motion the events that soon led to his own death.