Biography

 

Paige Turco was born in Springfield, Massachusetts on May 17 1965.

As a child Paige studied to become a ballerina. She performed as a soloist with the New England Dance Conservatory, The Amherst Ballet Theatre Company, and the Western Massachusetts Ballet Company, but her dreams were shattered when an ankle injury terminated her career as a dancer at the age of 14. “Turco: I went through a period where I couldn't even go to the ballet and watch because it was so painful and I missed it. ...”

Paige was forced to re-evaluate her career decision and focused her energy on drama and musical comedies. Paige graduated from the University Of Connecticut with a degree in drama.

Paige landed her first soap opera part in 1987 in CBS’s Guiding Light, as a troubled teenager who is adopted by a wealthy woman. The following year she transferred to ABC’s All My Children where she played Melanie Cortlant. In 1989 Paige left soaps and tried her luck on the big screen, she starred in many movies including Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 and 3, The November Conspiracy, and Vibrations before landing a lead role as Gail Emory in Shaun Cassidy’s controversial television series American Gothic. American Gothic was cancelled after only one season. Paige met and fell in love with John Mese on the show and the couple got engaged shortly after the show ended. Turco and Mese went on to work alongside each other in Dark Tides and Road To Park City before the couple called of their engagement in 2001 and went their separate ways.

Paige starred in many independent films including Urbania, Astoria, Runaway Virus, and The Pompatus Of Love and had a few guest appearances in television shows such as NYPD Blue, Party Of Five, The Fugitive and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit before landing a lead role in Wolfgang Petersen and Shaun Cassidy’s television show The Agency. Paige played Terri Lowell, a graphical technician for the OTS department and sometimes field agent. The Agency lasted two seasons before being cancelled by CBS executives earlier this year.
Paige recently finished filming two new movies, The Empath and Rhinoceros Eyes.

Trivia

Paige currently resides in New York

Paige’s speciality is Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies, "I could never eat an oatmeal-raisin cookie... there's no chocolate in it,"

When Paige was asked what the secret to a mans heart on Valentines Day was for a TV Guide interview, she got the recipe for Red Velvet Cake from Lucas Blacks (Caleb Temple, American Gothic) mother.

Paige quit 1988's "Bright Lights, Big City" mid-film because the replacement director wanted her to do nude scenes. "My mother said I have to be true to myself," says Turco, 36. Meanwhile, "my grandmother said, 'Honey, do it now, while you can.' "

Paige went topless in the film Dark Tides

When Paige visited CIA grounds Langley, Va she and the rest of the cast had to have a two week background check.

Paige married her 'The Agency' co star Jason O'Mara on 19th September 2003, the wedding was held in Old Saybrook, Conn. during Hurricane Isabelle's visit.

Nat King Cole's Orange Coloured Sky was the first dance song played at Paige's wedding.

Behind The Scenes

American Gothic

In Dead To The World, in the scene were Lucas kisses Gail for the first time, Paige Turco was covered in cold sores, but the make up artist worked wonders so the cold sores weren't noticeable.

According to AG PA Paige felt intimidated acting beside to Gary Cole.

Paige Turco, who played Gail Emory, and John Mese, who played Doctor Billy Peele, became romantically involved during the show and shortly after the series ended, they got engaged and went on to star with each other in several movies.

AG PA Craig Edwards on Paige's smoking habit. "She had her quirks, such as her habit while smoking. I watched numerous times as she would light a cigarette as she entered her trailer, and simply fling the lighter away, never able to find it for the next smoke. I would dutifully get another from the gentlemen at Prop World, but soon after she would have lost it as well. I finally started carrying a lighter in my PA pouch on my belt, though I don't smoke. That way I could provide her a light, then quickly claim the lighter back so it would be available the next time she needed it. I carry a lighter in my pouch to this day,"
 

Craig on Paige's set wardrobe choosing." Paige wanted a lot of input on her wardrobe, so the wardrobe people would generally put two or three outfits in her trailer for any given scene. They would all have been chosen to complement the wardrobe worn by others, and not
to clash with the scenery, that sort of thing. (Most times, the outfit is chosen during a fitting beforehand and simply put in the actor's trailer for the scene to be shot.) Since she did that, wardrobe wasn't always able to convince her certain outfits would work better for certain scenes, which led to situations like Paige in a VERY short skirt working in the scene with the Ritter fan (a MONSTROUS fan used as a wind machine) in Ring of Fire. Oh man,
was it funny watching poor Paige try to act like she was sneaking up on Lucas Buck's house while trying hard to keep the "supernatural" wind from yanking her skirt up around her belly! LOL!"

Some Craig memories "Paige Turco made the mistake of trying to pet one of the (real) tracking dogs, and it mistook the motion and snapped at her, ripping her long skirt and leaving a scratch on her leg--freaked her out."

" For breakfast Paige always had two bagels, toasted, with butter and jelly."

Rumour has it that Arnold Vosloo ('sol' in A Tree Grows In Trinity, and 'The Mummy') and Paige dated for a while


The Agency

On Paige's and Jason O'Mara's first scene together in The Agency O'Mara threw a theatrical punch but Paige forgot to duck. It broke the skin around her eye and she was sent to the hospital.