Sydney Penny (born August 7, 1971 in Nashville, Tennessee) is an American Daytime Emmy nominated actress best known for the roles of Julia Santos Keefer on the soap opera All My Children and Samantha "Sam" Kelly on the CBS soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful.

She is of part Cherokee Native American descent and raised in Chatsworth, California. An early acting appearance was on the miniseries The Thorn Birds when she was only 12 years old as young Meggie. She also appeared as Dani in "The New Gidget" and as a pigeon-obsessed youngster in an episode of the cop series TJ Hooker.

She also voiced Lucy Van Pelt on "It's Magic, Charlie Brown" (1981).

She played the role of Julia Santos Keefer on the soap opera All My Children, from 1993 to 1996, with guest appearances in 1997 and 2002 and returned to the show in 2005.

Penny has also appeared on the serials Santa Barbara as B.J. Walker during 1992-1993, Sunset Beach as Meg Cummings (filling in for Susan Ward in 1999), "Beverly Hills 90210" and Hyperion Bay as Jennifer.

In 2003, she was cast as Samantha Kelly on The Bold and the Beautiful . In 2005 she was let go from the soap, with her final appearance airing April 26.

Penny has remained good friends with her former costar on AMC, Sarah Michelle Gellar.

As a child, she was a family friend of River Phoenix.

Penny is married to Robert Powers, a producer. They welcomed their first child, a son, on May 31 2007.

Sydney Penny is probably best known for playing Julia Santos on ABC Television's daytime drama, "All My Children" (1970). She made her first appearance on the soap opera in September 1993. She received critical acclaim for her performance as young Meggie in the hit ABC miniseries, "Thorn Birds, The" (1983) (mini). She played the popular role of B.J. Walker in the daytime serial, "Santa Barbara" (1984), and earned herself an Emmy nomination. In 1995, Sydney received an Emmy nomination for her work on "All My Children" (1970) and a Soap Opera Award nomination. Sydney's entrance into show business came early. Her parents, country and western entertainers Hank Penny and Shari Penny, took their daughter to many of their performances. On one occasion -- and without prompting -- Sydney, just three-and-a-half years old, jumped up on stage and sang her own composition, "My Little Pony." Three years later, Sydney landed her first paying gig -- a toy commercial. Sydney's long list of credits include a co-starring role in the syndicated television series, "New Gidget, The" (1986) and roles in the movies, Pale Rider (1985), with Clint Eastwood; Ciociara, La (1988) (TV) (a/k/a "Running Away") with Sophia Loren, and the French film, Bernadette (1988). In addition, she has made guest appearances on a variety of prime-time shows, including the short-lived _Jack's Place" (1992/I)_ , "Twilight Zone, The" (1985), and "St. Elsewhere" (1982). Off camera, Sydney enjoys horseback riding, cooking and has "a passion for anything to do with the era of the 1930s and 1940s."

Sydney Penny began her career on stage with her parents Hank Penny and Shari Penny, who were musical entertainers. At six years of age she began performing in commercials, and as a teenager co-starred in the TV series "New Gidget, The" (1986). She starred as Sophia Loren's daughter in Ciociara, La (1988) (TV) (US title: "Running Away"), a remake of Loren's original Ciociara, La (1960) (US title: "Two Women"). Sydney has made numerous guest appearances on TV series such as "Beverly Hills, 90210" (1990), "Jack's Place" (1992), "Twilight Zone, The" (1985) and "St. Elsewhere" (1982), as well as in several E Style Channel specials. She was declared a "national treasure" for her portrayal of young Meggie in ABC's miniseries "Thorn Birds, The" (1983) (mini) and received critical acclaim for her work in such films as Clint Eastwood's Pale Rider (1985) and French director Jean Delannoy's Bernadette (1988), as well as the WB television series "Hyperion Bay" (1998). She starred in Paramount's syndicated series "Largo Winch" (2001) as bodyguard Joy Arden, an enigmatic ex-CIA operative. She is also known for her roles in the popular daytime series "All My Children" (1970) and "Santa Barbara" (1984), both portrayals earning her Emmy nominations. In 1999 she became the 52nd Azalea Festival Queen in Wilmington, North Carolina, where she filmed the independent feature Enchanted (1998). Fluent in French, Sydney filmed both Bernadette (1988) and Passion de Bernadette, La (1989) in that language, and both films received the Pope's blessing and run in perpetuity in Lourdes, France. She is also a foreign correspondent for the web site tournages-lesite.com, which is dedicated to the French film industry. She is skilled in martial arts and weaponry and is an expert horsewoman. She is married to artist Robert Powers and lives in Los Angeles, California.