In 1990, Kelly Ripa began playing the role of Hayley Vaughan on "All My Children." Three years later, in 1993, Eva LaRue walked on set as the character Dr. Maria Santos Grey. LaRue and Ripa worked side-by-side for 17 years before Ripa left the show in 2010. LaRue shared with E! News that she and Ripa clicked from the very start of their time together, remarking, "Kelly started on the show about three years before I got there but the second we met, it was kindred spirits. It was game-on friendship."
Per E! News, LaRue hosted a reunion for her "AMC" cast members at her home in Los Angeles in 2021, a decade after she left the show. LaRue has been tremendously supportive of Ripa as their careers have gone in different directions. In her interview with E! News, LaRue added, "She was the sweetest girl, so to see her catapulted into stardom, I think everybody was excited."
