Beginnings Although Case's main goal was to become an actress, she turned her attention to modeling as a teenager. She stated: "I thought modeling would be a good start in the business". At the age of 17 in 1988, Case caught the eye of a scout while attending a modeling event, and was offered a modeling job in Japan. She traveled to Japan for five months, before returning to Los Angeles. She later took part in theater, garnering lead role credits in the musicals
Grease,
The Wizard and
The Nutcracker.
Television and film In November 1989, Case scored her first television role playing
Dawn Winthrop on the
ABC Network soap opera
General Hospital. Case wanted to "perfect" her audition prior to screen testing as Dawn, who served as the long-lost daughter of the long-running character
Monica Quartermaine (
Leslie Charleson). Speaking of the audition, Case stated: "I practiced night and day [...] It was a heavy scene in which Dawn learned that her boyfriend Ned (Kurt Robin McKinney) had once slept with her mother! I knew I had to do the best job [possible]". She departed
General Hospital the next year, after a guest appearance on another ABC series, the
comedy drama Doogie Howser, M.D.. In 1991, Case appeared in various other television series, including
Diplomatic Immunity,
Beverly Hills, 90210, ''
Parker Lewis Can't Lose and Cheers. From November 1992 to 1993 Case stepped into her second soap opera role, as Debbie Simon on the CBS Network drama As the World Turns''. Case has stated that she loved the role, and wanted to stay on to explore more into the character of Debbie who was a "
manic depressive", an issue that hadn't been covered on daytime television. During this, she also appeared on the CBS crime drama
Silk Stalkings as Bonnie Abagail. In 1994, a year after departing from
As the World Turns, she became a regular on the
primetime soap opera
Valley of the Dolls, which was based on the romantic novel of the same name. In 1997, Case had a role in the
HBO film
Breast Men. Previously, she turned down a larger role in the film due to being uncomfortable topless on-screen. Instead, she accepted a smaller, clothed role. In 2007, Case starred with Debra Hopkins in her second short film,
Repressions, which ran for 24 minutes. Produced by
Roundhay Garden films and directed by Adam Kargman, it was filmed from May 14 to July 16, 2006. In the film, Janie (Case) is being tricked by her therapist into believing she has repressed memories of
sexual child abuse. The film was met with critical acclaim from independent movie reviewers who found her performance "mesmerizing" and "stunning".
Oscar Award nominee Jesse Friedman heavily praised the film, and encouraged people to watch it. The role was previously played by
Monica Potter and
Heidi Mark for two months each. Of her casting, Case stated: "Not only is this my third soap, but I'm also the third actress to play the role of Sharon Collins. So, if three times is the charm, this should be it." The actress wanted to "breathe new life" into the role and make it her own. Case was upgraded from a recurring status to a contract in early 1995. In 2001, Case revealed that she had only expected to remain on the show for six months. February 2003 saw her temporarily leave the show due to contract negotiations, with Case eventually returning that April. The character who grew up on the "wrong side of the tracks" has developed into a mother and business woman; known for her
supercouple romantic
pairing with
Nicholas Newman (
Joshua Morrow) and a "darker" relationship with
Adam Newman (
Michael Muhney). Since 2011, the character's storylines have been met with controversy and negative feedback. Case herself has stated that she has been unhappy with the character being paired with "too many men" because it "waters" the storyline down. The show's cast and viewers were appalled when Sharon was romantically paired with her former father-in-law who she had grown to have a father-daughter relationship with,
Victor Newman (
Eric Braeden). The storyline was considered an "inside joke" by cast members. Case was unhappy with the romance she considered almost "
incestuous", stating: "Sometimes controversial storylines can work because you're bringing attention to a controversial issue that the nation is trying to decide on. But this was not one of those things. Everybody is universally against incest! It was just so upsetting to the audience." The show's former head writer and executive producer
Maria Arena Bell has been highly criticized for the "destruction" of Sharon. Jillian Bowe, a writer of the website
Zap2It said that the character was "beloved" but Bell had "assassinated" her "via one ill-conceived storyline and/or romance after another." Tommy Garrett of
Canyon News praised Case, and wrote that: "Maria Bell knows that consummate actress Sharon Case plays the consummate heroine Sharon Newman with aplomb." Garret also has described Case's performance as "flawless" playing a "role of a lifetime and giving the performance of a lifetime." Case has received
several awards for her work on
The Young and the Restless.
Canyon News suggested that her performance needed more Emmy attention. The character has tackled issues such as
infidelity and
rape, and in recent years,
mental health social issues like
kleptomania and most notably
bipolar disorder. Case continues to play Sharon today. ==Jewelry line==