Cherie Jimenez, who joined the cast of “Days of our Lives” as Gabi Hernandez in 2024, is the next guest on “Soapy Hosted by Rebecca Budig and Greg Rikaart,” the popular podcast series hosted by soap stars Rebecca Budig (Taylor Hayes, “The Bold and the Beautiful”) and Greg Rikaart (Leo Stark, “Days of our Lives”), which is currently in its third season.
In an episode dropping Tuesday, August 11, Jimenez details how Gabi was her dream role as an actor and the feedback she received before being told she landed the job, and some of the things she went through as a kid growing up in New York City, including a fire that saw her family lose everything, among other topics.
From New York To L.A.
Before making the 3,000-mile cross-country journey, Jimenez revealed that while growing up in New York City, she and her family either had a place to live in various parts of the five boroughs or had nowhere to live.
“So, after I was five, we basically had somewhere to live and then we had nowhere to live. Unfortunately, I was in a tragic fire with my abuela, and we lost everything,” said Jimenez to Budig and Rikaart. “We lost all baby pictures, everything that we had,” continued an emotional Jimenez, who quickly gathered herself. “We had angels along the way. So that’s why when people ask me where I’m from, I’m like, ‘Well, I lived in Bronx, Brooklyn, Lower East Side,’ just all over. And they’re like, ‘Huh? What does that mean?’ So I spent a good majority in the Lower East Side. I lived in Alphabet City. I lived in the Bronx. I lived in Brooklyn. I just kind of lived wherever we found a place to sleep for the night, kind of thing or for certain months; it just kind of depended on where we ended up.”
Though the full episode will explain who Wendy is, Jimenez continues talking about her experience in NYC, recalling, “Everything was just ‘Where can we get to to find some safety or to find somewhere to just sleep?’ I think that was the biggest thing because I remember my days being very full and being outside, being in New York City, just because that’s what it was versus I think the night was probably the one where my mom was like, ‘Okay, so where can we go sleep?’ And so we were always taken in, which was a blessing. But when Wendy took us in, in Alphabet City, that was when I kind of fell into the acting world or at least into the entertainment world because I’d always walk around my mom and I had really long hair up to here and I’d always wear, I guess, the same outfit every time, which was my ripped jeans and a white t-shirt, I was a big tomboy. And she would always get stopped, and people would always be like, ‘Your daughter should model. Your daughter should model.'”
Dream Role
The role of Gabi on “Days of our Lives” was Jimenez’ dream role, dating back to when the character was first created and originally portrayed by Gabriela Rodriguez and later Camila Banus.
“It’s interesting because Gabi, being my dream role — I auditioned for Gabi when I was 22, when [the character] was first created, and I got pretty close to getting it, but it wasn’t meant to be,” explained Jimenez, recalling her trajectory to the role, to which Rikaart asked if casting director Marnie Saitta was casting back then. “Yeah, Marni was casting. And the wild thing about that is that at that time I really, really wanted Gabi and I loved it because also being a Latina in this industry at that time, and now it’s grown a lot, but there weren’t very many roles for Latina actresses and also ones that were just a normal person. It was always like a caricature of a Latina, which it just was what it was. And so I really wanted it. This was one of the roles when you audition, and things aren’t meant to be, and that’s okay, but Gabi was one of the ones that I always looked back on, and I wish I had gotten.”
Note: Saitta has been the show’s casting director since 2007.
Screentest
Years later, the role of Gabi became available, and Jimenez decided to audition for the role again, noting, “I understand this industry, and I know how it is, so if it’s not meant for me, that’s okay. All I want is to go there, give it my all, [and] do my best so that no matter what, I can always look back on this and know that I gave it my all. And that was it. I went in and right before the screentest… I didn’t know at the time that the DiMera symbol was the Phoenix, and my son’s name is Phoenix. So, I looked at the table right before we started, and I saw the Phoenix statue, and I was like, ‘Is that a Phoenix?’ and I took a deep breath, and then I started. I gave it my all. I was so proud of myself, and then I left. I was like, ‘Okay, whatever happens, happens.'”
“I got the call a couple of days later, and, of course, they did the whole, ‘How did you feel about it? How was it? Okay, well, we’ll give you feedback,'” continued Jimenez, who shared, “When they called me, they were like, ‘It was you! You were the only one; no one compared. You are Gabi!’ I cried, and, of course, just gratitude, and then I got my ass to L.A. and I was like, ‘Here we go. My goodness, Woo!'”
For more from Jimenez’ appearance on “Soapy Hosted by Rebecca Budig and Greg Rikaart,” including discussion on her landing a speaking role on HBO’s “The Newsroom,” created by Aaron Sorkin, make sure to tune in for the Tuesday, August 11 episode, which marks the show’s 23rd episode from its current third season with more all-new episodes expected to be released in the weeks ahead.
Episodes from the audio/video podcast series are available for free via the Audacy app and the CBS brand YouTube channel.
In addition to Jimenez, other guests appearing this season on the “Soapy” podcast have included her “Days of our Lives” co-star Eric Martsolf and former co-star Billy Flynn (“The Young and the Restless”), “The Bold and the Beautiful” actors Sydney Bullock and Brayan Nicoletti, plus Nancy Lee Grahn (“General Hospital”), Christel Khalil (“The Young and the Restless”), Elizabeth Hendrickson (“The Young and the Restless”), Tamara Tunie (“Beyond the Gates”), Tanisha Harper (“General Hospital”), Sean Kanan (“The Bold and the Beautiful), Eileen Davidson (“The Young and the Restless”), Robert Scott Wilson (“Days of our Lives”), Brandon Claybon (“Beyond the Gates”), Melissa Claire Egan (“The Young and the Restless”), Joshua Morrow (“The Young and the Restless”), Donnell Turner (“General Hospital”), Morgan Fairchild (“Flamingo Road,” “General Hospital”), Jackée Harry (“Days of our Lives”), and Donna Mills (“Knots Landing,” “General Hospital”), as well as “The Bold and the Beautiful” executive producer and head writer Bradley Bell, former head writer writer Ron Carlivati (“Days of our Lives,” “One Life to Live”) and director Owen Renfroe (“The Young and the Restless,” “General Hospital”).
The podcast is produced by the Paramount Multiplatform Production Group, with Mike Benson serving as executive producer.
