From the day Sydney Penny (Meg, Sunset Beach) teetered out onto a nightclub stage at the age of 3 to sing an impromptu song with her musician father, Hank Penny, the actress has thrown herself heart and soul into performing. In the process, she?s developed a resume that includes credits from daytime, prime-time and film. "It was very lucky for me that I started at an age where I had no fears," she shares. "I didn?t have that little voice that creeps in as you get older and says, 'This isn't such a good idea.?'"

Penny literally grew up in front of the camera. She started at age 10 with her role as young Meggie in THE THORN BIRDS miniseries. As a teen, she was Gidget's niece on THE NEW GIDGET, and then as a young woman it was on to SANTA BARBARA and ALL MY CHILDREN. "I was 20 when I was playing B.J. [on SB]," the actress recalls. "I was very much the ingenue. Playing Julia [on AMC] was sort of my college years. I never had a chance to go to college, so that was my three-and-a-half years in New York - very much a girl starting to become a woman."

Now, three years after leaving the storybook role of AMC's Julia, Penny has jumped coasts to make a much-anticipated return to daytime as BEACH's Meg (temporarily replacing Susan Ward, who is on leave filming the movie In Crowd). "With Meg, I am that much older," Penny notes. "I approach the role in a whole different way than I would have if I were 20." Adds the actress with a laugh, "I'm a different person every year. I crave progress, growth and change like some people crave chocolate."

Happily, Penny has found all three in her personal life. Having recently celebrated her fourth wedding anniversary with husband Robert Powers, a producer, Penny admits she wouldn't mind hearing the pitter patter of little feet sometime soon. "I am getting to that traditional age [where one starts having kids]" she smiles. "We've bought a house and we've been fixing it up. Eventually, it'll be time to start thinking about what we're going to fill that house with."

Professionally, however, there's one aspect of her current gig that could fall under the category of "the more things change the more they stay the same": BEACH tapes in the same studios where she once taped SB. "[Going to the BEACH studios] was a little bit like déjà vu at first." Shares Penny. "I feel like I've never left. Some of the same crew is there. This particular studio holds many good feelings and positive impulses."

Not to mention long-time pals. Penny has been reunited with Kathleen Noone (Bette, with whom she appeared in 1996's Hearts Adrift), Gordon Thompson (A.J.,; ex-Mason, SB) and Executive Producers Gary Tomlin (SB and AMC) and Aaron Spelling (with whom she worked at HYPERION BAY). "There are so many nice connections with the show for me," she signs.

In addition to reconnecting with old friends on the West Coast, Penny has been enthusiastically re-establishing her California roots. "[My husband and I] always knew that New York was never going to be the ultimate place for us," she maintains. "Both of our families are out here. For me, it's all right here, at home. This is where my life is."

Penny's BEACH stint ends in early November; Ward will reprise the role for the cancelled BEACH's last two months. Could another soap be in Penny's future? "Every [daytime role] that has occurred for me has come out of the blue and has been unplanned." She allows. "Each has had a really positive effect on my life. I've made a habit of never saying never ..."

Whatever lies ahead, Penny remains philosophical. "You have to constantly review what you are doing, understand why you are doing it, and be joyful in doing it," she smiles, "because if you?re not, there is absolutely no purpose to it. You might as well go and dig a ditch."