She played the diabolical Elena on ABC's soap operaGeneral Hospital, and later moved to Tennessee to help care for her ill sister. During this period she appeared in many stage plays and musicals such as the role of Nancy in Oliver! and Lola in Damn Yankees. Holden starred in a production of Baby, the Musical at the Boiler Room Theatre in Franklin, Tennessee[5]
She was co-host of the TNN dance show Dancin' at the Hot Spots in 1993.
On May 15, 2017, filmmaker Richard Rossi announced Holden had been cast in the lead role of Sister Sara Sunday in the independent film Canaan Land, for which she went on to win Best Actress in the Malibu Film Festival. [7][8] In 2023, she starred in the western film, Was Once a Hero opposite Darby Hinton and John Carter Cash.[9]
Music
While she was still a model, Holden formed a country music group and toured with it for two years.[2]
Holden charted two singles for TRA-Star Records in 1989: "The Truth Doesn't Always Rhyme" and "License to Steal". She recorded the album The Highway Runs Both Ways for Curb Records and a self-titled album for BMG Europe.[10]
In 1989, Holden was recognized as both New Independent Artist and New Independent Female at the first Cash Box magazine Nashville Music Awards.[11]
In the early 2010s, Holden and Kevin Sasaki toured in "Together Forever", a musical tribute to Eydie Gormé and Steve Lawrence.[12]
Personal life
From 1980 until their divorce in 1986, Holden was married to her childhood sweetheart, Bobby Vasselo. [13][14] On New Year's Eve, 2014, she married record producer Joel Diamond.[15]
Holden has been active with relief organizations. She was a founding board member of Operation California (now Operation USA), traveling for charity work in Ethiopia during the famine. She later helped form Operation Texas, providing help to earthquake victims in Mexico City.[2] In 2022, Rebecca was named a board of director and the Ambassador of Goodwill for The Stars Foundation. [16] She is a board member of the William Stephanie Foundation[17]
^"He's hardly Mexican, but he'll fake it; Series: Headliners". St. Petersburg Times. July 13, 1987. p. 3D. ProQuest262514120. The actress no longer has to keep the home fires burning. She and her husband, oil company owner Bobby Vassallo, parted ways last year. 'It was the right th ing,' says Rebecca. 'Things are good. I'm committed to my work and I'm a busy, happy person.'
^"HITCHED, HATCHED, HIRED: Inside the industry's celebrations and news; Weddings". Joel Diamond, a multiplatinum record producer and former Sony Music executive, married actress-musician Rebecca Holden on New Year's Eve in Nashville. She filed for divorce in 2021. February 6, 2015. ProQuest2298693503.
