THE ELEGANT REBEL
by Bridget Petrella

Sonia Satra’s natural charm and endearing persona have often been equated with her innate ability to examine the entire universe with a highly sustained imagination. But it's definitively her animated, adventurous nature, that has been quite a worthy challenge for the uncommon irony that is her life. The youngest of three children, Sonia Satra was born on December 17th, in Glen Ridge New Jersey. Her mother, Gunvor, is a history professor from Norway, who fluently speaks five different languages. Her father, John, is an Austrian-born economics professor, with doctorates from universities in four countries. Much of Sonia’s earlier years were spent traveling abroad. By the time she had reached her 18th birthday, she had been to France, Denmark, England, Spain, and Egypt. Sonia became quite independent at a very young age. She instinctively developed a discernible sense of individuality as a child. This was attributed somewhat to her father’s absence. Because of her mother’s proficient work load, there were tremendous responsibilities. Always the avid explorer, at age 11, Sonia knew a number of museum locations throughout Europe. Her genuine appreciation for the arts was constantly cultivated. Sonia also possessed an ingenuous love of music. She first played the recorder, then the flute, from grade school through high school.

Sonia attended high school in Little Falls, New Jersey. Although frequently mislabeled as somewhat quiet and reserved, throughout her high school tenure, Sonia excelled in several areas. She was president of The National Honor Society, Captain of the tennis team, and literary editor of the yearbook. Sonia ultimately shed her undeserved introverted status by creating quite a stir as a biker at a Halloween party during her sophomore year of high school. Apart from her spirited sense of humor, Sonia’s academic background was quite impressive by most standards, as she eventually graduated third in her senior high school class of four hundred and sixty-five students. Sonia then decided to attend Rutgers University, where she eventually majored in communications. She graduated from Rutgers with a Bachelor of Arts degree. While attending college, Sonia was encouraged by a local campus photographer, who felt that Satra had a certain "spark", that was easily captured on film... and of course, she headed to New York for an appointment with a modeling agency. As fate stepped in, Sonia had inadvertently ended up at a commercial agency. Unaware of how this mix-up had even occurred, Sonia began auditioning and got a part in her first commercial, which was for a large supermarket chain. She became extremely successful at commercial work and appeared in several ad campaigns, both local and national.

Sonia eventually decided to move to California and pursue a more extensive acting career. She studied her craft diligently, and took several classes with Jeff Corey, Roy London and Matt Chait. Sonia had an instinctive insight about her work, this became evident in her technique and stage presence. For this reason, while in Los Angeles, Sonia took on major roles in various theater productions. ‘Desperate Hours’, ‘New’, ‘Filthy Talk’, ‘Senior Prom’, and ‘Coffee’ were but a few. Sonia was featured in various student films, her most memorable one being, ‘Death Wears Two Fedoras’, where her unique style was first captured on camera. She went on to successfully appear in the Andrew Dice Clay feature film, ‘Sam and Ed’. Recently she took on the lead role of British bad girl Fiona in the film ‘Hyacinth’ and went on to co-star with James Coburn in the Indie film, 'Intrepid'.

In July of 1993, Sonia auditioned for the part of Lucy Cooper on 'Guiding Light'. Casting director Betty Rae, who is also credited with discovering actress Meg Ryan, was more than just a bit impressed by Sonia’s effervescent persona. In September of 1993, Sonia officially joined the critically acclaimed cast of Guiding Light. Some of Sonia’s other television credits include: ‘Dark Justice’, ‘Brand New Life’, ‘Trial By Jury’, ‘Bonanza, Legends of The Ponderosa’, ‘Bonanza, Under Attack’, and ‘Baywatch’. However, as the actress herself will candidly admit, working in film is her eminent passion. Sonia has avidly explored several film productions and possesses an innate understanding of the entire creative process. More recently, Sonia was given a tremendous opportunity by OLTL executive producer Jill Farren Phelps, the chance to create a more deeply intricate role much unlike the more stable Lucy Cooper... Nurse Barbara, a rather disturbed character with a passionately vulnerable undertone... daytime critics were quite impressed with Satra's overwhelming intensity and tenacity as she received several rave reviews.

When Sonia Satra isn’t working, she enjoys skydiving, yoga, horseback riding, painting, listening to cool blues guitarists, and mountain climbing. She’s actually climbed the two highest mountains in Norway, and Mount Whitney, the highest mountain in the continental United States. Sonia is also an ardent boxing enthusiast. When in New York, she’s an avid boxing regular at Gleason’s World Famous Boxing Gym in Brooklyn, New York. Sonia’s enthusiasm for living life to the absolute edge is contagious. She is rather modest when talking about her accomplishments. The fervently energetic actress prefers to talk more about what she has yet to accomplish. UB

"Life is a series of realizations and endless possibilities, I want to reach a level in which I’m no longer anticipating the arrival of the next colossal wave, I’m just cleverly riding it in."
                                                                                                                      -Sonia Satra on Life Surfing