Guest Author - Alice Rienzo

Fast Facts
Born: July 27, 1977 (Newport News, VA)
Birth Name: Martha Anne Butterworth
Raised: Houston, TX
Height: 5'5"

Martha Anne Madison, best known for her role as Isabella Black Kiriakas on the NBC Daytime Drama, Days of our Lives, was born in Newport News, Virgina and was raised in Houston, Texas. She has four siblings: two older sisters and two younger brothers. Even though she was the middle child, Martha was very outgoing. She started acting at the age of 6 at the Actors’ Theatre of Houston.

Each summer, as all her friends headed off to camp, Martha chose to stay behind and take theatre classes. “It was way better and still is!” she says. She cannot remember a time in her life when she wasn’t involved in dance.

In her free time, Martha and her girlfriends made a daily lunch-date to catch their favorite soap ...

You guessed it ...

Days of Our Lives!

At the time, her favorite supercouples were Bo and Hope and Austin and Carrie. Her goal in life has always been to be a soap star on the NBC susder. “Have faith beyond the explainable,” she offers. That statement is enough to make any dream come true!

More Trivia
Education and Training: Martha graduated from Texas A&M with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology, August 1999; head of the dance team; American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York City; Chris Wilson’s Acting Studio in Houston, Texas; TUTS Humphrey School of Music Theatre and excelled in music & dance. Silverado’s Dance Team for four years.

Motto(es): “To thine one self, be true“. Nobody has to live your life but you. Make the choices in life that will make you the happiest. You can’t go wrong if you only listen to your own heart. I believe your first instinct is usually the right one. Go with it!

Hero(es): There are a lot of people whom I admire, but my mother is my all time hero. She’s the most strong-willed person I know. She has certainly shown me the kind of person I’d like to become.

Vacation Spot: There’s nothing quite like home, but a week on the Gulf Coast of Florida will always make me grin ear to ear.

Food: I am totally anti-Atkins. I‘m a carb junkie. I should probable work on that. I love good pizza. It‘s a problem sometimes...

Music: I am partial to anything country, but I found this amazing rock band from Tennessee called Jagster.

Movie: Gone With the Wind

Television: American Idol and The Apprentice

Most Opinionated About: Global Warming

Must-Have Household Appliance: Coffeemaker

Nerve-Buster: Belle's incessant whining.

Belly-Busters: Kyle Brandt (ex-Philip) and/or Bryan Dattilo (Lucas)

Movie Role WannaBe: Scarlett O'Hara

Favorite Actors: Julia Roberts, Meg Ryan and Drew Barrymore

Author: David Baldacci.

Relaxation: Martha loves to hike the local canyons and hang by the pool with her friends.

Color: Blue

Charity: When Martha was six years old, her mother was diagnosed with MS. As I grew older, I began to understand that my mother was really sick. She had her fair share of good days, but her periodic attacks got worse and worse. A childhood memory that will never escape me was visiting her in the hospital; she was partially paralyzed and wearing an eye patch because she had temporarily gone blind. I was so scared and confused but her tremendous courage and resilience, as well as available treatments, brought us all through it. In 2005, Martha became an Ambassador for the