http://www.more.com/13752/19871-louan-gideon-54

Reason to celebrate! When I finally came to realize that what I allow into my body—my thoughts, the news and information that I choose to read and study, music that inspires or uplifts, health-giving foods and the exchange of love from family and community—is vastly more important to my personal radiance than what I do to my body, it brought incredible joy, energy and freedom!

I adore the process of gaining years! It’s as if the proverbial “scales keep falling from my eyes” in so many areas. I’m much more grounded and don’t yield to potential “drama-causing” behaviors, as I sometimes indulged in my younger years. As a result, my creativity and productivity are at an all-time high. I’m finishing my first novel and writing a one-woman show dealing with my breast cancer diagnosis of March 2009, entitled, “If Ya Gotta Have a Disease, Do it With Style!”

Louan is also a real estate agent for Keller Williams in Asheville, NC, these days. I actually wrote to her c/o KW and received a lovely letter in response, and she also autographed my index card. :D

Louan's first big TV break was as the sixth and final "Liza Walton Kaslo Sentell Kendall", the main young heroine on the now-defunct soap opera, Search For Tomorrow. She played the role from 1985-86, taking the role from the immensely popular Sherry Mathis, who'd played the role for over seven years. Ironically, she would die in 1994 of breast cancer at the age of 44 - the same disease Louan is a survivor of and raising awareness to.

Sherry's last airdate was in mid-July 1985, and Louan's first airdate was the very next day. They were even dressed in the same outfit -pearls and all!!!! (That's Sherry on the left and Louan on the right.)

I thought it was really cool that Louan was brought back as Becky Belding a few years later in SBTB: The New Class. Here's what Louan looks like today:

Here she is in the SFT credits from 1985-86: