Robin Mattson appeared on Santa Barbara as Gina Capwell (later Timmons Lockridge) from 1985 to 1993, replacing actress Linda Gibboney in the role. "I think Gina is the best character I've had," Robin said. "She has so many wonderful dramatic and comic moments and I have a ball playing the character." Robin's portrayal of the conniving Gina earned her the Daytime Emmy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for three consecutive years. Early life A native of Los Angeles, Robin started acting at age seven in a children's improvisational drama group. That led to commercials and bit parts in the series Daniel Boone, Farmer's Daughter and The John Forsythe Show. She made her feature film debut at age nine as one of the stars of Namu, The Killer Whale for legendary producer Ivan Tors. Placed under contract by Tors, Robin went on to appear in Gentle Ben, Flipper and Island of the Lost. She also attended Santa Monica College.

Career
Robin continued her acting career by starring in feature films such as Return to Macon County with Nick Nolte, Take Two with Grant Goodeve and In and Out with Sam Bottoms. Her primetime television credits include the telefilms Fantasies, Mirror Mirror, Are You in the House Alone?, Doctors' Private Lives and False Witness, and she has made numerous guest-starring appearances on such series as Charlie's Angels, Happy Days, Barnaby Jones, Fantasy Island and The Dukes of Hazzard.

Soaps
Santa Barbara was Robin's fourth daytime drama. She had already appeared as Hope Bauer on Guiding Light and as blonde bombshell Delia Ryan on Ryan's Hope, but is better known for her three years on the highly-rated General Hospital. Her portrayal of the nasty Heather Webber made her one of daytime's favorite stars. "I was in New York doing a commercial," Robin recalled. "I was thinking of doing some modelling and theatre and auditioned for Guiding Light as an aside. Three days later I got the job and there I was moving to New York at nineteen."

Recent work
After Santa Barbara was cancelled, Robin became popular as the wacky Janet Green on All My Children. She then appeared as Sugar, Sheila's sidekick, on The Bold and the Beautiful and as Cheri Love on As the World Turns. She also pursued her lifelong passion for cooking by hosting The Main Ingredient and publishing a cookbook. Cooking was a talent she inherited from her father, a former chef.