Instagram/Deidre Hall
Not-So-Secret Admirer: Martha Madison is grateful for her DAYS mama, Deidre Hall (Marlena).
Martha Madison (Belle) cherishes the relationship she shares with her Days of our Lives mother, Deidre Hall (Marlena). “It’s no secret that Deidre and I are very close,” says the actress. “I love and admire her, and I love working with her. We have a very natural relationship both on and off screen.”
According to Madison, the pair’s bond began shortly after she joined the soap back in 2004. “I didn’t work with Deidre for the first few months that I was there, because [Marlena] was on the island,” explains Madison, referring to the Salem Stalker storyline that landed a score of different characters on Melaswen. “But I had watched the show for most of my life, so when I got to finally meet her and work with her I was a little starstruck.” (Find out about another co-star who was starstruck by Hall here!)
Madison well remembers the initial conversation the pair had. “I told her that I’d watched the show for a long time and how happy I was that I was going to get to play her daughter,” the actress recounts. “I think she thought that I was nervous, and she kind of took me under her wing. She just immediately tried to show me the ropes, protect me, and make me feel supported. She kind of put her arm around me and said, ‘You’re with me kid. I got you.’ ”
Hall’s warmth came at a critical time for Madison, who was still finding her feet as Belle, following in the footsteps of Kirsten Storms (now Maxie on General Hospital). “At that time, I wasn’t being super well-received yet [by fans],” she notes. “So it meant a lot to me, and I kind of clung onto that.”
It proved to be the foundation for a strong relationship. “She still, to this day, is a mentor to me,” Madison declares. “When I need something or I have a question or I’m not feeling right about something, I go to her, and she is very supportive all the time.”
The Power of Women
Female support is something Madison has had her whole life. “I come from a family of only women,” she points out. “I have two sisters. My mother was one of two sisters. I used to live with my grandmother. The male part of my family was pretty absent. So I was raised to understand women and all of those dynamics. Deidre also reminds me so much of my own mother that I just felt a natural connection to her. They even say some of the same things! It’s really weird.”
The similarities between Madison’s late mother, Hall, and all the other women in her life are plentiful. “Deidre is very independent. She’s very strong. She says what she means,” rattles off Madison. “There’s no wondering what she’s thinking. I love that it’s always, ‘What you see is what you get.’ She’s a take-no-prisoners kind of person, and I respect that because I was raised by that and around that. My grandmother was that way. My sisters are that way. I probably am that way to a certain degree. My character is now becoming that way, and I love that. I really, really do. I think that we have told enough stories of the damsel in distress. I’d like to tell stories about a successful, confident, headstrong woman.”
While Madison and Hall are as tight as a TV mom and daughter can be and occasionally share lunch together at work, they rarely hang out together away from the DAYS studio. “Deidre lives on the west side [of Los Angeles], which is really far from me,” notes Madison. “So we don’t really get together that much outside of work. But we do talk on the phone a lot, and I see her at work all the time.”
Hall was even in attendance when Madison wed her husband, AJ Gilbert, in 2007. In fact, a moment from that day is one of Madison’s all-time favorite memories of her DAYS mom. “I’m sitting here right now looking at a picture of Deidre and my mom with me in the middle at my wedding. That was a great day, and it’s a great photo,” reflects Madison. “I remember when I was doing my first dance with my husband, I looked over and Deidre had her arm around my mom. It was really sweet, and it just choked me up.”
Instagram/Deidre Hall
Not-So-Secret Admirer: Martha Madison is grateful for her DAYS mama, Deidre Hall (Marlena).
Martha Madison (Belle) cherishes the relationship she shares with her Days of our Lives mother, Deidre Hall (Marlena). “It’s no secret that Deidre and I are very close,” says the actress. “I love and admire her, and I love working with her. We have a very natural relationship both on and off screen.”
According to Madison, the pair’s bond began shortly after she joined the soap back in 2004. “I didn’t work with Deidre for the first few months that I was there, because [Marlena] was on the island,” explains Madison, referring to the Salem Stalker storyline that landed a score of different characters on Melaswen. “But I had watched the show for most of my life, so when I got to finally meet her and work with her I was a little starstruck.” (Find out about another co-star who was starstruck by Hall here!)
Madison well remembers the initial conversation the pair had. “I told her that I’d watched the show for a long time and how happy I was that I was going to get to play her daughter,” the actress recounts. “I think she thought that I was nervous, and she kind of took me under her wing. She just immediately tried to show me the ropes, protect me, and make me feel supported. She kind of put her arm around me and said, ‘You’re with me kid. I got you.’ ”
Hall’s warmth came at a critical time for Madison, who was still finding her feet as Belle, following in the footsteps of Kirsten Storms (now Maxie on General Hospital). “At that time, I wasn’t being super well-received yet [by fans],” she notes. “So it meant a lot to me, and I kind of clung onto that.”
It proved to be the foundation for a strong relationship. “She still, to this day, is a mentor to me,” Madison declares. “When I need something or I have a question or I’m not feeling right about something, I go to her, and she is very supportive all the time.”
The Power of Women
Female support is something Madison has had her whole life. “I come from a family of only women,” she points out. “I have two sisters. My mother was one of two sisters. I used to live with my grandmother. The male part of my family was pretty absent. So I was raised to understand women and all of those dynamics. Deidre also reminds me so much of my own mother that I just felt a natural connection to her. They even say some of the same things! It’s really weird.”
The similarities between Madison’s late mother, Hall, and all the other women in her life are plentiful. “Deidre is very independent. She’s very strong. She says what she means,” rattles off Madison. “There’s no wondering what she’s thinking. I love that it’s always, ‘What you see is what you get.’ She’s a take-no-prisoners kind of person, and I respect that because I was raised by that and around that. My grandmother was that way. My sisters are that way. I probably am that way to a certain degree. My character is now becoming that way, and I love that. I really, really do. I think that we have told enough stories of the damsel in distress. I’d like to tell stories about a successful, confident, headstrong woman.”
While Madison and Hall are as tight as a TV mom and daughter can be and occasionally share lunch together at work, they rarely hang out together away from the DAYS studio. “Deidre lives on the west side [of Los Angeles], which is really far from me,” notes Madison. “So we don’t really get together that much outside of work. But we do talk on the phone a lot, and I see her at work all the time.”
Hall was even in attendance when Madison wed her husband, AJ Gilbert, in 2007. In fact, a moment from that day is one of Madison’s all-time favorite memories of her DAYS mom. “I’m sitting here right now looking at a picture of Deidre and my mom with me in the middle at my wedding. That was a great day, and it’s a great photo,” reflects Madison. “I remember when I was doing my first dance with my husband, I looked over and Deidre had her arm around my mom. It was really sweet, and it just choked me up.”