High School Drama
Story by Jordan Schwartz
Sofia Black-D’Elia is Bailey Welles on All My Children hile all of her friends are back at Clifton High School sitting in math, science and English classes, senior Sofia D’Elia, 17, is on the set of All My Children in Manhattan, taping scenes for the popular soap opera. The young actress portrays Bailey Welles, a teenage mother whose baby was adopted by another character on the show, only now, Welles thinks she might want her child back. “She’s 17 and I’m 17, so I understand where she’s coming from,” D’Elia said about her role. “It’s not something that’s really far-fetched; where she’s coming from is really natural.” As a 12th-grader, the advanced placement and honors student has cut down on her workload this year, and so she hasn’t fallen too far behind in school. “My parents are really happy for me,” she said. “They’ve been supporting me through it.” D’Elia’s father, Tony, is a former School Board attorney and her moth-
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Sofia Black-D’Elia is a 17 year old teenage mom on ABC’s All My Children.
er, Elinor, is a printing broker. They got their youngest child involved in the performing arts at a young age. She was just five when she began dancing at Broadway Bound in Lyndhurst and started acting in original musicals there when she was 11. “I was really awful at first,” said D’Elia.
The D’Elia family, from left: Kyle, Sofia, Tony and Elinor.
“I almost wanted to quit, but I’ve always loved entertaining people and making them laugh. “I’m always the class clown,” she continued. “I was always really outspoken and never shy about anything. When I started doing the plays and stuff, I fell in love with it. “When I got on stage, I was never nervous. I would be nervous for sports, but never on stage.” D’Elia played three years of volleyball at CHS, but had to quit for the show, which she started working for in September. “Soap operas are such a good starting point,” she said. “A lot of actors and actresses started out on soap operas. Just from the short time I’ve been there, I’ve learned so much. The other actors on set have been there so long; they have so much to teach.” D’Elia took a commercial acting class at 14 and was signed by CESD, a talent agency in New York City. November 2009 • Clifton Merchant
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