Hallmark's Katrina Bowden Has Big Soap Opera And Sitcom Connections

With long, blonde locks and a gorgeous smile, it's hard to forget Katrina Bowden. In fact, she was once named "Sexiest Woman Alive" by the readers of Esquire magazine. Beyond her pretty figure, though, she's also a seasoned actor with tons of credits under her belt. She made her Hallmark debut as Alex in the movie "Love on the Slopes" in 2018, then went on to appear in the 2022 Hallmark Christmas movie "The Most Colorful Time of Year," playing Michelle. 

Starting out as a model when she was just a teenager, she quickly transitioned to commercials, then acting. She's been in several movies, including "American Reunion," "Piranha 3DD," and "Scary Movie V," but she's mostly recognized for her work on the little screen.

You may have missed her one-episode turns on "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," "Ugly Betty," "New Girl," or "Dirty John," but chances are you caught her in one of her two other famous, long-term roles — as Ceres on the sitcom "30 Rock," or Flo on the soap opera "The Bold and the Beautiful." 

One of Katrina Bowden's earliest jobs as an actor was playing mean-girl Britney on two episodes of "One Life to Live," so it's only fitting the actor made a return to the soap opera world years later. In January 2019, Bowden made her debut as Florence "Flo" Fulton on "The Bold and the Beautiful." When she was offered the role, she jumped at the chance. "I've done so much comedy in my life that getting to sink my teeth into something dramatic, I thought, would be really challenging," the star explained to Soap Opera Digest.

And there was plenty of drama. While viewers weren't always fans of Flo, they did ship her romance with Wyatt, played by actor Darin Brooks. "Katrina is such a sweetheart," Brooks told Soap Hub. "She got thrown into the story with Wyatt and Sally and the baby-stealing. I felt like maybe her character wasn't given enough time for the audience to get behind her as much as they could have."

After 225 episodes, Bowden bowed out of "The Bold and the Beautiful," leaving fans to wonder if she and Flo would be returning any time soon. Executive producer Brad Bell has shared he would be open to having both the actor and the character return, but Bowden isn't making any promises. On a late 2022 Instagram post, the star answered a commenter who asked about the soap, and if she was coming back: "I don't know! No plans to right now but always love my BB family and miss them."

Katrina Bowden owes her Screen Actors Guild Award to the sitcom "30 Rock," a kudos to the ensemble cast that included Alec Baldwin and Tina Fey. Bowden landed the gig after her time on "One Life to Live," and played the role of Ceres, a young and hip foil to Fey's Liz Lemon, from the show's debut in 2006 to its series finale in 2013. 

She was only 17 years old when she started on "30 Rock," and Bowden shared with Soap Opera Digest that her young age inspired the other, more experienced cast members to become mentors. "They knew I was this young kid and they knew that I was at a point in my life where I needed good role models, and they were that for me."

There's always talk of popular series returning for reunions, and "30 Rock" is no exception. When asked by E! if she would consider returning to her role as Ceres, Bowden had a positive response. "I would love to have something else happen with the show, it's so iconic," she admitted, then added. "But I also know sometimes it's not good to mess something up that was so perfect."