Stars open up about their most life-changing moments

Soap opera stories sure can pack a punch, but they're nothing compared to these real-life moments that will forever resonate with some of your favorite daytime stars.

The year 2015 has already marked a lot of milestone moments in the soap opera world, including the first three-way tie at the Daytime Emmy Awards, the reveal that The Bold and the Beautiful's Maya (Karla Mosley) is transgender, the introduction of Luke Spencer's (Anthony Geary) secret, tortured past, and even Soap Central's 20th birthday. With so many major milestone moments being made, we decided to connect with some of daytime's biggest stars to find out which moments throughout the course of their lives have made serious impressions. From births, deaths, career highs and everything in between, these are some of the impactful happenings that have landed your favorite stars where they are today.

Elizabeth Hendrickson (ex-Chloe Mitchell, The Young and the Restless)"I remember everything really changed for me when I got on All My Children. I remember one of my first days on the job -- it was in 2001. The Twin Towers had come down, I was at work, and I just remember my whole life having a major, major shift. That year was such a poignant year -- so many horrible things, but also so many great things. I remember so many things happening in that moment, having so many things going on in my life at that time. There were a lot of really beautiful things but also a lot of sad things. It was a really big turning point in my life."

Teresa Castillo (Sabrina Santiago, General Hospital)"Well last year, I gave birth to my daughter, and that's a big one! It's the most amazing thing that's ever happened to me in my life, and I'm just so proud and so thankful to have her. Nothing can top that."

Heather Tom (Katie Logan, The Bold and the Beautiful)"Well I guess my baby is probably the biggest milestone. Marriage, baby, all of that!"

Bryan Gaskill (Chase Walker, The Bay; ex-Dylan Lewis, Guiding Light)"For me, it's walking around Los Angeles. Lately, I've been driving around, and the last 21 years of my life have been flashing before my eyes. I came here... 21 years ago with all the Aaron Spelling hoopla off of Melrose Place, and I remember the first [event I went to]. It doesn't mean anything to me now in the stereotypical way, I'm not star struck about it, but the first time I walked out of an event and heard, Brian, Brian, over here! Brian, Brian!' It was pretty cool. It doesn't mean much, but I feel like I've lived an epic life already, the rollercoaster of Hollywood. I feel like I can finally look back on everything, and I'm more forgiving of it all, less judgmental of certain shows I didn't like as much, and I see the joy in it all. And I see the fans' joy. I think, Well, they liked it.' So it's been exciting."

Sharon Case (Sharon Newman, Y&R)"Being on this show for almost 21 years is a big milestone. I never thought I'd do anything for 21 years. Also, I've been in daytime for 25 years, because I was on General Hospital [ex-Dawn Winthrop] and As the World Turns [ex-Debbie Simon], so you know, to do anything for that long, no matter what it is, is an unforeseen milestone. It's surreal to me, and I can never really wrap my head around that."

Laura Wright (Carly Corinthos, GH)"My husband died on Loving, and I remember having that breakdown, the emotional stuff that wasn't acting. It was really feeling it and emoting, and I remember on Guiding Light, I remember when it was time for me to go to General Hospital, I knew that Guiding Light had served me more than I could possibly imagine, because it gave me the courage to believe I could play a character like Carly. I couldn't have gone from Loving to General Hospital. I learned so many lessons on that show and met so many incredible actors, the amazing Kim Zimmer [Reva Shayne]. I mean really, I'm such an honest person about things that have happened to me, and that show, I grew up there in many ways. And now on General Hospital, it's a whole different evolution, and it really is spectacular. Now I'm working with a whole different group of people, and they're all very talented. But I think everything happens for us when it's supposed to. Maurice [Benard, Sonny Corinthos] is one of my best buddies now. Maurice and I are super tight, and I adore his wife, Paula. And then Nancy Lee Grahn [Alexis Davis], and my gosh, Finola [Hughes, Anna Devane]. We have such an incredible group now on General Hospital, and we're so tight. Even if we get annoyed, we have no problem saying, Oh my God, shut up!' And we all laugh. There's a love on this show and a support system that maybe has always been there, but I've evolved to a place where I'm absorbing it. I feel like, after 10 years, I feel like I'm part of the family on General Hospital. And I'm proud!"

Christel Khalil (Lily Winters, Y&R)"Well I guess it would have to be when I had my son. He just turned five, and having him completely changed my life. I like that he's getting older. Everybody is like, Cherish the time when he's a baby,' and I do, but I'm also like, No, I want him to grow up!' And I love to travel and traveling with him now is a lot easier. So I like him getting older."

Camila Banus (Gabi Hernandez, Days of our Lives)"I'm turning 25, a quarter century. It's tough for me to think about, because I feel like I was 12 yesterday. Like, I literally feel like I was 12 yesterday. I know it's not a lot for some people, but for me, I've done a lot in my little 24 years, so it's a big deal."

Haley Pullos (Molly Lansing, GH)"Being nominated for a daytime Emmy! That's kind of the biggest thing that's happened to me in my life. I'm pretty excited about it."

Cady McClain (Kelly Andrews, Y&R)"You know, it was pretty cool to be in New York City at the turn of the millennium. That was a pretty big deal, banging pots and pans out our window. And I was also there for 9/11, so I've seen a lot of things."

Robert Scott Wilson (Ben Weston, DAYS)"For the past few years, I thank god for every one of these soap opera events. I can't believe [I just went to] my third Daytime Emmys, and each of them has been a different level of my career. I started on The Price is Right, which opened my door to daytime, so that was a huge milestone for me, and then being able to get my start on All My Children, which gave me the opening for DAYS. So I'm grateful for all of them. I really am. I'm just grateful to be a part of the daytime community."

Lawrence Saint-Victor (Carter Walton, B&B)"The thing I'm thinking of right now is my niece being born. She was born December 18, and just seeing my little sister become a mom, I don't know if changing the course of my life, but it's definitely making me see someone who I've seen come to this world, and now she's a mother. It's awesome. But it's crazy. She's a mom! My little sister is someone's mom. And just seeing those instincts kick in, those maternal instincts kick in, and watching her figure it out and learning her baby, and the baby is learning her, and then watching my brother-in-law, it's just amazing to watch."

Lauren Koslow (Kate Roberts, DAYS)"Actually, I'm right in the middle of a move. This is the first time I've talked about it. We have been thinking about it for quite awhile now. We've had a wonderful time, because we have a farm and most of the time we were farming, but we've really come to the point where we were no longer farming, and we started to talk about how it's a huge responsibility, and we kind of let go now and go on to our next chapter. So I'm seriously right in the middle of it. I was packing this morning. I ran out to get my nails done, and I thought, I still can't touch things, because I'm going to break a nail, but I have to pack!' [laughs] I mean, it's huge. This is actually how much we're in transition -- we're going to rent for awhile until we figure out what we want to do. And first it was the whole mourning process, because it's been a part of our life, but I feel it's really complete now, and I'm really looking forward to this next chapter of what we want to do, which is a lot of travel. There are so many other creative things I want to do, and I found myself, while we were farming, it was wonderful with all the animals and everything, but there are other things I want to do, and when I am on the ranch farm, you can get transfixed by the beauty of it, but there are so many other things to do. I wanted to paint, but I couldn't paint because I had to get out there to fence. So anyway, yeah it's definitely a milestone."

Hunter King (Summer Newman, Y&R)"I think when I booked Y&R, it was a big milestone moment. I've been there almost three years now. It's such a big chunk of my life and I met so many amazing friends. It's been life changing, honestly, and I feel so lucky and I feel so blessed to be able to work with such amazing people."

Angell Conwell (Leslie Michaelson, Y&R)"Hmm, that's interesting. Probably just being on The Young and the Restless. It's a big deal, an iconic show. I'm happy about that. There's been a lot of things, but that is one and it fits the moment."

Emme Rylan (Lulu Spencer, GH)"When I booked Bring It On, up until that point, I had been doing guest stars, and guest stars and guest stars, and then I was a lead in a movie, and I've never stopped working since. So that was probably a first really big milestone. And then Guiding Light was another huge one, and then my sons, Jackson and Levi, being born. Milestones are the things that forever change our lives, and those were things that forever changed me."

Robert Adamson (Noah Newman, Y&R)"Well, my daughter being born last year, and Linsey getting run over by a car. Life is changing pretty quickly. I'm so proud of her, and she's doing so great."

Christopher Sean (Paul Narita, DAYS)"The biggest one was probably at Day of Days, when Bruce Evans [Senior Vice President, Current Programming] introduced me at NBC Universal in front of the fans of Days of our Lives at Universal, that I was going to be a new character. It was huge. And announcing at the Emmys was another huge milestone in my life, announcing at the Emmys for the first time."

Ray Wise (Ian Ward, Y&R)"Probably when I was revealed as Laura Palmer's killer on Twin Peaks. That was a milestone. And then of course winning the [Special Guest Star Performer] Emmy. That's a pretty good one."

Amelia Heinle (Victoria Newman, Y&R)"Well, I turned 40. That's a milestone. That was the big one. I didn't have fear, but I was prepared for it mentally, because I thought 30 was old, but 40 was like, Wow.' They're always making up stuff like [40 is the new 30] to make you feel better, and it does work!"

Sarah Brown (Katherine Wesley, Beacon Hill; ex-Claudia Zacchara, GH)"Well, my daughter being born was probably the biggest. And then when she turned 16 and we passed her drivers permit test was another one!"

Ashlyn Pearce (Aly Forrester, B&B)"I'm originally from Seattle, Washington, and when I decided to be an actress, I got head shots done by a photographer up there named David Miller, and we're still close friends to this day. But I had never modeled or anything like that, and we took a few headshots, and he said, You know, have you ever done modeling?' And I said, No.' And he said, Well, do you mind if I send one of your headshots to this agency that I know?' And I said, Sure,' and you know, that really set in motion my entire career, because that agency picked me up, and I was able through modeling to come down here and pursue my acting career. So it was really wonderful."

Elena Tovar (Rosalie Martinez, GH)"Being nominated for an Emmy award is gigantic, and just being able to be on General Hospital in the first place was a huge milestone. Looking back on the past year or two, being a part of the CBS Diversity Showcase was something that was a really big step in the right direction, because I basically got to perform for every casting director in LA. So that was a big thing."

Darin Brooks (Wyatt Fuller, B&B)"My engagement [to Kelly Kruger, Eva]. We were shooting on location in Monte Carlo and Paris, and everybody knew but her, and I surprised her on the last day. I got a nice hotel suite and stuff. It was great. Funny enough, at Shangri-La Hotel where I did it, I got a rooftop suite that overlooked the Eiffel Tower, and everything was great. But she speaks French, and everybody at the hotel knew the secret as well, so they were looking at us and winking, and so I would walk to up to the people and say, Okay babe, show them how you know French,' so they would know and not say anything around her!"

Kelly Kruger (Eva, B&B)"My engagement last year [to Darin Brooks, Wyatt Fuller]. That was a huge milestone for us. He proposed in Paris while we were shooting The Bold and the Beautiful there. Paris is very meaningful for us. It's a special spot, because he took me there for my birthday, which was the first trip we ever took together. It was our getting to know each other' trip, so I think when he heard we were going to Paris, he thought, Ah, perfect!'"

Lachlan Buchanan (Kyle Abbott, Y&R)"I'd say moving to the States was a big step, because it was very unexpected and it just sort of happened. It was a kid from a small surfing town in Australia suddenly being here, so it was a kind of crazy. That was big. And my little sister just had a baby, and I became an uncle, which is really cool."

Sean Carrington (Stitch Rayburn, Y&R)"Probably when I graduated college. I was the first one in my whole family to graduate from college, so there was that. And maybe when I turned professional as a boxer. I used to be a pro boxer a long time, and I think maybe that's why stand up comedy appeals to me so much: it's like being in a boxing ring by yourself. You're up there, and you either win or you lose, and it's like you got beat up."

Kate Linder (Esther valentine, Y&R)"I know exactly what it is: it was April 8, 2008, and I was so honored to get my star on the Walk of Fame. I'll never, ever, ever forget it. I can't even believe it, I have to go there periodically and make sure it's still there!"

What have been some of YOUR major milestone moments? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.