Marcil, the youngest of four children, was born Sally Vanessa Ortiz in Indio, California, the daughter of Patricia (née Marcil), an herbalist, and Peter Ortiz, a contractor and self-made millionaire. Her parents are separated. Marcil's father is Mexican and her mother is an American of French, Italian and Portuguese ancestry.

Marcil acted in a number of theatre productions before landing the role of Brenda Barrett on the soap opera General Hospital in 1992. She garnered three Daytime Emmy Award nominations (1997, 1998 and 2003) for her portrayal, winning in 2003 as Outstanding Supporting Actress. In February 1998, she was named Outstanding Lead Actress at the Soap Opera Digest Awards.

After six years on General Read more...

Marcil was married to Corey Feldman from 1989 to 1991. She was engaged to General Hospital co-star Tyler Christopher, but the two never married. She dated former Beverly Hills 90210 castmate Brian Austin Green from 1999 until early 2003 (they were widely reported to have been engaged, but Marcil denied this in an interview with Stuff Magazine). They have a son, Kassius Lijah Marcil-Green, born on Read more...