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| Terri VandenBosch |
Her death, at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Manhattan, resulted from complications of the chronic kidney disease that had partially disabled the Woodbury resident since her diagnosis five years ago, her husband, Michael Hertz, said. She also leaves a daughter, Skylar, 7, and two stepchildren, Matthew, 20, and Monica, 18.
"She was a rebel who did something outside the box," said Hertz, 57, of the stubborn, opinionated and adventurous woman he first met in 1983 when he became her business agent.
Terri VandenBosch was adopted shortly after her birth on Dec. 9, 1962, in Florida, and grew up, from age 12, in Saratoga Springs. She attended the University at Albany but left before graduation for New York City, where she quickly landed the role of Frannie Hughes (later played by Julianne Moore) on As the World Turns. During her two years on the show, the blond, blue-eyed 5-foot-3 actress played scenes with Meg Ryan and Marisa Tomei, who both went on to film stardom, and Y&R star Christian J. LeBlanc.
She, however, was eventually written out of her part. Frustrated by the struggling actor's life of auditions and no work, she went to Mexico. She stayed for seven years, working as a scuba diving instructor, a dolphin trainer and a documentary film assistant. When she finally returned to her upstate hometown at age 31, she became a licensed emergency medical technician.
"She was planning to save enough money to move to Alaska to learn both ice diving and ice fishing," said Hertz, who said she was able to dive to 300 feet. "My wife was a character."
She and Hertz, who had remained in touch over the years, began dating in 1996 when his marriage ended, and she moved to his Woodbury home. They married on Jan. 25, 1998, which would have been his late parents' 50th wedding anniversary, he said. She became a full-time mother with a gift for colored pencil drawing, and interior decor on a budget.