Kimberly Jo Zimmer (born February 2, 1955) is an American actress, best known for her role as Reva Shayne on the CBS soap opera Guiding Light. For this portrayal, she has won four Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. Zimmer was featured in a story along with former Guiding Light co-star Jerry verDorn (Clint Buchanan), Robin Strasser (Dorian Cramer) and Erika Slezak (Viki Lord).
Zimmer has also appeared in several episodic television programs, including Designing Women, MacGyver, Models, Inc., and Babylon 5 (episode "And Now For a Word", year 1995). She also appeared in several made-for-television movies.
Zimmer has starred in a number of theater roles, including several at Augusta's Barn Theatre. In 2011, it was announced that Zimmer would be cast in the Off-Broadway international hit Love, Loss, and What I Wore. She starred as Mrs. Hayes in Connecticut Repertory Theatre's production of Odysseus D.O.A., running through March 4, 2012. Zimmer made her musical theatre debut when she joined the first North American tour of Broadway's Wicked. She played the role of Madame Morrible from 14 August 2012 through 13 December 2013. Zimmer returned to the role with the first North American tour on 30 September 2014. Zimmer has also appeared in several productions of the musical Gypsy, first in 2006 at the Barn Theatre in Augusta, Michigan, and in 2015 at the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera opposite former Guiding Light leading man Robert Newman.
In 2011 she released her memoir called I'm Just Sayin'!: Three Deaths, Seven Husbands and a Clone! My Life as a Daytime Diva.
In 2023, after several years off-screen, Zimmer returned to acting starring in the drama film You Sing Louder, I Sing Louder starring opposite Ewan McGregor and her son Jake Weary.
Personal life
Zimmer was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the daughter of Burdina Elva (known as "Dede") Zimmer and Walter Jack Zimmer. She has an older sister Karen Ann (née Zimmer) Witzel. She is married to actor/director A.C. Weary (Allen Cudney Weary), and they have three children: Rachel, Max, and Jake Weary. Jake is also an actor; he appeared on As the World Turns as Luke Snyder in 2005, and has had various guest roles, including on Law and Order: Special Victims Unit and starred as Deran Cody in Animal Kingdom from 2016 to 2022. She resides in Montclair, New Jersey.
On May 16, 2024, during an appearance on a special Stand Up to Cancer benefit episode of the YouTube podcast series The Locher Room, Zimmer revealed that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer in November 2023 and was undergoing treatment.
Filmography
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
|1978
|One Life to Live
|Bonnie Harmon
| May 3, 1978 – 1978
|-
|1979–1982
|The Doctors
|Nola Dancy Aldrich
|Series regular: August 18, 1979 – 1982
|-
|1981
|Body Heat
|Mary Ann
|
|-
|1983, 2010–2011
|One Life to Live
|Echo DiSavoy
|Series regular, from March to October 1983, October 1, 2010 – October 14, 2011
|-
|1983–1990, 1995–2009
|Guiding Light
|Reva Shayne
|Series regular, from November 28, 1983 – August 1990, April 28, 1995 – September 18, 2009<br />Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (1985, 1987, 1990, 2006)<br />Soap Opera Digest Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Daytime Drama (1988, 2000)<br />Nominated - Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (1986, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007)<br />Nominated - Soap Opera Digest Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Daytime Drama (1986, 1989, 1990, 1998, 1999, 2003)<br />Nominated — Gold Derby Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (2004, 2006)
|-
|1989
|Trenchcoat in Paradise
|Claire Hollander
|TV movie
|-
|1989
|Designing Women
|Mavis
|Episode: "The Rowdy Girls"
|-
|1989–1990
|MacGyver
|Police Lt. Kate Murphy
|3 episodes
|-
|1991
|Hell Hath No Fury
|Marlene
|TV movie
|-
|1991
|Keeping Secrets
|Maureen
|TV movie
|-
|1992
|FBI: The Untold Stories
|Barbara Oswald
|Episode: "Lady Skyjacker"
|-
|1992–1993
|Santa Barbara
|Jodie Walker
|Series regular<br />Nominated - Soap Opera Digest Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Daytime Drama (1993)
|-
|1994
|The Disappearance of Vonnie
|Vonnie Kaczmarek Rickman
|TV movie
|-
|1994–1995
|Models Inc.
|Joan
|6 episodes
|-
|1995
|University Hospital
|Dr. Karen Hale
|Episode: "Shadow of a Doubt"
|-
|1995
|Babylon 5
|Cynthia Torqueman
|Episode: "And Now for a Word"
|-
|1995
|Seinfeld
|Lenore
|Episode: "The Diplomat's Club"
|-
|2003
|Shortcut to Happiness
|Patty
|
|-
|2006
|Little Secrets
|Nico
|
|-
|2008
|The Van Pelt Family
|Janet Van Pelt
|Short film
|-
|2010
|Steamboat
|Rhonda
|Web-series<br />Nominated — Indie Series Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress
|-
|2010
|Freshman Father
|Dean Frost
|TV movie
|-
|2013
|23 Blast
|Mary Freeman
|
|-
|2019
|Venice the Series
| Tori
|8 episodes
|-
|2023
|You Sing Louder, I Sing Louder
| Elsie
|
|}