Theactress,producer,
writerandTV hostis all
aboutspreadingherwings
TUNEIN!ChronicleMysteries:TheDeepEndpremiereson Aug.25 at 9 p.m.on HallmarkMovies& Mysteries
On a Lighter
Note...
Alisonanswers
ourburning
questions!
WHICHEMOJIS
DOYOUUSEMOST?
Applause,screamand
ki ssyface.
WHAT MOVIEHAVE
YOU REWATCHED
MOST?
Thereareso many.
MysonandI were
just watching
MontyPythonand
th e HolyGrail
again lastnight.
Nothingmakesme
happierthansharing
th oseclassic,ridiculous
movieswithmy kids.
WHO’SMADE YOU
MOST STARSTRUCK?
To mmyLasorda.He’ssuch
a le gendin baseball.I was
mykidsto meet
hi m,pretending
tobe themom
who’slike,“Oh
th eywanta picture
wi thyou!”He wasso
lo vely,andhe signed
a baseballforthem.
WHAT’S
YOUR
GO-TO
KARAOKE
SONG?
This is so cheesyto say:
“I Will Survive.”
WHAT’SYOURGUILTY
PL EASURE?
Popcorn.It’smy
fa voritesnack,
andmy husband
boughtmeone
ofthoseold
movietheater
popcornmakers.
WHAT’SONE
FA CTABOUTYOU
THAT WOULD
SURPRISEUS?
I’ mfluentin Spanish.
A
lisonSweeneyhaswornmanyhats.
She startedheractingcareerat age 5
and starred as troublemaking fan-
faveSamiBradyfor21 yearsonDays
ofOurLives. She hostedtheweight-
loss competition show The Biggest
Loserfor 13 seasons,haswrittenfivebooks(a
memoir,adietbookandthreenovels)andis
currentlystarringin—andservingas execu-
tiveproducerof — theChronicleMysteries
seriesfortheHallmarkMovies&Mysteries
network.“ThebiggestlessonI’velearnedis to
takechances,”saysthe42-year-old momof
two(sheandherhusbandof 19years,David
Sanov,a Californiahighwaypatrolofficer,are
parentsto Ben,14,andMegan,10).“It’simpor-
tantto takeopportunitieswhentheycomeyour
way—that’sserved me wellinmy career.”
Here,AlisontalkstoInTouch’sDianaCooper
aboutthemagicof sayingyes,playinga crime-
solvingpodcasthostinChronicleMysteries:
TheDeepEnd and hersuper-cheesy go-to
karaokesong.
Ac tress,host,writer,mom...isthere
an ythingyoucan’tdo?
AS:Youneverknowwhichthingis goingto
takeyoutowhereyouwanttobe intheend.
Mybestadviceistobearisk-takerandbe
opento newadventures.
So , tellus aboutyourlatestproject.
AS:I foundmyselfsuckedintothetruecrime
podcastworldandreallywantedto playthis
character.Shereallyspeakstothearmchair
detectiveineveryone.
Does your husband help you out?
AS: Yeah, he’ll give me good dialogue for po-
lice officers to have during a scene. Some-
times I’ll ask specific questions like, “If you
murder someone, but wash off your DNA,
how long does that take?” and he’ll be like,
“What are you coming up with?!” [Laughs]
You’vebeenmarriedalmost20 years—
what’syoursecret?
AS:Littlethingsliketalkingaboutissuesyou
have,tryingtoseethingsfromtheother’s
pointof view.Andwe tryto havefun.Some-
timesthat’sstayinghomeandwatchingNet-
flixandeatingpopcorn.It doesn’thaveto be
someelaboratedatefromTheBachelor!
Ho w areyourkidsdoing?
AS: They’re great. I’m so lucky.
What’s been the best part of motherhood?
AS: Just watching your kids flourish. Like
my son is getting to be a really good tennis
player, so watching the feeling of confidence
he gets from it makes me really proud.
You recently had a health scare with
skin cancer. How are you?
AS: The cancer is gone. But the diagnosis
was scary. I didn’t realize skin cancer could
lead to other things. It was an eye-opener.
Are you still in touch with anyone from The
Biggest Loser?
AS: I’ve stayed friends with the contestants
on Facebook. It’s amazing to see them con-
tinue their journey. And [host] Bob Harper,
of course, I checked in after his [2017] heart
attack, and I’m thrilled he’s doing so great.
You did a guest stint on Days of Our Lives
this summer...
AS: They asked me to come back for a story-
line when the actress who played my charac-
ter’s grandmother passed away. [Soap vet
Peggy McCay died in October 2018.] I want-
ed to be with my cast family to honor her.
Any plans to return for more?
AS: I’ll always go back for those types of
moments. But I’m focusing on the Chroni-
cle Mysteries movies and producing other
content I’m really passionate about. Hon-
estly, once you start working for yourself,
it’s really hard to go back and work for
someone else! ◼
NEXT GENERATION^
Alison says her kids have^
expressed interest in acting,^
“but they’re not beating down^
my door asking to go on^
auditions, so I don’t know!”^
