Samantha Hawke

Samantha Lynn Richardson was born in Burbank, California. Her father, John, runs a high-end real estate agency catering to the rich and famous. Her mother, Mary, is a former dancer who now devotes her time holding charity events. The Richardsons were thrilled to finally have a daughter to join their three sons, John Jr., Mark, and Paul. The youngest son, Paul, was seven years old when Samantha was born.

With her mother's encouragement, Samantha was playing the piano and singing by age four, and she loved to perform for her family and friends. Her mother enrolled her in ballet and tap classes, and by her teen years, she was performing lead roles in school plays and doing some local modeling.

After her high school graduation, Samantha landed a job in a local theatre. She worked hard, and her talent and charisma made her a fan favorite. Her winning smile, warm attitude, and strong work ethic made her popular with the cast and crew.

One evening after a show, a producer approached her. Impressed with her performance, he invited her to audition for a television show. Samantha arrived at the audition excited and scared, and her dreams come true when she landed a part in the one-hour drama series.

She stayed on the TV show for its entire multi-year run, taking film roles during each hiatus. At one film audition, she met handsome and charming Michael Hawke, and she was thrilled when she was cast as his co-star.

Their movie turned out to be a hit for them both professionally and personally. Samantha and Michael shared the same drive and determination, and during all the hours working together, they fell in love. A few months after the movie's premiere, they married. Together, they became known as Tinseltown’s most beloved couple and dubbed "Mr. and Mrs. Hollywood."

After many years working together and separately in show business, Michael and Samantha decided to write a book about their adventures. Industry insiders recommended they hire literary agent Victor Jennings because he had a lot of experience getting books about Hollywood published. They met with Victor and were impressed with him, so they signed a contract with him.

As they were working on the book, the Hawkes shared a lot of closely-held secrets about Hollywood idols and the business with Victor, some of which they never planned to include in the book. Samantha was shocked when Victor told her the best way to make sure that information never became public was to pay him a substantial "confidentiality fee." Even though she and Michael resisted paying, Victor didn't back down, so the Hawkes notified their attorney, who in turn contacted the authorities.

Samantha and Michael agreed to cooperate in a sting operation to catch Victor. With their help, Victor was arrested and was awaiting trial when he was found dead.