Jacqueline MacInnes Wood of 'The Bold and the Beautiful' Admits Her Character Steffy Is "A Little Unhinged"
On the heels of killing Sheila Carter on The Bold and The Beautiful, Steffy Forrester Finnegan has locked herself in battle with Hope Logan — And as the feud reignites over Thomas, Jacqueline MacInnes Wood takes a break from shooting the drama to talk about playing grenade-thrower Steffy, stabbing Sheila and watching Finn and Hope’s connection grow.
Plus, The Bold and The Beautiful‘s gorgeous, Daytime Emmy-winning leading lady reveals how – and why – she manages to stay red-carpet ready now that she’s a mom to four boys.
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Jacqueline MacInnes Wood talks Steffy and Hope’s latest showdown
Adam Torgerson/CBS
Having barely given herself time to process the fact that she killed Sheila in self-defense, Steffy has gone into attack mode – and naturally, she’s targeted Hope.
“Steffy’s a little unhinged and messy, right now,” Wood tells FIRST for Women. “You’d think after Sheila's death, she would step back for a minute, but this could be PTSD. She's so used to being in fight or flight. She's explosive, and anyone in her way is going to get reactive Steffy.”
Once Hope put Thomas’ engagement ring on her necklace instead of her finger, Steffy reacted all right! Taylor’s daughter accused her nemesis of finally behaving like a true Logan by toying with her brother’s heart.
“Hope's been holier than thou and such a judgmental prude, but she’s Brooke’s daughter,” Wood says. “Steffy knew it was in her! This is her gotcha moment.”
With their feud reminiscent of their mothers’ epic The Bold and the Beautiful battles, it bares mention Steffy was also raised by stepmom Brooke.
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“Steffy is a mix of everyone,” Wood maintains. “She is like Taylor, heart on her sleeve and vulnerable, but also sassy like Stephanie, her namesake. And she knows how to work it! She knows when to be flirtatious, when to throw her body into it, and when to have the giggles – which Katherine Kelly Lang, love her to pieces, plays so well as Brooke.”
The actress admits she’s sometimes ‘Team Hope’
When she was younger, Wood saw a lot of herself in Steffy. They are both strong, loyal women who will fight for what they believe in. After 15 years on The Bold and the Beautiful, however, playing Steffy has become quite a ride.
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“One day she’s super real, soft and grounded, and then she gets bored and she's like, ‘I'm gonna throw a grenade!’” Wood says. “She is the ultimate pot stirrer, and she loves the drama. The gangster will come out in me from time to time, but I'm very relaxed in my everyday life because playing Steffy is an emotional roller coaster.”
While she can usually point to the trauma that’s fueling Steffy’s bigger turns, Wood doesn’t always agree with her.
“When you work on a show for so long, it's weird, but it’s like the characters become your friends,” Wood says. “Sometimes, you end up rooting for the other character. But you're not supposed to ‘win’ every scene. Steffy has to fall, sometimes, so yeah, there's moments where I'm totally Team Hope. It's tough.”
Sparring with costar Annika Noelle, however, is a blast.
“We always have a laugh between our scenes,” Wood shares. “The dynamic of Steffy and Hope is so fun, but she really puts in the work. She’s absolutely wonderful. We've had some crazy scenes, recently.”
Jacqueline MacInnes Wood is thrilled to be the one who killed Sheila Carter (again!)
As viewers know, since Sheila Carter returned for her latest rounds of terror, Wood also had plenty of wild scenes with Kimberlin Brown – who played the villain on both The Young and The Restless and The Bold and The Beautiful.
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“Talk about monster-in-law from hell,” Wood cries. “Love Kimberlin. I am so glad I got to tell these stories with her. She is a riot, and she gives it her all. And she's strong. The way she throws me around, woah!
“It's cool to know I've gone toe-to-toe with her – and to be the one who ends up killing Sheila,” she adds. “She is one of the biggest, badass villains in daytime!”
While many viewers are cheering Sheila’s demise along with Wood, Steffy certainly isn’t celebrating – and not just because she might be charged with murder.
“Even though she hates Sheila with a passion and wanted her to die, she didn't want her to die at her hands,” Wood says. “It's horrifying.”
The actress talks Steffy, Finn…and Hope?
Bill Inoshita/CBS
Unfortunately for Steffy, her husband Finn – the man who helped her face her opioid addiction and find herself – is having his own reaction to the fact that she just killed his psycho bio-mom.
“Finn’s there for Steffy, but she just needs more right now,” Wood says. “He’s the yin to her yang and keeps her grounded. She needs him to man up and allow her to be in her feminine energy – because when Steffy is in control of her masculine energy, she's like a wrecking ball.”
And as Steffy has thrown herself into defending her brother, Finn has found solace in Hope, of all people.
“Why are you spending time with this other woman when you know what Steffy is going through?” huffs Wood. “Finn shouldn't be entertaining that. Of course, Steffy’s going to be insecure. She’s human.”
Bold, beautiful mom Jacqueline MacInnes Wood talks fitness
Speaking of being human, looking at The Bold and The Beautiful knockout Wood, it’s hard to believe she’s delivered four boys in as many years – let alone that her youngest was born last August.
You’ll be happy to hear, the 36-year-old works for it, and it all starts with Rise, 5, Lenix, 3, Brando, 1, and baby Valor.
“I don't stop,” says Woods. “I walk alone in my house, doing loops around my island six miles a day, and when I do sit down, a child wants to wrestle me!”
The busy-ness of her household aside, Wood relies on meal prep, smoothies and weight training, whenever and wherever.
“I'll do 20 minutes of biceps and do some squats, and I'm good to go – or I just take my kids or my grocery bags and do some bicep curls,” she cracks. “And I have these little goals, like getting in some chin-ups. It doesn't have to be working out all day."
“I try to do as much as I can, but I also give myself grace and know when to stop.”
How becoming a mom has changed Jacqueline MacInnes Wood’s fitness goals
Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage/Getty Images
Between her boys and Steffy’s drama, Woods has her hands full, but she more determined than ever to keep her body strong and fabulous.
“Having kids, it changes your perspective,” she explains. “It's not just, 'I want to look this way because I want to look this way.' No, it's quality of life, longevity and being able to run with my kids. I'm working so that when I'm 70, I can keep up with my grandchildren.”
Wood has come a long way from the young woman who hosted Party On – a 2013 reality series that was literally about chasing parties around the world.
“What's that saying? YOLO!” Wood says, referring to "You only live once."
“That's what I was doing. I still live my life to the fullest, but now, if it’s past 10 o'clock, I need to be in bed. I'm a mama bear. And I feel like I've never been more authentically me than I am now.”
Jacqueline MacInnes Wood’s final word on Steffy, Hope and Sheila
Matthew Taplinger/CBS
FIRST chatted with Jacqueline MacInnes Wood while she was at work on The Bold and the Beautiful, and we couldn’t let her return to set without answering two key questions.
First, she insists, yes, The Young and The Restless and The Bold and The Beautiful’s Sheila is really dead this time. “Did you see that knife?” Wood asks. “She died. Steffy made sure of it!”
As for whether Steffy and Finn can survive that, Wood hedges, “Steffy loves Finn and she was so secure in her relationship, but he’s making these moves. It has her thinking…”
Whatever’s to come, one thing’s for sure. With Thomas allegedly running off to Paris, Steffy will enjoy throwing her latest victory in Hope’s face.
“If Steffy's going to be extra, let's be extra!” Wood cheers.
And hey, if this latest The Bold and the Beautiful showdown somehow ends with Hope stealing Finn from Steffy, well… Liam IS single again.
