Rebecca Schaeffer (November 6, 1967 – July 18, 1989)

Rebecca Schaeffer is born in Eugene, Oregon, the only child to Danna and Benson Schaeffer. She has aspirations of becoming a rabbi but begins modeling during her junior year at Lincoln High School in Portland, Oregon. In 1984, at the age of 16, Schaeffer’s parents give her permission to move to New York City by herself to pursue a modeling career. Shortly after arriving, she lands the role of Annie Barnes on the ABC soap “One Life to Live.” “One Life to Live” is my mom’s favorite soap and I watch almost every episode with her from the age of 5 until I moved to L.A. on my own at the age of 17. I remember Schaeffer on the soap, but I had no idea of what horrors await the both of us. For me, the horror is the death of my mother. For Schaeffer, it was her own death at the hands of stalker Robert “John” Bardo.