Rebecca Jo Budig (/ˈbʌdɪɡ/; born June 26, 1973) is an American actress and television presenter, best known for both her roles as Michelle Bauer Santos on the CBS soap opera Guiding Light from 1995 to 1998 and as Greenlee Smythe Lavery on the ABC soap opera All My Children from 1999 to the 2011 network ending. Since 2015, she has portrayed the role of Hayden Barnes on General Hospital, another ABC soap opera.
Rebecca Budig was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, the daughter of Mary Jo, a homemaker, and George Budig, a businessman. She was raised in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky. She graduated from the Cincinnati Public Schools School for Creative and Performing Arts (SCPA) and later went on to major in zoology at Miami University in Ohio. In 1993, Budig moved to Los Angeles, California, to pursue an acting career. While there, she began studying with acting coaches Howard Fine and Jay Goldenberg at the Howard Fine Acting Studio and at the Young Actors Space, respectively.