'All My Children': 5 Stars Who Got Their Start on the Soap Opera

ABC said Thursday that it is canceling long-running daytime dramas All My Children and One Life to Live.

The shows -- which will end September and January, respectively -- will be replaced with two new younger-skewing, lifestyle-oriented series: The Chew and The Revolution.

During their runs, the two soaps have launched the careers of a slew of stars. Here are five:
 
1. Kelly Ripa: The actress and Live With Regis and Kelly co-host joined All My Children in 1990, playing Hayley Vaughan Santos. While on the soap, she got married to co-star Mark Consuelos, who played her husband on the show. The two left AMC in 2001 but returned for two episodes in January 2010. After leaving AMC, Ripa went on to star in the ABC comedy Hope & Faith from 2003-06 and became co-host of Live alongside Regis Philbin in 2001. Of AMC’s cancellation, Ripa told The Hollywood Reporter: "This is like losing a member of your family. All My Childrenwas more than a job -- it was my family.  It was there that I met my husband; it was there when my first two children were born;  it was there where I met many of my lifelong friends. It was the greatest training ground ever. I feel heartsick."
 
2. Sarah Michelle Gellar: The then-teenage actress played Kendall Hart Lang in AMC from 1993-95. A year after leaving the show, she would land her star-making role in Joss Whedon's TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, playing the title character for seven seasons. She also co-starred with her husband, Freddie Prinze Jr., in the Scooby-Doo feature and its sequel and recently was cast in The Ringer, a drama pilot for CBS in contention for the 2011-12 season.
 
3. Christian Slater: Like Gellar, he actor did a stint as a teen on AMC, playing Caleb Thompson, in 1986. Two years later, he became a star -- and teen heartthrob -- with his role in Heathers. Starring roles in the films Gleaming the Cube, Young Guns II, Pump Up the Volume, Mobsters and True Romance followed. Slater now stars in Fox's comedy series Breaking In, which debuted last week.
 
4. Josh Duhamel: Long before Transformers, the actor spent three years on AMC, playing Leo du Pres from 1999-2002. Two years after leaving the soap, he starred opposite Kate Bosworth and Topher Grace in Win a Date With Tad Hamilton! and then spent five years on NBC's Las Vegas. In 2007, he starred with Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox in the first Transformers film. A sequel followed in 2009, with a third installment set for a July 1 release.
 
5. Melissa Leo: The actress made her acting debut on AMC, playing Linda Warner from 1984-96. Earlier this year, Leo won an Oscar for her role in The Fighter, opposite Mark Wahlberg, and recently appeared on the small screen in HBO's miniseries Mildred Pierce, opposite Kate Winslet.