The actress, whose real life mom is soap icon Susan Lucci (Erica, ALL MY CHILDREN), says she has realized that acting is not going to be a family affair. "I am leaving the show, but I am also leaving the whole business of acting," Huber explains. "I just want to make a career change. I trained and I thought I'd be an actor, and now that I'm here, I realize it isn't what I want."

Huber says the decision didn't come easily, but she knows it is right. "It took a little while," she acknowledges. "But once I made the decision to leave, I never doubted it for a second. I felt like the weight of the world had been lifted off my shoulders. PASSIONS has been such a fantastic experience in so many different ways, and there are a lot of people I'm going to miss."

Huber says mom and dad Helmut Huber are very supportive of her decision. "They have seen the change in me; I have become myself again, and I'm very happy. They know it's the right decision for me," she says. "I had a conversation with my mother, and I said, 'I am so incredibly fortunate to have pursued my dream, achieved my dream and realized on my own terms while I'm still young enough to make a change that this isn't right for me.' There will never be any regrets or 'what if's?' Only moving onward and upward to a career that I do feel is right for me."

Which is? "I'm very work-oriented, so I was immediately thinking, "Okay, what do I want to do?' and then I thought, 'Slow down, relax.' I don't want to jump into something for the sake of having a job. I have a lot of other interests and need to think about it. I'm thrilled to move back to New York. I'm going to take some time off to regroup and let it come to me. I am so excited."

At press time, the soap was planning to recast the role of Gwen. "We wish Liza all the best," says a show spokesperson.

Will Huber still tune in? "Absolutely! How could I not?"

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