Herbst was born in Encino, California. Her parents are originally from Germany. She has an older sibling: Jennifer. Herbst's nickname is Becky, although her mom sometimes calls her Liberty. She married former General Hospital co-star Michael Saucedo (who played Juan Santiago) in June 2001. They have three children, Ethan Riley (b. October 31, 2001), Ella Bailey (b. April 12, 2004) and Emerson Truett (b. August 9, 2010). She is of no relation to ex General Hospital co-star Rick Hearst (who played Ric Lansing, Elizabeth Webber's ex-husband), whose birth name is Richard Charles Herbst.

Rebecca's childhood dream was to become a national figure skater, and she has skated with well-known skaters Michelle and Karen Kwan. At age 16, Rebecca decided to concentrate on acting because she didn't like the competition aspect of figure-skating. Rebecca also has a passion for designing clothes. She has designed most of her Daytime Emmy dresses and dresses for co-stars Natalia Livingston and Kimberly McCullough.

At the age of six, Herbst told her mother that she wanted to be on television so that she could play with the toys. She has appeared in over 60 national commercials, guest-starred in many television series, including Highway to Heaven, L.A. Law, Beverly Hills, 90210, Step By Step, and Days of our Lives. And was featured in the Goo Goo Dolls 1995 music video "Naked". In 2007, Herbst appeared on Tyra Banks' talk show to help Tyra through "soap opera school." Herbst became a spokeswoman for Purpose Skincare in 2007, Purpose just signed her to a second year partnership.

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