When Lulu is admitted into Shadybrook Sanitarium to treat her failing mental health, she goes to Laura's room to talk to her. Genie briefly returned from November 14, 1983 to December 27, 1983 and once again from November 9, 1984 to December 10, 1984. [21] Francis revealed she would continue to appear on the series following Anthony Geary's exit, which she was originally intended to be returning for. After seeing the baby and talking to Lulu, Laura goes back to Paris for her annual checkup while Luke resumes his hunt for a cure. While trying to clear her name, Laura discovers that Stefan knew Helena had faked Lucky's death and she breaks up with him. The aforementioned closed-ranks policy story however, provides credible room for speculation about the validity of Dr. Winters' assessment. Eventually, Nik and Luke made peace regarding Laura. The couple's 1993 return coincides with the introduction of their son, Lucky (Jonathan Jackson). After being hospitalized, during which Anthony Geary and Gloria Monty visited her, she quickly returned to the set. On October 26, 2015, Soap Opera Digest broke the news that Francis had inked a new deal to remain on GH. While Stavros explains his good intentions to Laura, Luke appears and declared that Stavros will never have Laura. Francis wowed viewers and critics as Laura suffers through the ordeal feeling helpless. The doctor suggested treatment for her in London, so Lucky and Nikolas said a tearful good-bye to their mother, who did not even recognize them. Laura is taken out of Helena's lab by Scott and anxiously waits for Luke to make it out as well. When the actress took over the role in 1977, both the character and she herself hit the big time! Sonny Steps Up for Carly and Drew Plus, Anna Calls an Old Friend to Help Stop Victor. Laura, disappointed in her son, leaves town again. Theresa, who was obsessed with Rick, wanted Rick to leave Lesley but he refused. Then I started asking questions. Soon afterward, Scott asks Laura to marry him all over again, fearing that she will leave him for Luke. However, Francis acknowledged the character's growth and wisdom. Francis told USA Today that she wanted to return full-time, but again got the response of budgetary concerns. Her biggest role came in 1977 with Laura Spencer on General Hospital as she was a recast. Soon after, Luke discovered that Helena had placed a double in her place in prison and he tracked her to a convent. Carly Corinthos was born on November 5, 1973 in Jacksonville, Florida. Laura, originally played by Stacey Baldwin, was introduced in 1974 as the illegitimate daughter of Lesley Webber (Denise Alexander). "[11] Luke hires a new attorney in Edward's grandson Justus Ward (Joseph C. Phillips) and private investigator Mac Scorpio (John J. York) to help identify the real culprit. In October 2006, Laura wakes up thanks to the efforts of Patrick Drake and Robin Scorpio (Jason Thompson and Kimberly McCullough) and shares a tearful reunion with Luke, Nikolas, Lucky (Greg Vaughan) and Lulu. The chances of Laura Wright leaving General Hospital are slim to none. [20] Francis revealed she would continue to appear on the series following Anthony Geary's exit, which she was originally intended to be returning for. They were married for two decades. On January 8, 2013, executive producer Frank Valentini and Entertainment Weekly confirmed that Francis would again return to General Hospital. In a shocking move, General Hospital has killed. [67] As Laura gives birth to daughter Lesley Lu on August 8, 1994, Francis took a six-week maternity leave to give birth to her own son on August 20. As Laura began to remember more about what happened in the garage attic, she also realized that Scotty knew what had happened but wouldn't tell her. Luke and Laura are the General Hospital couple everyone knows, but their famous soap-opera romance had a dark side. [41] Francis characterized the incident as "an acquaintance rape" because it was "by someone Laura knew and had been fascinated with. She discovers that he is keeping her mother Lesley Webber in a catatonic state every since her "death" in 1984. Luke arrived but it was too late to save Rick. Nikolas gained control of Laura's medical care from Lucky and hid Laura from Luke to protect her. [48][49] With news of Francis' impending departure from General Hospital, it was reported that she had received other job offers from both ABC and CBS. Scott then arrives and reveals that he and Laura are back together. [3] Though Laura enjoys her new life, she is not sure about making it permanent. After more than four decades of portraying General Hospital 's Laura Spencer, Genie Francis is opening up about her character's controversial, yet iconic . Though Laura's actions are not always noble, Francis explained that Laura's intentions are always pure, and she does not intend to hurt anyone. On September 28, 2018 Laura returns to Port Charles and is first seen with Ryan who has stolen his twin brother, Kevin's identity. Since the crime was accidental, Laura was given six months probation. However, instead of contacting ABC to give them an answer, Francis would end up calling Geary himself because she was unsure if they could do it again. According to Douglas, Laura's actions are her attempts to obtain her freedom from her parents. When Carly's car drove off a cliff, Luke and Laura rallied around Carly's mother Bobbie Spencer to comfort her. Meanwhile, faces another hurdle when Helena resurrects Stavros (Robert Kelker-Kelly) who begins wreaking havoc on Port Charles. During an appearance on Good Morning America with Geary, Francis confirmed that her return would only be brief. "[14] "It was a very small part" Francis said of the character when she initially booked the role of Laura. After Monty restructured the series around the character, Laura dreams of living independent from her parents and starts thinking about marriage. However, "Laura's world has been shattered. After telling Luke to move on, Laura boards a plane to France; unbeknownst to her, Scott is on the plane. [45] The episode was the highest-rated hour in soap opera history. Luke is managing the campus disco for mobster Frank Smith, who orders Luke to kill a local senator. I was 20 years old. Laura was horrified and heart-broken when she talked to Nikolas directly about his involvement and he lied to her. Then I started asking questions. In 1993, The trio hadn't been heard from for 9 years, when they turned up in British Columbia on the run from mob boss Frank Smith. They are forced to abandon their diner in British Columbia to escape Frank Smith (Mitchell Ryan). "I will get home and I find that my body is sore from tension, or I'm still about to cry. On May 29, 2015, Entertainment Weekly reported that Francis would once again make a return to the series, beginning June 5. Laura was shocked to learn that Felicia and Luke had slept together the night Stefan disappeared and she tries to drown her pain in alcohol. Laura refuses to name her rapist and Laura somehow forgives him in a letter. [15] [51] The writers set up a "mysterious disappearance" for Laura with the network claiming it was due to Francis leaving for college. Mary Murphy of TV Guide described the character as a confused teenager, struggling "to love and beloved." When Luke was finally cleared, he returned to Laura, who announced the joyous news that she was pregnant. Now realizing how much they love each other, Laura divorces Scott in 1981 and marries Luke shortly after, while Mikkos's widow, Helena (Elizabeth Taylor) puts a curse on the couple for her husband's death. There hasn't been anything on this board about soaps so thought I'd post it here. Francis said, "The first year was a tremendous learning process, but then I got hold of it and took it on my own." After Luke, Laura, and Lucky are proven not be a match, Laura is forced to find her long lost son, Nikolas. While Laura had seemed to become quite the "paitron saint," Francis subtly revealed "cracks in Laura's stalwart surface" when her daughter's life is hanging in the balance. She is also reunited with Stefan (Stephen Nichols) which puts a strain on the marriage when Luke is falsely led to believe that Nikolas is Stefan's son, and that Laura tried to reclaim him in 1984 which led to Lesley's "murder" at the hands of Helena (Constance Towers); however, it is revealed that Helena faked Lesley's death. After the wedding, Tiffany Hill gets Laura to take the modeling job as "Ms. Star Eyes." He eventually surfaces suffering from an illness that causes him to cycle his past. Laura saves his life after he falls off the yacht. [34] On November 29, 2021, it was confirmed that Francis (along with Michael E. Knight) will be back on-screen sometime in December. She was previously married to John Wright. Carly is anything but easy to deal with, and gives Laura many headaches. However, the producers were soon contacted by actress Elizabeth Taylor who was a fan of the show and had read about the storyline decision. Francis said of her eagerness to work opposite Geary again "I have never, ever, had an acting partnership that was as safe, as full, and as exciting as the one I had with Tony. While in California, Laura continues to tell Scott that she has come along with him only so he will not prosecute Lulu. That certainly describes how General Hospital's Carly Corinthos (Laura Wright) . If the couple's desire to get out from under Smith's constant threats weren't evident before, they are obvious and crucial when Laura learns she is pregnant. When production for General Hospital started back up on July 22, 2020 after having been stopped since March 2020 due to the pandemic, Francis chose to wait until things settled down a little more in regards to the pandemic which explained why Laura was temporarily off-screen. On January 22, 2018, Francis was dropped to recurring status, which led to backlash from the fans, urging EP Frank Valentini to put her back on contract. Luke's current wife Tracy Quartermaine (Jane Elliot) turned up at the door of his ex-wife Laura (Genie Francis) whose coupledom with Luke sent "General Hospital" to its stratospheric. They officially became engaged on November 1, 2017. Laura and Scott are married on May 20, 2013, at Nikolas's castle Wyndemere by her mother Lesley. As they talked Laura became more and more convinced that Rick had killed his lover in the attic. Francis filmed her final scenes "as if it were any other day." The French clinic had had a string of publicly-suppressed cases, wherein patients on the drug were coming back from their comatose states after an initial relapsebut this occurred on a case-by-case basis and the doctors were unable to predict whether the progress was going to be temporary or permanent. Lesley is overjoyed when she finally sees Laura for the first time at a candy store. Scott tells Laura the truth about her last wedding to Luke and they run off to California. The commune leader threatens them, however, forcing Lesley's friend and love interest, Dr. Rick Webber (Michael Gregory), to rescue them. [35] Francis said, "I'd been pecked before, but this was a real kiss!" Laura walked in on the heated moment and the shock of seeing her beloved stepfather in a compromising position with a volatile woman made Laura act on instinct. ", "Networks battling for services of 'General Hospital's' Laura", "Luke and Laura Return To Rekindle Their Sizzling Love", "Lucci loses as Laura, Luke announce return", "Return of Luke and Laura has 'General Hospital' fans in intensive care", "Two Daytime Stars Have Great Expectations", "Daytime actress Tamblyn may fill Dad's shoes yet", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Laura_Spencer_(General_Hospital)&oldid=1146323657, Fictional characters with neurological or psychological disorders, Fictional characters incorrectly presumed dead, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Mayor of Port Charles (2019present), receptionist, model, businesswoman, This page was last edited on 24 March 2023, at 05:01. Laura took the opportunity to leave and return to the attic. She decides to move forward with the wedding to this month. Scott finds the letter and punches Luke just before his wedding to Jennifer Smith. Though he is hurt, Luke tells her to marry Scotty, but Laura ends up turning Scotty down. Head writer Bob Guza said "it doesn't matter whether or not she did it, but whether they can prove she did. [58] The storyline also featured Francis's then boyfriend John Martinuzzi in the role of the evil Stavros Cassadine (initially a Cassadine cousin) who had forced Laura into marriage. I was panickedreally hungry" for instruction. The Spencers immediately shared their news with their friends. Luke Spencer and Laura Webber, portrayed by Anthony Geary and Genie Francis, are the signature couple from General Hospital . She explained "I did this for fans. Laura eventually tearfully agrees with it. Instead, they find Helena on board, but alone. Although the doctor didn't want Luke to see Laura again, he insisted on saying good-bye to her. Scotty demands to Luke that he will not be present at the wedding and Nikolas offers Wyndemere for the wedding. We want to see if they've grown or not. When Laura finally remembered that she, not Lesley, had killed David, she ran away to New York City. Two days after I auditioned, they called me and said, "Be in New York by 5 p.m. tonight . However, they eventually settled on about "six weeks of air time." Genie was listed in the contract section of the cast credits of the June 5, 2015 episode. Luke and Laura return to Port Charles and reunites with their family only Scott to reveal he is filing for divorce. When her son, Nikolas supposedly died in 2016, she became Spencer's legal guardian. They were rescued by a helicopter just before their whole raft went over a waterfall. When they get back home, Laura files for a divorce with Scotty so she and Luke can plan their wedding. Laura Wright lost both her parents, father Rector Sisk, and mother, Betty Risk, in 2018 within 2 months of each other. As the special day drew to a close, Laura's condition worsened and Laura had to return to Shadybrook Sanitarium. Lulu tells Laura about Logan Hayes's death and Laura helps Lulu stop the hallucinations that she was having. Laura also reconnects with Elizabeth, and in doing so, meets grandson Aiden Spencer for the first time. Ian White. The actress stated that "Laura only called it rape because she wasn't sure what really happened." Francis returned for a brief stint in late 1983 to reunite Luke and Laura, and then again in late 1984 when Laura was revealed to be pregnant. She has been portrayed by actress Jacklyn Zeman on a contract basis from 1977 to 2007, and on a recurring . Consequently, the French clinic and Shadybrook, according to Laura and later her doctor, had a sensible, closed-ranks position regarding the drug, pending further, longer-term study of the affected patients and LS-49. Though teenagers couldn't relate to the murder itself, they could relate to the feelings of betrayal and Laura's strained relationship with her mother. On June 12, 2015, Soap Opera Digest broke the news that Genie Francis will be sticking around after her now former co-star Anthony Geary (Luke Spencer) retired. Laura eventually goes to Paris, France to stay at the clinic that administers the LS-49 treatment. Knowing the truth, Laura told Nik that he broke her heart. After Luke and Laura talk privately, he announces that his engagement to Tracy is off. Luke and Laura once again lit the spark that they always knew that they had in a dance outside Nikolas and Gia's engagement party. [34] Scotty was Laura's first kiss, and Shriner was Francis's first kiss. In 1981, after five years on General Hospital (1963), Ms. Francis left the show and returned, briefly, two years later and again in 1984 and, finally, on October 29, 1993. Nikolas had Laura moved to Shadybrook Sanitarium and gave Luke full access to Laura. Laura then returns to Paris for her annual check up. She was acquitted and the real killer turned out to be her lawyer Justus Ward. Laura's past with David Hamilton factors in when she realizes she could have killed Damian and repressed the memory like she did with David. According to Francis, during the ordeal Laura is "freaked out about looking good to the rest of the world because she was in the scandal sheets as a slut. Lesley then marries the wealthy Cameron Faulkner (Don Matheson), only to learn from dying patient Doris Roach (Meg Wyllie), a former nurse at General Hospital, that her daughter is actually alive. Laura Wright is set to turn 51 years old in 2021. The show had its heyday in the 80s and 90s and I haven't seen it recently but the clips I have seen, it looks like a shell of its former self. [23] On July 31, 2018, TV Insider announced that Francis would be returning as a series regular. Laura goes with Spencer to make sure he is adjusted and to keep her distance from Kevin. [41] She returned on October 31, 2022. Their impending nuptials are derailed when Lulu is kidnapped by a very much alive Stavros Cassadine. Luke is able to regain control of the gun and shoot Helena. Labine described the pairing as "two old and dear friends whom we deeply loved but lost." Laura would move in with Rick and Lesley when they married.