Connie Falconeri (Kelly Sullivan)

Constanza Louise "Connie" Falconeri-Zacchara (née Falconeri) was a fictional character on the ABC soap opera General Hospital. The character was introduced to the show in May 2007, and has been portrayed by Megan Ward and Kelly Sullivan.

Megan Ward on playing Kate Howard
Kate Howard is a woman full of contradictions. She is a character that is constantly trying to hide where she came from and who she really is, Connie Falconeri. Megan Ward says:

"'I'm not just playing Kate, [...] [i]t's Kate and Connie and then the person who was in between in the arc of how she became Kate. There are a lot of contradictions with her because Kate comes on incredibly strong and incredibly dismissive[...] But, the reason she is that way is because she's concealing and hiding. She's projecting a persona to intimidate, but she's also putting up a wall to cover the truth of who she is and the emotion and vulnerability that she has. So I have to play all of it [...] Then I also have to play how she responds to being in the presence of Sonny [...] If I don't constantly think about what I need to cover, then I only tell half the story. I have a nice journey ahead of me, to unravel the pieces of her personality.'"

Megan Ward further adds:

"'What's been challenging has been playing Kate — that person who is strong and flawed and one can be critical of — but maintaining the qualities of Connie, the girl Sonny fell in love with. She's still completely in there. I have to play the projection of Kate Howard, but it's all covering the Connie Falconeri underneath. Creatively, I've had to constantly balance being forceful and dominating in situations, but still let you see that the true girl doesn't mean to be that forceful and dominating. The true girl is someone you'd like to know.'"

Megan Ward stated in an interview with Soap Opera Weekly that "At least half the inspiration for the character is Anna Wintour, but she is an older woman who's had a long career. I'm not of that age yet, but I imagine Kate could become that person, eventually. I draw from Aerin Lauder, Estée Lauder's granddaughter, who runs the Estée Lauder company, and a well-known interior designer named Kelly Wearstler, who was one of the judges on Bravo's TOP DESIGN. What I loved about her was every week she had a completely different look."

Megan Ward has also stated that she relates more to Connie than to Kate because:

"'Connie is a smart girl. She knew what she wanted, but was still grounded in reality and capable of loving and letting someone know that she loves them. Kate is a creation, a manufactured identity. What's sad about Connie, and she's learning that as we go along, is that she might have been wrong that she had to be Kate Howard to get where she is. That's what Sonny represents for her. You have to be strong and ambitious to accomplish great tasks, but you don't necessarily have to be purely Kate Howard. As Megan, I've made choices to have children and be committed to my marriage, which may have gotten in the way of some of my career ambitions. But for me, life is all about balance. It's choices for good or bad. That's where Connie is now: discovering that some of the choices may not have been for the best.'"

Characterization

 * -|References to popular culture=


 * -|Background=

Storylines

 * -|2007-08=


 * -|2009-12=


 * -|2013=


 * -|Post Death=

Alter history
Name the alter is going by, the current name matched with the personality, date range of when the alter was in control. Both histories have pieces that don't make sense. Kate's theory states that she was the original and real person but this would mean Connie was dominant for some time after the rape and doesn't specify how/when "Kate" regained dominance. Connie's theory seems to hold the most weight, but than this would mean that "Connie" was raped and couldn't handle it, so that is how we get "Kate". This is confusing because "Kate" didn't seem like her personality couldn't handle it.

This might be Connie's theory


 * Connie Falconeri: "Connie"  1968 or 1972 to 1986/1990 (Childhood before the rape)
 * Kate Howard: "Kate" 1986/1990 to early 2012 (early adult life)
 * Connie Falconeri: "Connie" early 2012 (blackouts, but "Kate" returns after intermediate time ranges)
 * Connie Falconeri: "Connie" returns for a longer period from around Sept 2012-Feb 16 2013
 * Kate Howard: "Kate" Feb 16 to March 7 2013
 * Connie Falconeri: "Connie" March 8 2013-April 15 2013
 * Connie Falconeri: "Merge of Both" April 16 2013-death

This might be Kate's theory and the previous general theory
 * Connie Falconeri: "Kate" 1968/1972 to 1986/1990 (childhood before the rape)
 * Connie Falconeri: "Connie" 1986/1990 (some time after the rape)
 * Kate Howard: "Kate" 1986/1990 to early 2012 (early adult life)
 * Connie Falconeri: "Connie" early 2012 (blackouts, but "Kate" returns after intermediate time ranges)
 * Connie Falconeri: "Connie" returns for a longer period from around Sept 2012-Feb 16 2013
 * Kate Howard: "Kate" Feb 16 to March 7 2013
 * Connie Falconeri: "Connie" March 8 2013-death
 * Connie Falconeri: "Merge of Both" April 16 2013-death

Crimes Committed

 * Hit a parked car in The Hamptons [pre 2007; as Kate]
 * Hit a police cruiser [Aug 2007; as Kate]
 * Adultery; slept with Jasper Jacks while he was married to Carly [Nov 25, 2008; as Kate]
 * Took the blame for the crash that killed Cole and Hope; later court released due to her DID condition; then revealed that Johnny Zacchara caused the accident. [Jan 2012; as Connie]
 * Clobbered Ewen Keenan on the head with a paperweight [Apr 2012; as Connie]
 * Assaulted Carly Jacks, after she assaulted her; which turned into a cat fight [May 2, 2012; as Connie]
 * Stole Molly's manuscript [Dec 2012; as Connie]
 * Clobbered Johnny Zacchara over the head with a wine bottle [Dec 2012; as Connie]
 * Tied Johnny Zacchara up and locked him in the office of the Haunted Star nightclub and then placed him in the trunk of her car [Dec 2012; as Connie]
 * Pushed Starr Manning into a desk [Dec 2012; as Connie]
 * Hit Ellie Trout with her car and caused the car behind her to swerve off the road [Jan 2013; as Connie]
 * Indirectly caused the death of her son, Trey Mitchell when she caused the car he and his friends were in to swerve off the road [Jan 2013; as Connie]
 * Perjury; lied when she said Kristina wasn't trying to kill when in fact she was [Feb 2013]

Health and Vitals

 * Raped by Joe Scully, Jr. at the age of 17
 * Drugged by Trevor Lansing
 * Minor injuries from car accident following the drugging
 * Bitten by a poisonous snake while saving Morgan Corinthos from drowning [Aug 2007]
 * Shot in the chest by a stray bullet when Michael Corinthos dropped a gun in a dumpster [Feb 2008]
 * Shot in the spine while standing at the altar while about to marry Sonny Corinthos [Sep 2008]
 * Infected with a bio-toxin [Jan 2009]
 * Diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder [Apr 2012]
 * Experienced a fever after being exposed to the toxin placed in the town's water supply by Jerry Jacks [Sept 2012]
 * Kidnapped and tied up in a warehouse by Shawn Butler under the orders of Sonny Corinthos [Nov 20, 2012]
 * Minor injuries following a car wreck [Jan 2013]
 * Assaulted by Kristina Corinthos-Davis [Feb 2013]
 * Threatened and choked by A.J. Quartermaine [Aug 2013]
 * Held at gunpoint and almost killed by A.J. Quartermaine [Aug 2013]
 * Shot and killed by Ava Jerome [Aug 2013; revealed Feb 25, 2014]

Reception
General Hospital fan response has been overwhelmingly positive of the pairing of Sonny Corinthos and Kate Howard. They are consistently among the Top 10 Couples, however fans are divided as to whether they want to see them get married at this stage. However, the wedding of Sonny and Kate was a sweeps event for GH. Fans were disgusted in March 2009 when ABC announced that General Hospital was letting Megan Ward and Rick Hearst off of contract.