Nelle Benson (Chloe Lanier)

Janelle "Nelle" Benson is a fictional character and one of the newer primary antagonists on the ABC daytime soap opera General Hospital.

She has been portrayed by actress Chloe Lanier since the character's debut on August 8, 2016.

Casting
On July 12, 2016, ABC Soaps In Depth broke the news that Chloe Lanier would return to General Hospital in a brand new contract role. Lanier, a familiar face on the soap, was known for her popular portrayal of teenage Pat Spencer for two episodes on April 1, 2015 and on July 23, 2015.

General Hospital was very "tight-lipped" about "Nelle's" character and her Port Charles connections to allow the mystery to unveil overtime.

Due to the actress's former role, there has been speculation that Nelle could be the previously unknown daughter of Pat Spencer and half-sister of Valerie Spencer, making her a member of the Spencer family. She was eventually revealed to be the daughter of Frank Benson and the adopted sister of Carly Corinthos.

Lanier debuted in the role on August 8, 2016.

Background
Nelle was eventually revealed to be the daughter of Frank Benson and the adopted sister of Carly Corinthos.

She is currently expecting her first child with her ex-boyfriend, Michael Corinthos.

Storylines
Nelle arrives in Port Charles looking for Carly Corinthos. She arrives at the Corinthos family home, Greystone Manor, during Bobbie Spencer's birthday party where she meets Carly's son, Michael Corinthos. Michael thinks she is applying for a babysitting position and asks her to wait until after the party to speak to Carly. After the party winds down, Michael introduces Nelle to his mother, Sonny Corinthos and Jasper Jacks, who were all attending the party. Nelle tells Carly that she saw her article in Crimson Magazine and believes she is her daughter, Josslyn's kidney donor. Nelle is also got fired from her job at Crimson Magazine in 2017.

Carly had been conned for her money before, so Jax and Sonny were hesitant to believe Nelle's story, thinking she was just another person after the money. Nelle shows them her scar and tells them that her parents sold her kidney when she was a child. Nelle's story and the dates matched up with Josslyn's transplant, but they all want to be sure, so they go to General Hospital to run some tests. Nelle meets Josslyn and the two briefly bond. She is happy to see that the ordeal she went through ended up saving a little girl's life. Preliminary blood tests confirmed that Nelle was a match to Josslyn, but to be certain, Dr. Monica Quartermaine recommended a kidney biopsy. However, Sonny explained it wasn't necessary because he located the clinic where Nelle had her surgery, and the timeline worked out.

This information along with the matching blood tests led everyone to believe that Nelle was Josslyn's donor. Josslyn was upset when she realized that her mother had ignored her wishes about finding the kidney donor, but took an instant liking to Nelle and thanked her for the gift of life. Nelle promised she had no regrets, but she had to get back to Atlanta. Carly asked Nelle to stay because she wanted a chance to get to know her and she agreed. After Avery Jerome-Corinthos's nanny was caught stealing Carly's earrings, Carly fired the nanny and offered the job to Nelle. Having just lost her job in Atlanta, she agreed to watch Avery. Nelle lost this position when Carly's mother, Bobbie offered to be Avery's nanny. Bobbie also appeared suspicious of Nelle. Not wanting Nelle to leave, Carly offered her a job at the Metro Court Hotel as her personal assistant and Nelle accepted.

On November 23, Nelle saw Carly and Jax kissing. She went right over to Sonny's to tell him. On November 28, Nelle drugged Sonny, and he passed out. Nelle helped get him into bed, undressed him and, then apologized, before undressing herself. She climbed into bed beside him. On November 29, Sonny woke up and believed he and Nelle slept together. He begged Nelle not to tell Carly, but in November, it was revealed that Nelle had recorded Sonny mentioning that they slept together.

On March 3, it was revealed that Nelle is the daughter of Carly's late adoptive father, Frank Benson.

On March 21, Nina Reeves hired Nelle to be a nanny for her stepdaughter, Charlotte. She meets with Valentin, who promises her that if she does anything to harm Charlotte he will make sure no one will ever find her body. This spooks Nelle with good reason.

It was later revealed that her fiancé at the time, Zachary died of a suspicious canoeing incident that she witnessed. Nelle also spent time in a mental hospital.

On December 7, she revealed that she's pregnant with Michael's child.

Crimes Committed

 * Framed Avery Jerome-Corinthos' nanny for theft and in turn the nanny was fired [Aug 22, 2016]
 * Theft; stole money from the Metro Court hotel [Nov 17, 2016]
 * Drugged Sonny Corinthos and tricked him into thinking they slept together [Nov 28, 2016]
 * Invasion of privacy; recorded Sonny without his permission [Nov 28, 2016]

Health and Vitals

 * Had her kidney sold by her father [revealed Aug 9, 2016]
 * Her blood type is B- [revealed Aug 15, 2016]
 * Threatened by Sonny [Feb 14, 2017]
 * Slapped across the face by Carly Corinthos [Mar 3, 2017]
 * Threatened by Valentin Cassadine [Mar 22, 2017]
 * Grabbed from behind, mugged, robbed, then tossed into a wall (her one remaining kidney was bruised as a result) [May 12, 2017]
 * Spent a year in a mental hospital [revealed Oct 24, 2017]
 * Fainted while pregnant due to walking a long way in the cold [Dec 22, 2017]
 * Fainted a lot due to low blood pressure. [revealed Dec 28, 2017]