Laura Collins (Genie Francis)


 * Laura redirects here. For other uses of the name, see Laura (disambiguation).

Laura Collins is a fictional character on the ABC soap opera General Hospital. She is the daughter of the late, Gordon Grey and his old flame, Lesley Webber and the adoptive daughter of the late, Rick Webber.

Laura was portrayed by Stacy Baldwin from 1974 to 1976, and since then has been played by actress Genie Francis, first from 1977 to 1982, and then from 1993 to 2002, and most recently since 2015 (with brief appearances in 1983, 1984, 2006, 2008, and 2013).

Development
Child actress Stacey Baldwin originated the role of Laura Vining in 1974. Baldwin last appeared as Laura in August 1976. Genie Francis filmed her first scenes on December 28, 1976 and made her onscreen debut on February 8, 1977.
 * -|Casting=

The daughter of veteran actor,, Genie Francis was new to acting and had recently appeared on the ABC drama series,  opposite. Four months later, the then 14-year-old Francis booked the role of Laura, when the character was rapidly aged into a teenager.

Francis signed a three-year contract with the series and a later admitted that she felt a bit trapped. "I signed away three years of my life. Never again" she said. "There was no light at the end of the tunnel." "It was a very small part" Francis said of the character when she initially booked the role of Laura. "I was just Lesley's long-lost daughter living in a commune" Francis said.

Francis auditioned for the role of Laura twice and beat out 40 other actresses for the part. "It's hard to shut her off" Francis said of the character in 1979. "I will get home and I find that my body is sore from tension, or I'm still about to cry."

She continued to play the role until January 15, 1982, when Genie Francis left show and the character was taken off-screen. Genie briefly returned from November 14, 1983 to December 27, 1983 and once again from November 9, 1984 to December 10, 1984. On October 29, 1993, Genie returned full-time to play Laura until quitting on September 6, 2002.

In 1983, Francis reflected on her early years with the series in an interview with Soap Opera Digest. Francis said, "The first year was a tremendous learning process, but then I got hold of it and took it on my own." The actress said "I was very nervous at the beginning, but when I learned to relax, I got better." She further explained her inexperience. "I was a kid and had never been on a soundstage before. No one told me what to do. They handed me a script and said, "Go!" I was panicked—really hungry" for instruction. She continued, "So what I did was observe actors and do everything they did. Then I started asking questions." In her early years, Francis remembered being terrified of going to the studio alone and was accompanied by a nanny hired by her parents.

Francis developed a "close" father-daughter like relationship with her onscreen father, who took her under his wing. Meanwhile, Francis was initially intimidated by veteran actress Denise Alexander who played her onscreen mother but the two would become close friends. "She really took me under her wing and when she saw me doing something wrong, she would tell me" Francis said. "She really took me under her wing and when she saw me doing something wrong, she would tell me" Francis said. By the end of her first stint at General Hospital in 1982, Francis was reportedly making $150,000 a year.

In 2004, Francis inquired about returning to the series, but was told there was not the budget for her.

Two years later, she was asked to play a guest series for the 25th wedding anniversary of Luke and Laura. Francis told USA Today that she wanted to return full-time, but again got the response of budgetary concerns. Her guest spot aired from October 26 to November 22, 2006. She returned again from August 25 until November 12, 2008.

On January 8, 2013, executive producer Frank Valentini and Entertainment Weekly confirmed that Francis would again return to General Hospital. She first aired on February 11 and last appeared on August 28, 2013.

Head writer Ron Carlivati revealed in an interview it was not his choice to write Francis out in 2013. He remarked, "I had to write her character off the show because it's my job, not because I wanted to. [...] As I understand it, Genie came back to us on a short-term contract, which is what both she and ABC wanted. I was given her dates and worked with them the best I could. Genie had made another obligation before she returned to us, one that meant there were several weeks during the summer where she wasn't available to us."

Carlivati also made it clear he wanted Francis to remain with the series and would welcome to opportunity to write for her once again, stating: "I love having Genie. I wanted Laura back on GH from the minute I came onto this show. I'm always open to having her back. Contrary to rumor, I assure you nobody got fired. Nobody got thrown under the bus."

In April 2015, Frank Valentini announced on Twitter that Genie Francis would be returning. She returned on June 5, 2015.

On May 29, 2015, Entertainment Weekly reported that Francis would once again make a return to the series, beginning June 5. Francis revealed she would continue to appear on the series following Anthony Geary's exit, which she was originally intended to be returning for. Francis promised she would continue to be seen through the fall sweeps period.

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. She is now on contract.

On October 26, 2015, Soap Opera Digest broke the news that Francis had inked a new deal to remain on GH.

In January 2018, Francis was dropped to recurring status.

In 1979, the character was described by Soap Opera Digest's Joanne Douglas as "scheming, self-centered" and "frequently tormented." As a teen, Laura is very restless which often gets her into trouble. According to Douglas, Laura's actions are her attempts to obtain her freedom from her parents. According to Francis, teen girls identified with the "typically rebellious" Laura. Mary Murphy of TV Guide described the character as a confused teenager, struggling "to love and beloved." Murphy also described Laura as "conniving, and often bittersweet."
 * -|Characterization=

Francis described Laura as "passive" and said "[She] was sweet for a long time." Francis stated that she appreciated how the writers transitioned Laura from being a girl to a young women; as she gets older, Laura becomes a fighter and displays a lot of strength. 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.

However, Francis acknowledged the character's growth and wisdom. Upon her character's return in 1983, Francis said Laura is "more sophisticated" and "more mature." After her 1993 return, Francis voiced her concerns that the character had become "a little too good... a little too on high moral ground" Francis explained. The actress continued "What I loved about Laura the first time around was the she was so human. She always wanted to do the right thing, but sometimes she couldn't. Lately, she's been too much in control." She further stated, "What I don't like to play is this perfect person who is beyond human error."

Background
Laura is one half of "Luke and Laura," one of the most well-known couples in soap opera history. Though other "supercouples" came before them, Luke and Laura are the most well known outside of the soap opera realm, and are credited with defining the term "supercouple," which caused other soap operas to copy the successful formula. Originally, critics of the soap opera genre panned the unlikely pairing. Laura was actually raped by Luke; as very few (if any) rape victims fall in love with their rapists, this relationship was actually offensive to some of the public.

However, the duo became wildly popular in spite of the origins of their relationship. They wed on November 16, 1981, with 30 million viewers tuning in. The episode was the highest-rated hour in soap opera history. They were married for two decades. Even today, their union still has a presence in Port Charles. On internet message boards, the couple is often referred to as "L&L".

She is the mother of three children (one of which is deceased) and has six grandchildren:
 * A son named, the late, Prince Nikolas Cassadine, via rape, with the late, Prince Stavros Cassadine. He gave her a grandson named, Spencer, with the late, Courtney Matthews.
 * Another son named, Lucky Spencer, with her ex-husband, Luke Spencer. He gave her three grandsons: Cameron (adoptive), Jake (legal) and Aiden (Luke and Laura's first biological grandchild together), with his ex-wife, Elizabeth Webber.
 * A daughter named, Lulu Spencer-Falconeri, with her ex-husband, Luke Spencer. She gave her two grandchildren: Charlotte, with Valentin Cassadine via surrogate and Rocco, with her husband, Det. Dante Falconeri via surrogate.

Storylines
Laura is the daughter of medical professor, Gordon Grey and his former student, Lesley Williams. Lesley believed Laura died at birth until she learned that she was being raised by Jason and Barbara Vining. After moving in with her real mom, Laura had some trouble adjusting to being away from Barbara. Lesley would then take her back to the Vinings but she couldn't forget her. Her husband Cameron Faulkner was jealous and payed the Vinings to run off with Laura. Laura was later found by Dr. Rick Webber along with Lesley. He'd help her come to terms with the fact the Lesley loved her just as much as Barbara. Laura would move in with Rick and Lesley when they married.
 * -|1970s=

Laura began dating Scott Baldwin and caused a bit of a stir by asking Rick's former lover, Dr. Monica Quartermaine for birth control pills so that she could sleep with him. While she was dating Scott, an old "friend" of Rick's named David Hamilton was busy trying to seduce Lesley in revenge as David's late wife had apparently always been in love with Rick. When David's seduction of Lesley failed, David decided that Laura would serve his purposes just as well and began befriending her. Laura became smitten with the older man and the two embarked on an affair. When David's schemes to defraud General Hospital came to light he made plans to flee Port Charles. Laura wanted to go with him but David refused and revealed to Laura that he'd only been using her to get revenge on her parents. In a fit of anger, Laura pushed David and he fell and hit his head on a statue and died. Lesley arrived on the scene and quickly got her daughter away from the scene of the crime.

When Laura couldn't remember what happened, Lesley took the blame and claimed to the police that she had killed David in self-defence when he had tried to rape her. The police did not believe Lesley's story and soon Lesley found herself on trial for murder. When Laura finally remembered that she, not Lesley, had killed David, she ran away to New York City. Scotty and his best friend Bryan Phillips found her there and brought her home, where Laura finally confessed to the crime. Since the crime was accidental, Laura was given six months probation.

During Laura's troubles with David Hamilton, Scotty had started sleeping with Bobbie Spencer and Bobbie was now stunned to find herself cast aside in favor of Laura. Bobbie began scheming to break up Scott and Laura and brought her brother Luke Spencer into her schemes. When trying to get Laura to break her probation and sent to reform school didn't work, Bobbie tried faking a pregnancy in order to get Scott to marry her. However, when that didn't work, Bobbie tried to make Laura think she had slept with Scott again. This time, her plan worked but had the unintended effect of making Laura rush off and crash her car. Luke was upset at this turn of events and ordered Bobbie to stop her scheming. Bobbie, herself filled with guilt and remorse, complied and stood back as Scott and Laura were reunited. With permission from her parents, she marries Scott Baldwin on July 6th, 1979. She spends a lot of money on law books for Scott and to get out of debt she asks Luke Spencer for a job at the campus disco. Luke eventually falls deeply in love with her. On the night he finally confesses his love for her, thinking he is going to die, he loses control and rapes her on the floor of the campus disco.

Laura refuses to name her rapist and Laura somehow forgives him in a letter. Scott finds the letter and punches Luke just before his wedding to Jennifer Smith. Laura saves his life after he falls off the yacht. They then run off together and fall in love in the process. Upon returning to Port Charles, Laura admitts she was married after being hounded by reporters, breaking Luke's heart. She goes on the search for Scott who had also run off but keeps bumbing into Luke. They later admit they can't live without each other.
 * -|1980s=

While working at ELQ Enterprises, the couple learns of the Ice Princess. Luke searches for the Ice Princess diamond, but when it gets into the hands of the Cassadine family, the couple has to stop Mikkos Cassadine from freezing all of Port Charles in the middle of summer. With friend Robert Scorpio, Luke and Laura find the island where Mikkos' weather machine is being kept. Mikkos tries to force them to surrender by threatening to freeze the entire world, starting with Port Charles. Luke is able to stop the freezing process with the password "Ice Princess." When they get back home, Laura files for a divorce with Scotty so she and Luke can plan their wedding. The entire town throws a magnificent wedding for the heroes at the mayor's mansion. The couple marry on November 16th, 1981 with 30 million viewers tuning in. After the wedding, Tiffany Hill gets Laura to take the modeling job as "Ms. Star Eyes." This job takes her away from home very often and on one of her trips, she is kidnapped by "David Grey" and presumed dead. However, she is actually being held captive by the Cassadines. They tell her Luke had died and they force Laura into marrying the Mikkos Cassadine's evil son, Stavros Cassadine.

She has an affair with the other Cassadine son, Stavros' brother Stefan Cassadine, and then gives birth to Nikolas Cassadine. Helena, the widow of Mikkos, hates Laura with a passion and gets Laura to leave by letting her find out Luke isn't dead. She returns to Port Charles, leaving Nikolas behind, knowing Stefan would care for him. Luke and Laura happily reunite when Luke spots her from the balcony of the mayor's mansion, as he had been elected as mayor in 1983. Deciding that they rather liked their privacy, Luke resigned as mayor and the pair left Port Charles for parts unknown. They wound up at Felicia's grandmother's ranch in Texas, where their son Lucky Spencer was born.

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. After deciding that a bomb that had exploded in their truck was meant for them, Luke and Laura made the decision to return to Port Charles. Sending Lucky ahead to meet his aunt Ruby Anderson, Luke and Laura stole a plane. When they realized that the plane was crashing, Luke and Laura jumped out and landed in a river. They were rescued by a helicopter just before their whole raft went over a waterfall. Back in Port Charles, Luke and Laura tearfully reunited with friends and family. But their entanglement with the Smith family wasn't quite over. Laura was arrested for murdering Frank's son Damian, a crime she was innocent of. She was acquitted and the real killer turned out to be her lawyer Justus Ward.
 * -|1990s=

The couple have a daughter, Lesley Lu "Lulu" Spencer, named after Laura's mother Lesley, on August 8th, 1994. In 1996, Lulu is diagnosed with aplastic anemia and requires a bone marrow donor. After Luke, Laura, and Lucky are proven not be a match, Laura is forced to find her long lost son, Nikolas. After Lulu recovers, Laura tries to build a relationship with her son and Stefan Cassadine. Laura and Stefan's relationship is very rocky. She discovers that he is keeping her mother Lesley Webber in a catatonic state every since her "death" in 1984. Laura goes and escorts her back home. In 1997, Stefan threatens to reveal Nikolas's paternity to Luke. Laura runs off with Lulu and Lesley, returning with Lulu a year later. The return isn't a happy one when she learns that Nikolas had been shot in front of Luke's club and Lucky had moved out after learning about the rape. When she and Luke finally begin moving on, she has to testify on Stefan's behalf when he is put on trial for murdering his fiancée Katherine Bell. Laura states that she'd been on the parapet right before Katherine fell. This statement only adds to Luke's heartache over learning Nikolas' paternity and that Laura and Stefan had been lovers when she was missing all those years ago. Luke leaves town and Laura stays behind to face the demons of her past.

When Lucky "dies" in a fire, Laura goes to morgue to identify the body. She collapses from grief and Luke catches her in his arms. She blames resident mob boss Sonny Corinthos and his right hand man, Jason Morgan. Luke and Laura are torn further apart by Lucky's death and Helena only makes it worse when she told Laura that Lucky's death was her fault. She suffers a nervous breakdown and went to General Hospital for a few days before going to recover at Stefan's house. When Katherine is found to be alive, she begins dating Nikolas. Laura tries to convince Nikolas she isn't good for him, but he doesn't listen. Katherine gets pregnant and Nikolas proposes to her. As she leaves Wyndemere, someone pushes Katherine off the parapet again. Nikolas and Stefan suspect Laura, and Stefan confesses to the crime to protect her. Stefan and Laura get suspicious that Helena had killed Katherine and end up sleeping together while looking for evidence.

The romance turns ugly when Luke reveals that he saw Stefan and his men with Lucky—alive. She teams up with estranged husband Luke to bring Lucky home but has to deal with bringing Luke's girlfriend, Felicia Jones, along. After being led on a wild goose chase by Helena, they finally find Lucky and bring him home. They realize something is wrong with him and discovered he was programmed by Helena. They try to wait it out and get Lucky to come to them but Helena had convinced him that his parents were behind the entire kidnapping. Luke promises her that they would undo whatever Helena did to Lucky and they were growing close again; then Luke was put on trial for Stefan's murder. 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. Scott then comes to take her home.
 * -|2000s=

Laura moves on by obtaining Deception Cosmetics from Scotty with the funds of Sonny Corinthos. Sonny agrees to financially back Laura if his wife Carly Corinthos could be co-partner. Wanting her independence once again, Laura agrees to the partnership. Carly is anything but easy to deal with, and gives Laura many headaches. Luckily, she enlists the help of Elton Herbert, ex wedding extraordinaire, as her assistant and the two get along famously. Her first choice for the company's signature model is Elizabeth Webber, but Carly wants Gia Campbell. Determined to get her way, Carly had Gia lock Laura on the roof the night Laura plans to announce the new model. In June 2001, Luke and Laura tearfully remember their past together as they sign their divorce papers. They agree it is time to put the past to rest but they can't stay out of each other's minds. Stavros returns after being cryogenically frozen by Helena for several years. He constantly stalks her, scaring her to death when he showed himself to her in a mirror on a dark night. Laura leaves town again with her mother and daughter for the summer. She returns to find that Luke had mysteriously vanished. He eventually surfaces suffering from an illness that causes him to cycle his past. She helps Luke get his memory back, puts a pause on her relationship with Scott, and helps Stefan escape jail after he is arrested for Chloe Morgan's murder.

When Luke collapses, Laura pleads with his unconscious body not to leave her and confesses her love for him. Just as Luke starts to recover, Laura and Nikolas go to confront Helena in her underground lab. They run into Stavros instead. He takes Laura to a secret bedroom to reclaim her as his wife. While Stavros explains his good intentions to Laura, Luke appears and declared that Stavros will never have Laura. The two fight, and Stavros knocks Luke to the ground. He grows angry at Laura's pleas to leave Luke alone. When he leaves Luke and Laura alone in the room, they declare their love for one another. Half of Port Charles turn up to escort Helena jail, but Stavros escapes. Luke goes after him and watches him fall into a bottomless pit. Laura is taken out of Helena's lab by Scott and anxiously waits for Luke to make it out as well. Right before the lab shuts down, Luke slides under the door, and is embraced by Laura stating that everyone could use a happy ending. Soon afterward, Scott asks Laura to marry him all over again, fearing that she will leave him for Luke. She ponders the question for awhile and is unhappy when Luke found out about it when Lulu blurts it out at Thanksgiving dinner. Though he is hurt, Luke tells her to marry Scotty, but Laura ends up turning Scotty down.

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. Luke was determined to win the mother of his children back, and Laura suspected that he always had something up his sleeve. At his plea, she asked her mother to take care of Lulu, and ran off with Luke once again on a love boat mission. Once she realized it was all a ploy, Laura asked her ex hubby why he did it, and he responded with "Because I want you back." Luke asked Laura to marry him again. Laura was reluctant at first, but finally agreed to marry him when they were re-enacting the Wall of Jericho in Beechers Corners. But when she pulled the blanket down, she discovered that he had run off! Annoyed, Laura returned to Port Charles. But she didn't realize that Luke had actually been taken by Jennifer Smith, who was intent on marrying Luke. When Laura realized what had happened, she flew like a bat out of hell to Texas to rescue Luke from the shotgun wedding.

Trapped in a cave, Luke and Laura examined their feelings and Laura agreed to marry Luke, should they ever get out. A beam fell on Luke, and Laura cried as she thought that he was going to die. Luckily, Roy and Felicia saved Luke and Laura in the nick of time. Not long after they returned home and began to spread the news of their upcoming wedding, Helena escaped from jail. In hot pursuit of his favorite nemesis, Luke discovered that Helena had hid out at Wyndemere and that Nikolas gave Helena money and let her go in order to protect Gia. Laura was horrified and heart-broken when she talked to Nikolas directly about his involvement and he lied to her. When Helena was finally captured, she lied to protect Nikolas' involvement in helping her. Knowing the truth, Laura told Nik that he broke her heart. Later, she told Nik that she still loved him despite recent events and advised him to give his relationship with Lucky time to heal.

When Carly's car drove off a cliff, Luke and Laura rallied around Carly's mother Bobbie Spencer to comfort her. Memories of Lucky's "death" surfaced as everyone searched for Carly, causing the bond between Luke and Laura to become stronger. When it came time to plan Carly's funeral, Laura used her memories of nearly losing Lucky and her experiences in motherhood to help Bobbie prepare for burying her daughter. But to everyone's relief, Carly turned up alive. Soon after, Luke discovered that Helena had placed a double in her place in prison and he tracked her to a convent. To his amazement, Laura had also tracked her to the convent in the search for her missing engagement ring and wound up there before him in disguise. Together, they found Helena and shipped her off to a convent in the Arctic Circle.

As Laura began to plan her wedding, she asked Felicia Scorpio-Jones to help her find her old wedding dress. She couldn't believe it when she discovered that it was missing. When Luke and Laura finally found it, they discovered that time had not been kind to it. Laura also began to notice that she was missing some of her memories, including the existence of the garage attic at the Jones' house where she lived with Rick and Lesley when she was younger. Rick Webber later returned to town early for the wedding, and she shared her recent revelations with him. Soon after, a fire was set in the attic. When Laura realized her recent dreams were actually memories, Luke agreed to help Laura unravel her past. 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. Laura eventually remembered the face of the woman involved and had Elizabeth sketch it for her. Rick seemed uncomfortable when she showed it to him and begged Laura to leave the past alone. Lesley confirmed that the picture was of a nurse who used to work at GH. With the identity of the nurse revealed, Luke tried tracking the nurse down but she seemed to have fallen off the face of the earth.

Meanwhile, with the wedding fast approaching, Laura's grasp on reality began slipping as more and more flashbacks appeared to indicate that Rick might have killed Theresa. Things reached a climax when Laura returned to the attic on the eve of her wedding. Rick soon joined her there. As they talked Laura became more and more convinced that Rick had killed his lover in the attic. Rick denied it but he refused to tell her what happened and instead slowly approached her with a syringe. Believing Rick murdered Theresa, Laura became frantic when he tried to inject her with an unknown substance. Fearing for her life, she grabbed the first object she could find, a heavy candlestick, and hit him over the head, killing Rick. Luke arrived but it was too late to save Rick. Realizing that Laura was in deep trouble, Luke tried to get her out of the attic but Laura was not cooperative. She was covered in blood and suffering a complete psychotic breakdown. Scott Baldwin soon joined them and realizing he had no choice, he told Luke what had happened all those years ago. A teenaged Laura had surprised Rick and his lover, Theresa who were in the attic. Theresa, who was obsessed with Rick, wanted Rick to leave Lesley but he refused. 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. She grabbed a camera and hit Theresa over the head, killing her.

Rick, fearing what would happen to Laura and seeing how traumatized she was by what she had done, quickly sedated her with a drug that also helped cloud recent memories. He then called Scotty to help him with the body. Rick and Scotty buried Theresa in the backyard to protect Laura from being charged and convicted of murder. When Luke and Laura didn't show up for their wedding the next day, Lesley guessed that they had eloped. But when Lucky and Nikolas found Rick Webber dead in the attic, they feared that Luke had killed him for some unknown reason. Even though Nikolas and Lucky tried to make it look like Rick had died in a drunk-driving accident, Scott didn't buy it and believed Luke was responsible. When Luke finally called Lucky, he didn't mention Laura, which worried the boys even more. Luke also didn't mention that Luke had taken Laura to a remote barn where he had bound and gagged Laura. He explained to her that she was tied up because she kept trying to run from him even though he was protecting her. Laura had flashbacks of Rick's death and believed Luke was actually going to hurt her. She got away and managed to call Nikolas to rescue her from Luke before Luke got her back again. He had to repeatedly remind her that Rick was dead.

Finally, Laura remembered killing Theresa and that she had killed Rick because she thought he was going to hurt her. Although devastated, she expressed a wish for a small wedding when they returned to Port Charles. Luke agreed and went to call Nikolas. Laura took the opportunity to leave and return to the attic. Her memories of killing Theresa and Rick mingled with her images of marrying Luke again and she put on her wedding dress. Laura's reflection in the mirror looked beautiful, but when Luke arrived, she turned and revealed her true disheveled appearance. Luke realized that Laura was losing her grip on reality, but played along with her wedding fantasy and shared touching vows with her. Laura grew hysterical again and as Luke was calming her, Scott and Mac Scorpio showed up. Luke was arrested for Rick's murder and Laura was taken for psychiatric evaluation. At the hospital, Scott questioned Laura and he secretly taped her confessing to killing Rick. Luke proclaimed his innocence at first, but when Scott played him the tape of Laura's confession, Luke changed to proclaiming his guilt in Rick's murder. When Alexis wanted to mount a strong defense for Laura, Luke informed her that Laura wasn't going to spend the rest of her life in a rubber room and fired Alexis. Laura's mental state continued to deteriorate as she had visions of herself when she was younger. The younger Laura warned her not to trust anyone. Luke managed to bargain a last visit with Laura. He tried to convince her that he would help get her out, but she called him a bad man who had hurt her and freaked out.

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. Although the doctor didn't want Luke to see Laura again, he insisted on saying good-bye to her. On September 6, 2002, an orderly wheeled Laura out of her room as Luke tearfully told her, "good-bye, my angel, good-bye." Luke tried to visit her a few times since she was committed under the belief that only he could save her. But his visits seemed to only worsen her condition. Nikolas gained control of Laura's medical care from Lucky and hid Laura from Luke to protect her. Eventually, Nik and Luke made peace regarding Laura. Nikolas had Laura moved to Shadybrook Sanitarium and gave Luke full access to Laura.

In October 2006, Robin Scorpio told Luke about an experimental drug: LS-49. The drug had been shown to reverse catatonia for a short period of time. Luke authorized Robin to give Laura the drug but didn't tell Nikolas, Lucky or Lulu about it. Luke didn't want the children feeling disappointed if LS-49 didn't work. Luckily, the drug did work and Laura slowly emerged from her catatonia. It was quite a shock for her to realize that several years had passed and that all of her children were grown. Unaware that Luke had married Tracy Quartermaine, Laura began planning a wedding for her and Luke. Everyone agreed to play along because Laura had a short time to enjoy her life before the effects of the drug wore off. She and Luke exchanged vows on, what would have been their 25th wedding anniversary, November 16.

Sadly, Laura's condition began deteriorating rather quickly. She started having blackouts which increased in length and frequency. Luke was forced to tell Laura that she was slipping back into her catatonic state. Laura decided to tell the children so that they could all say goodbye. Instead of dwelling on what would happen, Laura focused her energy on creating memories. She wanted to celebrate Christmas early with her family. They all worked to give Laura her last wish. The celebration was bittersweet. As the special day drew to a close, Laura's condition worsened and Laura had to return to Shadybrook Sanitarium. Before Laura slipped back into her catatonic state, she told Lulu that she didn't believe that she had killed Rick Webber. Laura was right. Lulu started digging around and discovered that Scott Baldwin had actually killed Rick Webber.

Laura returned to General Hospital on August 25, 2008, at a time when Lulu needed her most. When Lulu is admitted into Shadybrook Sanitarium to treat her failing mental health, she goes to Laura's room to talk to her. While Lulu is talking, Laura appears to wake up and tells Lulu that a few months after her relapse, the doctors were present as she began "waking up". Laura went through cycles of reawakening, infrequently but with greater periods of lucidity as time progressed, as a side-effect of the experimental LS-49 drug Luke gave her in 2006. While coherent, Laura voluntarily checked herself back into Shadybrook the year prior to her most recent relapse and signed paperwork originating from the French clinic the drug hailed from, which for legal reasons expressly forbade her doctors at Shadybrook from alerting Laura's family to any LS-49-related changes in her condition.

Laura signed these papers, in an attempt to prevent her family from gaining what could be false hopes, should she reawaken. 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 relapse...but 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. 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. Laura warns her daughter that she still slips away from time to time, but she asserts she is "feeling stronger" now. Lulu tells Laura about Logan Hayes's death and Laura helps Lulu stop the hallucinations that she was having.

On September 19, 2008, Laura asks Lulu to tell Nikolas and Lucky that she had woken up. However, when Lulu does so and Nikolas and Lucky come to visit, Laura remains catatonic. Nikolas and Lucky discuss this with Dr. Winters, who advises that Laura's condition has not changed; that Lulu has imagined Laura's awakening as a coping mechanism and Laura's doctor from the French clinic was a hallucination. The aforementioned closed-ranks policy story however, provides credible room for speculation about the validity of Dr. Winters' assessment.

On September 23, 2008 Lulu came to her mother and told her that Laura won't end in a catatonic state and Lulu will be fighting for her own health. Lulu kissed Laura on the forehead and left; in response, Laura moved her head and smiled. In October 2008, overhearing a lethal injection threat issued by Scott Baldwin to her daughter, Lulu Spencer, Laura reawakens to protect Lulu. Scott kidnaps Laura, taking her to California to relive their honeymoon in hopes of rekindling their relationship. While in California, Laura continues to tell Scott that she has come along with him only so he will not prosecute Lulu. She lets Scott know that although she cares about him, she will always love Luke Spencer and reminds him that she is married to Luke. Scott eventually tells Laura that Luke has been married to Tracy Quartermaine for the last three years and that Luke had staged Laura's wedding to him, two years before.

Luke, after finding out at Shadybrook that Scott has kidnapped Laura, catches up with Scott and Laura in California. Seeing Scott and Laura in a car, Luke steals a taxi and pursues the couple in a high speed chase. On November 3, Scott and Laura's car crashes along the edge of a cliff. During a rescue attempt, Luke drags Scott from the car, but in his attempt to save Laura, the car goes over the cliff with him and Laura in it. Although bruised, Luke and Laura live through the crash, but find that they are in the wilderness. They eventually find a cabin, where they discuss Luke's marriage to Tracy and the outlook of their own relationship. On November 10, the Spencer children find their parents safe at the cabin. They all reunite with Scott and Tracy at a hotel in California and decide to return to Port Charles. After catching up with her children's lives and dealing with the fact that Luke has married Tracy and moved on with his life, Laura decides she also needs to move on with her life. She announces to her family on November 12 her intention to go to France, where the clinic for her LS-49 treatment is located.

Her decision to continue treatment in hopes of having a permanent recovery and live her life is based on a discussion she has with Tracy Quartermaine, during which Tracy indicates that Luke has changed since being married to her and is happy with his new life; he can be himself and does not have to play the "hero". At the airport, Laura tells Luke she wants him to be happy and if Tracy can bring peace to his life, she is happy for him. Luke replies that they still have a close bond, as she had indicated to him earlier that day, and he will go with her to France if she wants him to. He tells her he feels he owes her for all that he has put her through during their life together. She turns down his offer, saying she is going to try to learn to do things for herself without him. She tells him she loves him, kisses him, and walks away to enter the plane. However, Luke asks her before she boards if she will return to Port Charles if the treatment works. She replies with a smile and shrug and climbs aboard the plane. Unbeknownst to Laura, Scott Baldwin is on the plane; as it lifts off, he is seen behind a curtain looking at her.

On February 11, 2013, Laura resurfaces in Port Charles, witnessing a romantic moment between Luke and Anna Devane. Shortly afterward, she pays a visit to Lulu at The Haunted Star, where Laura tells her that she has seen Lucky overseas, who left Port Charles a year before. Laura also reconnects with Elizabeth, and in doing so, meets grandson Aiden Spencer for the first time. After discussing Elizabeth's complicated love life, Laura returns to The Haunted Star, encountering a bewildered Luke. Laura reveals that she is getting married to Scott again. Scott is really controlling and tells Laura to not do things.
 * -|2010s=

In late March Luke, Laura, and Olivia go to Dante and Lulu's loft to see the first ultrasound pictures of their new grandchild. Lulu receives a ticking present addressed from Bobbie that at first Luke belives is a bomb. Bobbie calls Lulu and tells her that it's a teddy bear with a clock. The package turns out not to be from Bobbie and is a trap. Lulu is kidnapped. When Luke and Laura are at Dante and Lulu's apartment waiting to see if the kidnappers make contact. Nikolas shows up and as he is about to say something about Lulu he is shot. They rush Nikolas to the hospital where Laura waits with Luke to see if he will make it. Laura gets very angry when she enters Nikolas's room to find Luke attempting to inject adrenaline into his IV to wake him up so he can tell them what he knows about Lulu.

Anna realizes that the Haunted Star is missing and the WSB tracks it in the Atlantic. Luke and Laura take off on a helicopter to attempt to locate the Haunted Star where they believe Lulu is being held. Instead, they find Helena on board, but alone. Helena instructs both Luke and Laura to drop their weapons, or she will kill Laura whom her guards are holding at gunpoint. Helena tries to pull the trigger, but Dante Falconeri comes in and stops her. Afterwards, Luke and Laura go into the office and find Ethan instead of Lulu. Laura finally gets to meet Ethan and the two hit it off and decide that the three of them should work together to find Lulu but before that happens they get locked in the room. Alittle while later, Helena comes in with her goons and takes them out on the deck of the boat, at gun point, to once again try and kill Laura but instead Luke tells her to kill him and she decides that Laura should pull the trigger. Luke is able to regain control of the gun and shoot Helena.

They awake in bed together and gather that they were transported to the Cassadine Island. They search the room and open the closet and see that it has dress clothes. They get dressed due to a note in the room's closet. They head out of the now-opened room to the dinner table room and see Stavros Cassadine appearing. She is able to trap Stavros in the cryogenic chamber where Stavros had Lulu. Luke and Laura take Lulu back to Port Charles.

Laura is hesitant about marrying Scotty Baldwin, but after kissing Luke she realizes that she needs to move on. She decides to move forward with the wedding to this month. Her mother Lesley Webber and her grandson Spencer Cassadine arrives at Wyndemere because her son Nikolas wanted them to visit. Scotty demands to Luke that he will not be present at the wedding and Nikolas offers Wyndemere for the wedding. Mayor Janice Lomax was initially stated as the officiant of the wedding, but Laura's mother Lesley Webber steps in to officiate when Mayor Lomax can't make it.

Laura hesitantly enters into a partnership with Lucy Coe to revitalize Deception, but is soon distracted from the project when she learns of Luke's poisoning. Laura tries to help Luke in finding a cure, but ends up being kidnapped. Luke and Laura would go back to Port Charles to check on "their" newborn grand-daughter. While at the hospital, Laura finally connects with Scott and Scott tells her that divorce is the best thing for them. Laura eventually tearfully agrees with it. 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.

On April 17, 2014, Lulu talks to Laura on the phone about her son, Rocco Falconeri. Lulu promises that she and Dante will bring Rocco to see her soon. On May 15, Lulu mentions that Laura had sent clothes to Rocco.

On June 5, 2015, Laura returns by interrupting Luke and Tracy's engagement party.

As of 2017, Laura and Kevin are pretty serious. They officially became engaged on November 1, 2017.



Crimes Committed

 * Accidentally killed David Hamilton after he told her that he loved her mother and not her [1978; as a teenager]
 * Accidentally killed Theresa Carter, a mistress of Rick's, when she caught them together in the garage attic [as a teenager]
 * Aided and abetted her husband, Luke Spencer after he committed numerous crimes, while working for Frank Smith [1980-93]
 * Went on the run from the law with her husband, Luke for 10 years, to escape Frank Smith's control [1983-93]
 * Threatened to kill Helena Cassadine [June 1998]
 * Held a candlestick up to stepfather, Rick Webber, in defense of herself, after he was threatening to sedate and possibly kill her with a syringe [Aug 2002]
 * Held Stefan Cassadine at gunpoint in self defense [April 2001]
 * Held Helena Cassadine at gunpoint, in defense of herself, her sons, Lucky and Nikolas, and Luke [Apr 2001]
 * Held Stavros Cassadine at gunpoint, and threatened to kill him, if he ever laid a hand on Nikolas, Lucky, Lulu, or Luke [Apr 2001]
 * Held Jennifer Smith at gunpoint [Apr 2002]
 * Threatened to kill Jennifer Smith if she did not stop threatening to kill Luke, and threatening their children [Apr 2002]


 * Held Ethan Lovett at gunpoint under Helena's orders and almost killed him [Apr 2013]
 * "Killed" Stavros Cassadine by freezing him to death in his freezing chamber for kidnapping Laura's daughter [Apr 2013; Stavros was revealed to be alive in 2014]
 * Held Jennifer Smith at gunpoint and threatened her [Jun 24, 2015]
 * Held Holly Sutton at gunpoint [Jun 26-29, 2015]
 * Shot and killed one of Frank Smith's men [Jul 6, 2015]
 * Withheld the information that Jake Doe was actually Jason Morgan [Jul 22-Nov 6, 2015; that Jason was actually revealed to be Drew Cain on Dec 1, 2017]
 * Obstruction of justice; knew that her son, Nikolas had Hayden Barnes shot and is keeping quiet about it [Oct 2015]
 * Slapped Valentin Cassadine [Jul 18, 2017]
 * Attacked Valentin [Jul 21, 2017]
 * Arm-wrestled Valentin [Jul 21, 2017]
 * Assaulted Valentin over the head with a crowbar [Jul 21, 2017]

Health and Vitals

 * Raped by Luke when she worked for him at the Campus Disco [1979]
 * Kidnapped and raped by Stavros Cassadine [1983; Nikolas was conceived as a result)
 * Kidnapped by Frank Smith [Nov 1994]
 * Arrested for the murder of Damian Smith (not guilty) [1996; charges dropped]
 * Nervous breakdown after Lucky died in a fire [1999]
 * Thought to have murdered Rick Webber [Aug 2002; revealed to have been Scott Baldwin in 2007]
 * Suffered a severe mental breakdown when she remembered killing Rick's mistress as a teenager, and was in a catatonic state for 6 years [2002-Nov 2008, briefly emerged from the catatonia in 2006; Psychomotor Disassociation ]
 * Kidnapped by Scott Baldwin [Oct-Nov 2008]
 * Held at gunpoint by Helena Cassadine [Apr 2013]
 * Held at gunpoint by Helena Cassadine again, then was asked to shoot either Luke or Ethan in order to save Lulu [Apr 3, 2013]
 * Drugged, kidnapped, and taken to Cassadine Island by Stavros Cassadine [Apr 2013]
 * Kidnapped by Jerry Jacks, taken to a house in Corinth, Pennsylvania, tied up, and forgotten about until Luke Spencer found her [Aug 2013]
 * Held at gunpoint by two of Jennifer Smith's hit men [Jun 23, 2015]
 * Held at gunpoint by Holly Sutton [Jun 26-29, 2015]
 * Held hostage at gunpoint (along with Holly, Luke, Ethan, Lulu, and Dillon) by Frank Smith and his men [Jul 2-3, 2015]
 * Held hostage at gunpoint and almost killed (along with Luke) by Frank Smith and his men [Jul 3-6, 2015]
 * Held hostage at gunpoint in a room of people on Cassadine Island by Valentin Cassadine (aka Theo Hart) [Jul 15-26, 2016]
 * Held at gunpoint and almost killed by Valentin [Jul 22, 2016]
 * Was exposed to malaria (the test confirmed that she didn't have it) [revealed Aug 9, 2016 ; revealed Aug 11, 2016]
 * Poisoned and kidnapped by Rudge, under the orders of Olivia Jerome [Feb 24, 2017]