Alexandria Quartermaine (Renee Anderson)

Alexandria Quartermaine
Alexandria "Alex" Quartermaine is a fictional character from original ABC soap opera, General Hospital. The role was originated in 1980 by Renee Anderson. Anderson departed from the series in 1981 when the character was killed off. She is a member of the famed Quartermaine family.

Casting and creation
Upon the departure of Jane Elliot as resident villain-ess, Tracy Quartermaine in the spring of 1980, the producers began crafting a new character to take Tracy's place. In mid November, the series introduced Renee Anderson, as Edward's "snake in the grass" niece. Mary Ann Cooper of The News and Courier described the character and the actress as "beautiful and sophisticated." Alexandria's schemes are immediately met with opposition with the introduction of Detective Robert Scorpio. Anderson made her last appearance on the series on September 18, 1981.

Storylines
Alex's arrival is met by enthusiasm from uncle Edward while her cousin Alan and his wife Monica question her motives. Edward is so happy to see Alex that he comes out of retirement and becomes an investor with her on her secret project, manufactoring and distributing synthetic diamonds. Alex hires Luke Spencer to track down her competition, the Cassadine family. However, Luke is hesitant to take the job believing Alex is trying to seduce him. Luke eventually tracks down the Cassadines who were operating under the surname, Castle. Prior to her arrival in Port Charles, Alex steals the world's largest uncut diamond, the Ice Princess, paints it black and ships it to Port Charles. However, the diamond is lost in transit forcing Luke, Robert, Alex and Tony Cassadine to go after it. Tony starts to romance Alex and they eventually become engaged. The couple teams up with his brothers, Mikkos and Victor in an effort to take over the world. In September 1981, Alex along with several other guests are invited onto the private cruise ship, Titan where they travel to Mikkos's island. During dinner, Mikkos unveils his plan to hold the entire world to ransom, using the priceless diamond to power his weather machine. Mikkos starts by targeting Port Charles first sending the city into a blizzard, in the middle of summer. When Tony and Alex express doubts about the plan, Mikkos has them frozen in his ice chamber.