Helena Cassadine (Constance Towers)

Helena Cassadine was a fictional character on the American soap opera General Hospital, famously originated by film actress Elizabeth Taylor in November 1981. The character reappeared 15 years later in 1996, and returned, for periods of varying length, nearly every year since. The returns ended, however, in 2013 when she was supposedly killed by Luke, ending the long lived Luke and Laura/Helena war. However, Dante Falconeri finds Helena on a metal operating table, substantiating Stavros Cassadine's claim that was "taking care" of his mother as she had done for him.

Casting
A fan of the series and wildly popular supercouple Luke Spencer and Laura Webber (Anthony Geary and Genie Francis), Taylor called then-Executive Producer Gloria Monty in 1981 and asked for a cameo role. She was cast as Helena, the vengeful widow of villain Mikkos Cassadine, who had died at the climax of that summer's popular "Ice Princess" storyline. Luke and Laura's November 16, 1981 wedding, featuring Taylor's Helena, was watched by 30 million viewers and remains the highest-rated hour in American soap opera history. Dimitra Arliss appeared briefly as the character in 1996.

Constance Towers was later introduced as Helena on December 19, 1997. Towers was a regular presence on the series until April 9, 2002, later returning on October 16 and 17, 2003, in December 2003, and from January 16 to October 2004. Towers' Helena reappeared in January 2005, April and May 2005, October and November 2005, and January 2006. Most recently, Towers returned from April 13 to April 21, 2009, and again on June 4, 2009. Towers appeared again in November 30-December 2012 and in April 2013.

1981
In Summer 1981, Luke, Laura, and Robert Scorpio foil Mikkos Cassadine's plot to freeze the world using a weather machine, and both Mikkos and his brother Tony are killed while their other brother Victor is arrested. Mikkos's widow Helena appears in Port Charles just in time to curse Luke and Laura from the sidelines of their November 16, 1981 wedding. Laura later vanishes without a trace in 1982, leaving a devastated Luke to search for her. Presumed dead, Laura reappears in 1983, having been kidnapped by the Cassadines in revenge. Told that Luke was dead, Laura had been forced to marry Mikkos and Helena's son Stavros Cassadine, who had fallen in love with her. She had returned to Port Charles upon learning that Luke was alive, followed by Stavros; he is ultimately killed, and Luke and Laura are reunited. Discovering that Laura is pregnant with their first child, she and Luke leave town in 1984. Laura's mother Lesley Webber is killed in a car wreck later that year.

1996
Having returned to Port Charles in 1993 with son Lucky, Luke and Laura have a daughter they call Lulu in 1994. In 1996 she is diagnosed with aplastic anemia, and a mysterious young man comes to town hoping to help. Laura is forced to reveal that he is Nikolas Cassadine, her son with Stavros, born during her captivity. She had been sworn by the Cassadines to leave him behind and keep his existence a secret as a condition of her release and to protect Luke from their wrath. Nikolas saves Lulu's life with a bone marrow transplant, but Luke and Laura's marriage is destroyed by the revelation of this secret. Around this time, Luke visits a bedridden Helena, gloating at her condition but vowing to have his revenge when she is well enough to fully experience him murdering her. Nikolas had come to town with his calculating but benevolent uncle and guardian Stefan Cassadine (Mikkos and Helena's younger son) and Stefan's adopted cousin Alexis Davis. Stefan and Laura had been romantically involved while she had been married to Stavros and confined on Cassadine Island, and Stefan still harbors feelings for her. Laura's marriage to Luke faltering, her own feelings for Stefan are rekindled as he comforts her. With Helena no longer a threat, Stefan discovers one of her secrets: Laura's mother Lesley is alive, having been kidnapped by Helena in 1984 and her death faked. Stefan frees Lesley and reunites her with Laura.

1997-2002
Helena appears in 1997 in an attempt to reassert control over Cassadine heir Nikolas and his fortune. She loathes Stefan, whom she views as weak, and seeks to thwart his influence over Nikolas by distracting Stefan with Laura. Meanwhile, Alexis had discovered that she was actually Mikkos' illegitimate daughter, and Helena terrorizes her. Alexis remembers that as a little girl she had watched Helena slit her mother's throat. Luke and Alexis plot to kill Helena in 1998, but Stefan's fiancée Katherine Bell is accidentally killed instead. They attempt to frame Helena, but Stefan is arrested; Katherine is revealed to be alive, saved by Helena as part of her plans. In Helena's debt, Katherine seduces Nikolas to put a wedge between him and Stefan. Meanwhile, Luke discovers evidence that Nikolas is actually Stefan's son, making him no longer the Cassadine heir and allowing Helena to take control of the Cassadine fortune. She next plans to eliminate Stefan and Laura, but Stefan manages to poison Helena, rendering her paralyzed and mute. Katherine is murdered for real, and Laura is charged; it is ultimately revealed that an antidote had allowed Helena to recover, and she had crept out of her bed to kill Katherine and frame Laura. Later it is also discovered that Helena had faked the DNA results, and Nikolas is Stavros' son and the rightful heir.

Lucky is presumed dead in a fire in May 1999; he reappears in February 2000 having been kidnapped on Helena's orders and brainwashed into serving her. In 2001, it is revealed that Stavros has been in cryonic suspension in a secret room below General Hospital since his apparent "death" in 1983, waiting for a time when medical science could revive him. Helena manages to do so, and Stefan stirs up trouble in town. Though initially compelled to do Helena's bidding and even hurting his loved ones, Lucky finally manages to break Helena's conditioning. Luke kills Stavros again by pushing him into a bottomless pit in 2001.

2006
In 2006 Helena placed a nanny in Nikolas' home, Colleen McHenry, in hopes of getting Nikolas' son Spencer. For a while, everything was going according to plan, until Colleen turned on Helena with her own agenda. She had fallen for Nikolas, and when her feelings weren't returned because Nikolas and Emily had gotten back together, she lost it. Colleen overpowered Helena and held her captive in a tower near Wyndemere for a couple days, then kidnapped baby Spencer on Christmas Eve. Nikolas and Emily searched for them and tracked Colleen to Chicago where she had dyed her hair and gotten a job at a daycare center to save enough and start a new life with "her son". After a few near-misses with Nikolas and Emily, Helena encountered the psycho nanny and took Spencer to St. Petersburg, Russia. Nik & Em followed her and got there just in time to stop Helena from baptizing Spencer with a different name. When they tried to get him back, Helena threatened to kill him with a dagger. Emily offered to trade herself for the infant and Helena accepted. Emily was able to get away, as was Helena.

2009
Helena reappears Port Charles at the General Hospital grand re-opening on April 13, 2009 demanding that Nikolas return a painting of Saint Gregoire to her, which he does. Alexis voices her suspicions that Helena has actually orchestrated the recent arrival of Rebecca Shaw, who resembles Nikolas's deceased wife Emily Quartermaine; Nikolas is inclined to agree when he later sees Helena and Rebecca talking. As Helena leaves town on her jet, she tears the paper off the backside of the painting and reveals a birth certificate. She returns again on June 4, 2009 and soon tries to lure Rebecca away from her "current partner" and assist in Helena's plans; Rebecca angrily refuses. After their conversation, Helena disappears.

2010
Helena showed up in Port Charles again on February 10, following her learning of Nikolas' affair with Elizabeth Webber. The following day, Elizabeth finds out she is pregnant. Believing the baby is Nikolas's, Helena made immediate threats to Elizabeth about the welfare of the child. Believing she is unstable, Nikolas and Lucky pressure her into committing herself into Shadybrook. In an attempt to keep tabs on Elizabeth, Helena makes a large donation to the institution, getting an upperhand with the staff. While reminiscing with Luke, she reveals the immediate threat from Valentin has passed. Later, when Elizabeth has a paternity test done, Helena pays the lab tech to let her see the results first. She finds out Lucky is the biological father, but has the results switched to make it look like Nikolas is the father. Helena has her Man kidnap Tracy who she thought knew Liz's baby was a Spencer. Luke tries to find Tracy but ends up kidnapped, too. While they are being held hostage, Tracy becomes sick and Luke takes care of her. Later Nikolas and Lucky find Tracy and Luke. Upon returning to Port Charles, Nikolas banishes Helena from Wyndemere for her actions and warns her to stay away from Elizabeth and their son. When the newborn Aiden is later kidnapped, Helena instantly becomes a suspect, and Nik openly threatens to kill her if she is the one who did so. Eventually, Aiden is found and is ok.

2011
Over time, Elizabeth suspects that Aiden is Lucky's son, not Nikolas', and confirms this with a third DNA test. After delaying this revelation when Elizabeth's middle child Jake is killed in a hit-and run accident, she finally reveals the truth to Lucky and Nikolas. Nikolas does not take the news well, and decides to leave Aiden with Elizabeth and Lucky, then prepares to leave town.

Helena is seen in Port Charles secretly watching Nikolas as he boards his jet. Shortly afterward, she confronts Lucky to taunt him, while insisting the whole time that Aiden was really a Cassadine and that Elizabeth's third DNA test was the tampered one. Lucky demands her to leave.

While searching from a recently missing-in-action Luke in Florida, Lulu and her boyfriend Dante learn from a pimp that Luke is somewhere doing business with Helena. The two arrive on Cassadine Island where they confront Helena about Luke's whereabouts. Helena later threatens to cause the Spencer family pain by making them lose Luke. Helena has a plan to get revenge on Spencers for the deaths of both her sons.

Nikolas leaves Port Charles with Spencer in summer 2011.

On September 28, 2011 Luke's son, Ethan, is wandering in Nik's home. While there, he find a photo of Laura and is smacked in the head with vase by Helena. Helena sees someone passing by while she and Ethan talk.

2012
On January 11, 2012, Helena is seen lurking the tunnels of Wyndemere holding a dagger and listening in on Ethan and "Cassandra's" conversation. Helena reappears on February 24, 2012 when she shows her face to Ethan and "Cassandra". She insists it's time to end the charade and tell Ethan the truth. Ethan's shocked when he realizes that Helena and "Cassandra" know each other. It hits him even harder, when "Cassandra" announces under the pressure of Helena that she really is Iraina Cassadine, Helena's daughter. Iraina tells Ethan that she was forced to play the part and take a place in Helena's never ending vendetta against Laura and the Spencer family. Helena seeks her goal when she informs Ethan that she wanted him to fall for Irina in order to break his heart. Irina tries to convince Ethan that she's fallen in love with him and doesn't want to lose him. Helena claims that Irina is still playing him and then she lets two of her men bring in a beaten up Luke. Ethan is shocked to learn that Luke was captured by Helena all this time since he thought his father was on one of his adventurous trips. Helena then announces that one of them is going to die. She ends up shooting her daughter, killing her. Ethan is shocked and even calls Helena a bitch. Helena then tells Luke she's going to kill Ethan for payback when Luke killed her son(s). Right when Helena is gonna kill Ethan, Ethan's mother Holly comes in and says Ethan is really Robert's son. Helena they takes hair out of Ethan and Luke and tells them she's going to do a DNA test to see if Holly is lying and leaves them alone.

On November 30, Helena Cassadine appears again when Robert Scorpio wants information about Cesar Faison. She doesn't give him too much of useful information.

2013
On March 29, Helena returns on the Haunted Star and is surprised to hear that Nikolas has been shot. She makes Laura call Scotty to hear about his condition but Alexis picks up the phone and confrims what Luke and Laura have said about Nikolas's condition. Helena tells her that she is in charge of Nikolas's well being and if anything happens to him her throat will be slit. Helena then says she plans to kill Laura. Dante comes in and is able to prevent Helena from killing Laura. He says that there is someone in one of the staterooms. While Dante stays with Helena Luke and Laura go to resuce who they originally think in Lulu but it turns out to be Ethan. Later on the deck Luke shoots Helena after she tries to make Laura kill Ethan or Luke, presumably "killing" her. She is seen in flashbacks of Lulu when Lulu remembers that Helena forced her to "marry" Helena's son Stavros and having sex with him.