Amanda Barrington is a fictional character on the ABC soap operaGeneral Hospital. She was portrayed by veteran Hollywood actress Anne Jeffreys.
Storylines
1980s and 90s
Introduced in 1984, Amanda is a wealthy Port Charles socialite and close friend of Lila Quartermaine and her husband Edward Quartermaine. Amanda has two sons, Derek and Malcolm. Malcolm is deceased, but left behind a wife, Elizabeth, and daughter, Alison. Derek, who later marries Lorena Sharpe, is the biological father of Mike Webber, who was adopted by Rick Webber.
Standoffish and snobbish, Amanda often clashes with many of the doctors at meetings of the Board of Directors of General Hospital. Amanda's wealthy stature has Lucy Coe fighting for Amanda's affections for nearly 20 years.
In 1984, in a fight against the Quartermaine family, Edward's former mistress Beatrice LeSeur blackmails Edward and Lila, along with Amanda and Sylvia Whitby. Amanda and Sylvia, along with Holly Sutton, are also blackmail victims to Leo Russell. Leo, the young masseur at the Avalon Spa, seduces his victims on the massage table and catches compromising positions on a hidden camera device. Beatrice catches wind of this and uses it to her advantage. On the night of an annual charity ball, Beatrice is found dead. Edward, Lila, Alan Quartermaine, Monica Quartermaine, Holly, Amanda, Sylvia and Leo are all suspects, but all innocent. Throughout the course of the evening, all of them slip drugs in Beatrice's drink in hopes of knocking her out. With the help of Ginny Blake, Robert Scorpio recreates the night of the ball and finds that Beatrice was not murdered, but rather accidentally died when she ingested Lila's heart medication. Amanda, along with the rest of Beatrice's victims, is relieved.
In 1989, Amanda grieves when longtime friend Edward is presumably killed in a plane crash. Amanda donates a plaque to the hospital in honor of Edward. Amanda is delighted, along with the rest of Port Charles, when in 1991, Edward turns up alive and well. When Carly Roberts arrives in town in 1996, she immediately seeks out Amanda's attention after learning from Amy Vining how much money Amanda has.
2000s
In 2000, Laura Spencer asks Amanda to be an investor in her upcoming Deception Cosmetics line, to which Amanda politely declines. 2000 also sees the arrival of Amanda's granddaughter, Alison, in the spin-off series Port Charles. After breaking her curfew all too often, Amanda orders Alison to become a volunteer at General Hospital. Initially hating it, Alison's mind changes when she meets Jamal Woods, who she helps hide from the police. Alison falls for Jamal, but he pushes her away. Alison is furious to learn that Jamal had made a deal with Amanda to stay away from her. In an attempt to fool Amanda, Jack Ramsey poses as Alison's new boyfriend, Chandler. Amanda agrees to let Alison continue seeing Jamal under the stipulation that she would be disinherited. Alison chooses Jamal over Amanda's money. When Jamal and Alison clash over plans for her to open a bakery alongside their bike shop, Amanda tries making peace between them. While arguing with Alison, Amanda has a heart attack. At Alan's urging, Alison repairs her relationship with Amanda and suspects that a mysterious gift of $25,000 came from her, but it did not.
When vampires descend upon Port Charles, Alison forms an alliance with Livvie Locke, Caleb Morley, and Rafe Kovich in order to take down Joshua Temple, the head vampire. Alison soon learns that Joshua's victims included Frank Scanlon, Victor Collins, Jamal and Amanda. The vampire's spell is eventually lifted and Amanda is on hand to see Alison marry Rafe.
Amanda becomes a staple at the annual Port Charles tradition of the Nurses' Ball, held annually from 1994 to 2001. She remains in Port Charles and is often seen on special occasions with her friends, the Quartermaines and the Baldwins. Her final appearance is at the funeral of her longtime friend, Lila, in July 2004.
In 2013, when doing a background check on Alison, John McBain reveals that Amanda died a few years before.
Creators: Richard Culliton · Carolyn Culliton ·Wendy Riche Executive Producers:Wendy Riche (1997-1999) ·Julie Hanan Carruthers (1999-2003) Head Writers:Carolyn and Richard Culliton (1997) ·Lynn Marie Latham (1998-1999) ·Scott Hamner (1999) ·Karen Harris and Jonathan Estrin (2000) ·Karen Harris (2000) ·Karen Harris and Barbara Bloom (2000) ·James Harmon Brown and Barbara Esensten (2000-2003)
