Nelle Benson (Chloe Lanier)

Nelle Benson
General Hospital
Portrayed by	Chloe Lanier
Current status	Recurring
Duration	2016-present
First appearance	August 8, 2016
Created by	Shelly Altman Jean Passanante
Introduced by	Frank Valentini
Profile
Alias(es)	Nelle Hayes Nelle Corinthos Nelle Benson Archer
Gender	Female
Education	Graduate of Lakes High School
Residence	Pentonville Penitentiary Port Charles, New York
Relationships
Family	Benson
Parents	Frank Benson (deceased) Virginia Benson (step; deceased)
Siblings	Carly Corinthos (adoptive paternal half)
Spouses	Michael Corinthos (2018; invalid) Hank Archer (2019; widowed)
Romances	Zachary Grant (engaged, pre-2016; deceased) Harrison Chase (lovers, pre-2016; kissed 2018) Morgan Corinthos (kissed, 2016; deceased) Michael Corinthos (lovers, 2017; engaged, 2018)
Children	Jonah Corinthos (with Michael)
Nieces and nephews	Michael Corinthos Morgan Corinthos (deceased) Josslyn Jacks Donna Corinthos (adoptive; via Carly) Dante Falconeri Kristina Corinthos-Davis Avery Jerome-Corinthos (adoptive step)

Janelle "Nelle" Benson is a fictional character on the ABC daytime soap opera General Hospital.

She was portrayed by actress Chloe Lanier from August 8, 2016 to December 26, 2018. Lanier reprised the role on June 13, 2019 on a recurring basis.

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 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.

On June 28, 2018, Daytime Confidential reported that Lanier would be exiting General Hospital after opting not to renew her contract.

Lanier made her last appearance on August 7, 2018.

On October 3, 2018, it was announced than Lanier will make a brief return to GH first appearing during the week of October 8-12.

Lanier returned on October 12 and departed again on October 15.

On November 1, 2018, it was announced that Lanier will make another brief return to GH, she returned on November 8.

On December 22, 2018, it was announced that Lanier will return yet again to GH. She returned for one episode on December 26.

On May 28, 2019, sources confirmed that Lanier will return to GH during the week of June 10. Her first airdate was on June 13, 2019.

Background

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

Nelle’s son Jonah.

She has a son named Jonah Corinthos with Michael Corinthos. He was switched at birth by his mother with the deceased adoptive son of Brad Cooper and Dr. Lucas Jones. He will therefore go by Wiley until he is given back to his father.

Nelle is enemies with Carly, Nina, Maxie, and everyone in Port Charles. She hates Carly more than anyone since she blames her for what her father did to her and how everyone turned their backs on her permanently.

She was friends with Ava Jerome till she started blackmailing her and forced her into becoming her co-conspirator. But in the end, Ava outsmarted Nelle and made sure the blanket she used to frame Carly would be found, which led to her final defeat and eventual incarceration. Since then, Ava and Nelle are now enemies.

The only real friends she has are Brad Cooper and Josslyn Jacks, though neither of them are aware of how devious and mentally unstable she is. However, they eventually learn of Nelle's true twisted self, ending their friendship with her permanently.

On June 11, it was revealed that Nelle knows Harrison Chase back from Florida. While Chase was investigating the murder of Zachary Grant, Nelle seduces the officer and they became lovers for awhile until Nelle manipulates and reports their affair to his police force, destroying Chase's career. This indicates that she was indeed responsible for the death of her ex-fiancé Zachary Grant. On July 27, Nelle finally confesses to Michael that she killed Zachary, out of fear that he would leave her. She was finally arrested for her crimes on August 3, 2018 and was eventually taken to jail.

On June 13, 2019, Nelle met Kevin Collins' twin Ryan Chamberlain in Pentonville and they became instant friends.

As of January 14, 2020, it was revealed that Nelle was somehow released from Pentonville and that she married Hank Archer prior to his death in September 2019.

Storylines

• 2016-17
• 2018-19
• 2020-present

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.

Valentin spooks Nelle

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.

Later on, Dr. Kim Nero confirms the pregnancy and that she is six weeks along. They run into Carly afterwards and Nelle gleefully congratulates the expectant grandma. Both Michael and Carly demand a paternity test and Nelle doesn't look happy and makes it clear she doesn't want money. Nelle eventually agrees to a noninvasive paternity test.

On December 22, (Christmas on the show), Nelle is seen talking to the baby after finding out Kelly's is closed.

Later on, Nelle showed up at the Corinthos house and fainted in Michael's arms. She comes to on the couch and explains that she was going to get food but nothing was open so she started driving home and came upon a down tree in the road and got out of the car. She states she didn't mean to end up at the Corinthos', but she started walking and felt faint. Sonny brings Nelle some broth to warm her and the baby up.

Michael asks if she's in any pain and Nelle asks if he's worried about the baby even thou he doesn't know if he's the dad yet and Michael says yes. Nelle tells him that they're warming up and they're gonna be just fine. Nelle ends up spending the night at the house.

It was later revealed that Nelle has fainted a lot and it was due to low blood pressure. She was told by a doctor to take it easy.

In 2018, an amniocentesis confirmed that Michael is indeed the father.

On January 22, the baby has appeared in a sonogram, which Nelle would later show Michael, after he missed the appointment.

On March 6, Nelle suffered from Braxton Hicks contractions, while trapped at Jerome Gallery with Carly during an earthquake. After learning that her apartment has been destroyed by the earthquake, Nelle was offered by Monica to stay at the Quartermaine mansion. During her baby shower on May 11, Nelle fell down a flight of stairs after getting into an argument with Carly over Michael, Morgan and the blanket. When she woke up in the hospital, she accused Carly of pushing her.

Wedding

On June, Michael proposed to Nelle, to which she happily accepted. Unbeknownst to her, Michael was luring her into a trap to expose her crimes in framing his mother. On July 16, Michael and Nelle were supposed to be married in the Metro Court, but due to Nelle having pain with the baby, they said their vows and exchanged rings in Nelle's hospital room. However, Nelle wanted to kill Michael to take his money and teamed up with her ex-lover, Det. Harrison Chase, who was really on Michael's side and then rigged the car the two were set to ride in.

Nelle confesses

On July 27, in that car, Michael and Nelle furiously argued about their exposed plans against each other and how Nelle ruined Michael's family. Additionally, Nelle revealed she had killed her ex-fiancee, Zachary, but when Michael asked her if Carly really pushed her down those stairs, the car crashed. Nelle soon woke up and left Michael to die in the car which was going to explode. She went into labor in the woods and with the help of prison escapee Dr. Liesl Obrecht, she gave birth to her and Michael's son, but she later gave him to Brad after his adoptive son with Lucas died.

On August 3, after Nelle had escaped from General Hospital and stolen scrubs, leaving out a side entrance she made it to the docks where she was confronted by Josslyn and they got into a catfight after Nelle pushed Josslyn on the ground and throwing her phone for attempting to call the police.

Nelle panics

Nelle was brought back into the police station and has been questioned by Jordan Ashford and Chase about her exposed crimes. Delusional still she believed she had the upper hand despite the evidence piling up against her. On August 7, Carly visited her to gloat on her victory against her and making sure she knows that no one will ever love her again and how she and Sonny intend to make sure she suffers for making her think her son was alive. After she left, when Nelle was being removed from the interrogation room, she panicked when she saw that the blanket she used in her plot to frame Carly was found.

Nelle curses Carly one last time

Her confidence was finally destroyed and she went barking mad as she began cursing everyone around her knowing fully well she would be convicted for her crimes, even though Michael promised her that he would make sure she'd get a shred of leniency in the memory of their child, in spite of the fact he had doubts as to how much he can do given the severity of her crimes.

On August 29, Dr. Kim revealed that Nelle contacted her, she wanted her to testify that the hormones made her commit the crimes. Michael warns her not to be taken in by Nelle, but in the future, he needs no updates about the woman.

Nelle sees her son

On October 12, Nelle is seen again at the courthouse for her trial. Nelle also sees her son for the first time since she gave him to Brad.

Nelle threatens Brad

She plead no contest and was given the maximum sentence. She also saw her son again and basically threatened Brad with the fact the secret could come out at anytime.

On November 8, Nelle returned and is seen at Ferncliff pretending to be crazy till she was exposed by Jason, Sam, and Curtis. She was sent back to Pentonville.

On December 26, Obrecht visited Nelle in prison and learned that she switched her son with Michael with Brad and Lucas' dead son Wiley.

On June 13, 2019, Nelle met Ryan Chamberlain who asked if he knew her from somewhere. They became instant friends and discussed they had quite a bit in common, including the fact that both of them had a kidney stolen.

On June 14, Brad visited Nelle in prison and they talked about "Wiley" plus Brad shared all his fears about possibly losing him due to the original Wiley's birth father still having parental rights to the child although nobody knows about Brad and Nelle switching babies. Nelle eventually gained Lorraine "Harmony" Miller as a cell mate.

On July 26, Lorraine talked to Nelle about her daughter Kali Miller on how she was pregnant with her son with Shiloh, the leader of a cult called Dawn Of Day. She explained that Shiloh was a sexual predator and that's why Kali got away from him and the cult and she didn't tell him about the baby. Nelle was shocked when she realized that the original Wiley was the baby she was talking about and she remembered how she switched him with Jonah.

On July 29, Michael came to visit Nelle after she asked him to but he was only there to talk about Jonah. She was going to confess the truth but changed her mind when she saw a picture of Michael's girlfriend Sasha Gilmore and she claimed she had a dream about Jonah and they were a "happy family." Michael said goodbye to Nelle and he assured her he was done with her and never wanted to see her again. After he left, Nelle said she was not done with Michael.

Lorraine asked Nelle how it went and Nelle said that he didn't deserve to know the truth since it was just as much his fault as it was Carly's since she "poisoned" Michael against her.

On August 22, Nelle overheard a new inmate named Hank "Shiloh" Archer having a conversation with Peter August. When Pentonville went on lockdown mode, Nelle and Shiloh were handcuffed to the tables and they introduced themselves to one another. Nelle knew that Shiloh was trying to steal Willow's baby but Shiloh insisted that it wasn't stealing if it's yours. Hank mentioned to Nelle that when Willow gave Wiley up for adoption that it was illegal. Nelle wondered how Shiloh would beat the charges he's facing and Shiloh told her he has faith in human nature and it hasn't let him down yet. Nelle was surprised to learn that Shiloh obtained ELQ shares from a kid named Oscar Nero and she said that the Quartermaines owe her too.

On September 6, Nelle offered to help Shiloh obtain his ELQ shares and to help reunite him with Wiley, despite the fact that the real Wiley was dead.

On September 30, a man named Martin Gray came to visit Nelle in prison as her lawyer and they discussed her case. Martin admitted it didn't look good for her and when Nelle insisted that she changed her ways and felt remorse for her crimes he agreed to represent her at her upcoming parole hearing.

On October 16, Nelle's parole hearing took place and Martin did what he could to argue her case and Nelle claimed to own up to what she did but for the time being she was denied parole. Martin explained that he didn't expect her to get parole on her first try.

On November 7, it was revealed that Nelle had a husband who recently died and Martin questioned Nelle about why she didn't tell him about her husband. Nelle said that she didn't think that his background would help her case and Martin was thinking about not representing her anymore. When Nelle revealed that she was expecting a payday when she gets out and promised Martin a large sum of money, Martin agreed to help her get out of prison and said his friends call him Marty.

On December 5, Nelle became Sam's cellmate and they taunted each other; Sam throwing the fact that Michael moved on in her face and Nelle taunting Sam about Jason. Eventually, Chase showed up and told Sam that Lucas and Brad were in a car accident and Nelle was concerned about Wiley but Chase revealed that Wiley was not in the car. Chase told Sam that Brad's injuries were minor but Lucas' were more serious.

On December 11, Martin came to visit Nelle who demanded that he should get her released that very night but Martin said that the chances for early parole are slim to none and the chances for an early release are non-existant. Eventually, Martin inadvertently gave Nelle the idea of being in a dangerous situation so she left the conjugal visiting room and went to see Ryan, who was being treated for an infection. Nelle asked for Ryan's help in getting out of prison and offered to be his link to Ava and Port Charles in return and promised him pictures of Ava. Ryan agreed to help her and he stabbed her with a scalpel as part of their plan. Chase and another cop came in and found Ryan standing over her with the scalpel and claimed that it's not what it looks like. Ryan was restrained as Nelle was taken to the hospital and she learned that Ryan just missed her kidney. Eventually, Nelle called Martin and told her she was at GH. Martin eventually visited her and was appalled that she got herself stabbed to get out of Pentonville, but nevertheless he tried to claim that Nelle was in danger at Pentonville. Nelle was set to be wheeled back to prison and while she waited she saw her son being held by Willow Tait, who thinks she is "Wiley's" mother due to being the original Wiley's birth mother. Nelle manipulated Willow into nearly letting her hold "Wiley" but Michael came and stopped her before she could.

On December 27, Nelle went back to prison and she was antagonizing Sam who was trying to ignore her but eventually Sam snapped and threatened to shut her up if she didn't shut up. Nelle claimed that Sam threatened her and the guard took Sam out, but eventually the guard came back and said that Sam was released due to getting parole which surprised Nelle. She eventually pulled out a billboard of her plans for 2020 when she believed she would be getting released.

On January 14, 2020, it was revealed that Nelle was somehow released from Pentonville and that her mystery husband was Shiloh all along, plus she had put together his memorial and invited Sam, Willow, Harmony, and even Michael.

Crimes Committed

• Killed her ex-fiancé, Zachary Grant [pre-2016; revealed Jul 27, 2018]
• 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]
• Assaulted Carly Corinthos [Feb 2, 2018]
• Impersonated Morgan Corinthos with a voice recorder Carly (by calling) [Feb 2018]
• Broke into Carly's house and damaged a photo of Morgan Corinthos [Apr 6, 2018]
• Obstruction of justice; lied to Det. Dante Falconeri that Carly pushed her down a flight of stairs when in fact she fell [May 14, 2018]
• Blackmailed Ava by threatening to tell Griffin about her taking a photo of Peter August's DNA records if she didn't cooperate with her plans for Carly [May-Aug 7, 2018]
• Plotted to kill Michael Corinthos [Jul 26-Aug 3, 2018]
• Left Michael to die in a car that was going to explode after she saw that he was stuck in his seat [Jul 29, 2018; shown on Jul 30, 2018]
• Faking her and Michael's son's death after switching him with Brad Cooper and Dr. Lucas Jones' deceased adoptive son [Jul 29, 2018-present; switch shown on Jul 31, 2018]
• Escaped from the hospital while in police custody [Aug 2, 2018]
• Destruction of property; threw Josslyn Jacks' phone [Aug 3, 2018]
• Assaulted Josslyn; which turned into a cat fight [Aug 3, 2018]
• Assaulted Jordan Ashford [Aug 3, 2018]
• Assaulted Harrison Chase (she tried to kick him) [Aug 7, 2018]
• Threatened Brad Cooper [Oct 15, 2018]
• Had Ryan Chamberlain stab her so she could get out of Pentonville [Dec 11, 2019]
• Antagonized Sam McCall [Dec 27, 2019]

Health and Vitals

• Life long mental illness [pre-2016-present]
• Spent a year in a mental hospital [pre-2016; revealed Oct 24, 2017]
• Unwillingly her kidney was carved out of her stomach and was sold by her father [revealed Aug 9, 2016]
• Her blood type is B- [revealed Aug 15, 2016]
• Threatened by Sonny Corinthos [Feb 14, 2017]
• Slapped by Carly Corinthos [Mar 3, 2017]
• Threatened by Valentin Cassadine [Mar 22, 2017]
• Mugged (her one remaining kidney was bruised as a result) [May 12, 2017]
• Low blood pressure faint while pregnant walking around in the cold [Dec 22 and 28, 2017]
• Assaulted by Carly [Feb 2, 2018]
• Suffered from Braxton Hicks contractions [Mar 6, 2018]
• Cut her hand with scissors as part of her plan to make Carly go crazy [Mar 16, 2018]
• Rendered unconscious after falling down the stairs during an argument with Carly [May 11-14, 2018]
• Hospitalized after falling down a flight of stairs (suffered a concussion and bruises as a result) [May 14, 2018]
• Threatened by Sonny [Jun 4, 2018]
• Threatened by Carly [Jul 16, 2018]
• Experienced cramps due to pregnancy [Jul 16, 2018]
• Rendered unconscious in a car accident [Jul 30, 2018]
• Went into labor in the middle of the woods and gave birth to her son completely natural [Jul 30-31, 2018]
• Hospitalized after giving birth in the woods [Aug 1-2, 2018]
• Suffered a bloody head and lip after getting into a fight with Josslyn Jacks [Aug 3, 2018]
• Threatened by Josslyn [Sep 30, 2019]
• Stabbed by Ryan Chamberlain at her own request so she could get out of Pentonville [Dec 11-12, 2019]
• Threatened by Sam McCall, who was antagonized by her [Dec 27, 2019]

External links

• Who's Who in Port Charles: Nelle Hayes