Olivia Falconeri is a fictional character on the ABC daytime soap operaGeneral Hospital. She has been portrayed by Lisa LoCicero since September 19, 2008. On July 1, 2009, Cicero was put on contract with the series as about a month before, Megan Ward was removed.[1]
Storylines
Olivia is the cousin of Crimson's editor-in-chief Kate Howard. Olivia and Kate (then known as Connie Falconeri) grew up together in Bensonhurst, New York. In high school, Olivia dated Sonny Corinthos, from whom she became pregnant. Sonny, unaware of the pregnancy, left Olivia to pursue Kate. Olivia gave birth to a son, Dante Angelo Falconeri. She has kept Dante's paternity a secret to protect him from Sonny's dangerous lifestyle. Olivia tells her family and friends that Dante's father could be any of three or four men she had slept with during that time. Only Kate knows the truth about Olivia's son and has kept her secret even after she changed her name and left her family. Olivia was very relieved when Kate didn't run off with Sonny, but was upset when Kate left her family to pursue her dreams. After Kate left Bensonhurst and changed her identity, Olivia did not have any contact with Kate for twenty years. She kept herself posted on Kate's accomplishments through newspapers and magazines. Olivia was reconnected with her past after she saw Sonny at Frankie's bar. Sonny, engaged to Kate, asked Olivia to come to Port Charles to be Kate's maid-of-honor. When she arrived in Port Charles, she checked in to the Metro Court Hotel where she meets Carly Jacks, Sonny's ex-wife. Olivia told Carly who she was and revealed to Carly that Kate's real identity is Connie Falconeri and that she hails from Bensonhurst, not Connecticut.
On the day of the wedding, Olivia helped Kate fix her hair and get dressed for the ceremony. Olivia presented Kate with a necklace that all Falconeri women have worn to their weddings. Kate refused to wear the heirloom and the two had a loud argument that everyone in the chapel could hear. Olivia, furious that Kate denies her identity by refusing to wear the heirloom, decides to wear the necklace herself. After Kate was shot at the altar, Olivia was grief-stricken, fearing for her cousin's life. As she held a bloody, wounded Kate, she told her that she is proud of who she has become and that she is happy that she accomplished everything that she dreamed of. Kate was rushed to General Hospital and Olivia told Sonny that she will be making all of Kate's medical decisions because she is her only family. She agreed to let Patrick Drake operate on Kate since he is one of the best neurosurgeons in the country. Kate survived the operation, but was slow to recover. Kate revealed to Patrick that Sonny has a grown son with Olivia. While Kate is in recovery, Olivia discovered (through Carly) that Sonny never left the mob, and that he had lied to everyone about it. Carly also told Olivia about what happened to her son, Michael, warning her to keep Kate away from Sonny. Olivia told Kate what she learned, but Kate didn't believe her.
She retorted that Olivia is just jealous because she got Sonny and now she doesn't have the love of her son's father. Kate wanted to tell Sonny about Dante. She felt that if Sonny learns about his son, it will give him a reason to live and it will stop him from joining the mob and taking revenge. Olivia is adamant about not doing it because she feels that her son would get hurt. She doesn't want Dante to suffer little Michael's fate. After the Metro Court Hotel is having issues, Jasper Jacks hires Olivia as his manager. Olivia has since been Jax and his wife's friend. She also helped Jax and Carly when making a decision on Michael Corinthos's surgery. Olivia met Claudia Zacchara at Jake's on October 13, 2008. Claudia brought up the wedding incident and a verbal fight ensues. Olivia and Carly, Jax's wife, came together to stop Sonny from marrying Claudia, but he does so anyway, costing him his friendship with Olivia.
Olivia begins a relationship with Johnny Zacchara in May 2009, although she is twice his age. Despite criticism from Sonny & Claudia, the two continue to see one another and they make love for the first time on May 20th, 2009. Soon after, Dante arrives in town and she discovers he is working for Sonny under an alias. Despite Sonny confessing his love to Olivia, she rejects him stating that he is a married man and needs to be with Claudia. Olivia tries to get Dante off the case but this leads Claudia to discover her secret. Claudia forces Olivia to break-up with Johnny. Olivia tells Johnny that she still loves Sonny, and that's why she's breaking up with him, but Johnny figures his sister is behind it. He later tells Olivia that he wants to keep seeing her, but they should keep it a secret. However, Claudia finds out and in retaliation, tells Olivia that she's going to sleep with Dante that night. Olivia goes to Sonny to tell him the truth, but he tells her off, telling her to stop talking about Claudia in a bad way. Michael walks in, overhearing the conversation, and tells Olivia to back off. Olivia tells Sonny that he should be proud for having a son who stands up for him.
Jax finds out Olivia's secret, but agrees to keep it so that Sonny will go to prison. Olivia arranges Claudia's birthday party on Sonny's behalf at the Metro Court, taking over the duties for a pregnant Carly, who is just as incredulous as Olivia that Sonny is throwing a party for Claudia. Just before the party, Olivia gets into a scuffle with Claudia when she threatens to tell her secret to Sonny. At the PCPD station, she asks Mac Scorpio to let her go so that she can warn her son, and he agrees, wanting Dante to take Sonny down. When she gets to the Metro Court, she comes in time to hear Sonny rip into Claudia for being responsible for getting Michael shot. Claudia pulls out a gun and takes Carly hostage. Sonny is later talking to Olivia, telling her that he should have trusted her when she said that Claudia was not a good person. Olivia tells him that even though Claudia is evil, he should not have yelled at her in front of everybody.
Carly is found, along with her newborn baby girl, and is brought to the hospital, but there's no sign of Claudia. Dante comes with Lulu, who's suffering from hypothermia, and believes that Sonny killed Claudia. When Olivia goes to visit Carly, she reveals that she knew Claudia got Michael shot, causing a strain in their relationship. Olivia comforts Johnny, who figures his sister is dead. Johnny later confronts Olivia about Dominic being Dante, and is at an impasse about what to do, but she finally admits that Claudia blackmailed her into breaking up with him. Johnny chooses to stay with Olivia, finding it hard to be without her and vice versa. Still, she realizes she still carries a torch for Sonny.
Dante closes in on Sonny, and finally gets enough evidence to produce an arrest warrant for Sonny in relation to Claudia's murder after Claudia's body is found in a warehouse explosion set by an obsessive artist. He tells his mother that though he wants Sonny to go down, he feels bad for his kids, who will be hit hard when their dad is sent to prison, as well as other people, including Lulu Spencer. Olivia immediately sees the sparks and realizes that Dante has genuine feelings for Lulu, something that has never happened to him before. Dante and Olivia end up spending Christmas at Sonny's house for dinner when his other three children bail on him. Olivia mends her relationship with Carly, as well, who admits that she does not get along with a lot of women, and Olivia admits the same.
Dante gets the arrest warrant for Sonny on the same day as Carly's daughter, Josslyn's, christening. When Dante and Sonny do not show up, she goes to Sonny's house, worried, and walks in to find Dante laying on the floor with a bullet in his chest and Sonny holding a gun. She screams at Sonny that he just shot his own son as she tries to help Dante stay alive. Sonny helps out, as well, upset with Olivia for not telling him that Dante was his son. Dante is transported to the hospital, in a perilous state, and Olivia shattered over the fact that she could lose her son. She tells Sonny that she knows for sure that he is Dante's father, and that she just was trying to protect her son by not telling Dante or Sonny that they were related. She tells Dante to fight for himself, while Sonny tries to recover from the shock of finding out Dante is his son.
Dante goes into surgery, but before he comes out, Sonny is arrested for Claudia's murder. Dante wakes up on February 3, 2010, with Lulu by his side, who tells him that Sonny is his father. When Olivia returns, Dante is upset that Olivia did not tell him that Sonny is his father and coldly pushes her away.[2] She tries to defend her decision to keep his paternity a secret, but Dante will not listen. She is later brought down to the station to give her official statement on Dante's shooting, but she doesn't implicate Sonny - she only tells them that she went to Sonny's house and found Dante lying on the floor. Dante gives his statement at the same time, saying he shot himself by accident.
When she goes back to the hospital, she finds Sonny, who wants to see Dante, as well as Lulu, who asks Olivia why she lets Sonny around Dante after what he did. Olivia tells Lulu that the guilt from what Sonny did will eat him alive, and that was punishment enough. When Ronnie, Dante's undercover partner, comes to the hospital to see Dante, he accuses Olivia of siding with Sonny over her own son. Olivia is furious, and tells Ronnie that she loves her son more than he knows and Dante is his own man who makes his own decisions, and there's nothing she can do about that.[3]