Genie Francis

Genie Francis (born May 26, 1962) is an American actress. She is best known for playing the role of Laura Spencer on the television soap opera General Hospital from 1977 to present, for which she won a Daytime Emmy Award in 2007.

Francis also appeared in the soap operas Days of Our Lives from 1987 to 1989, All My Children from 1990 to 1992 and The Young and the Restless from 2011 to 2012.

Early life

Francis was born in Englewood, New Jersey.<ref name="ind4">Template:Cite news</ref> Her father was Canadian actor Ivor Francis.<ref name="ind4"/> Her mother, Rosemary Daley, was a former actress/model.Template:Sfn Genie has an older brother, Ivor Jr.; a younger brother, Kenneth; and an older half-sister, Shelley, from her father's first marriage.Template:Citation needed

Career

Francis began acting in the two part episode titled "Jury Duty" on the television series Family. Her biggest role came in 1977 with Laura Spencer on General Hospital as she was a recast. It would bring her instant stardom in the late 1970s. The television couple of Luke and Laura wed on November 17, 1981, with 30 million viewers tuning in to make the episode the highest-rated hour in soap opera history.<ref name="ap47">Template:Cite news</ref> At the peak of her success, Francis left the series in 1982 to try her hand at prime-time television. Soon afterward, she landed a starring role in her own series, Bare Essence, which was unsuccessful. She returned to General Hospital in 1983 for a limited run, to coincide with the departure of Luke when Anthony Geary decided to leave the series.

In 1984, 1986 and 1990, Francis guest starred on Murder, She Wrote as Jessica Fletcher's niece Victoria. In 1985, she starred in the miniseries North and South as Brett Main Hazard.<ref name="North and South"/> Francis would reprise her role of Brett Main Hazard in 1986 and 1994 in the miniseries North and South: Book II and Heaven and Hell: North and South Book III respectively.<ref name="North and South: Book II"/><ref name="Heaven and Hell: North and South Book III"/> In 1993, she starred in the television film Perry Mason: The Case of the Killer Kiss as Kris Buckner which was based on the CBS television series of the same name.<ref name="Perry Mason: The Case of the Killer Kiss"/> In 1996, Francis provided the voice of Betty Ross on the Incredible Hulk animated series that ran on UPN.

Through the years, Francis has appeared on numerous other daytime soaps. She starred on Days of Our Lives as Diana Colville (a reporter who became involved with John Black, at the time believing himself to be Roman Brady) from 1987 to 1989 and on All My Children as con artist and incest victim Ceara Connor Hunter from 1990 to 1992. She reprised her role as Ceara on Loving in a crossover storyline in November 1991. Ceara was "killed off" when her character prepared to move to that soap's town of Corinth (although it was an unseen extra stepping off the bus into the line of fire), and years later, Laura also appeared in Corinth on General Hospital when ex-husband Luke found her tied up in the Alden family basement. She then returned to General Hospital in 1993. In 1994, when Francis became pregnant with her first child, the pregnancy was written into the show and she took six weeks off for maternity leave. However, in early 1997, when she was pregnant again, she took a much longer absence from the show, staying away for nearly a year and a half.

In 2004, Francis appeared in Teacher's Pet<ref name="Teacher's Pet"/> and Thunderbirds.<ref name="Thunderbirds"/> In June 2006, she began negotiating with the casting directors on the show to return to the role of Laura Spencer for a limited run through November. Francis returned with spectacular fanfare to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Luke and Laura's wedding. Though she reprised the role for only one month, Francis' stint garnered her a Daytime Emmy Nomination<ref name="2007i"/> for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, which she won in June 2007.<ref name="Winners 07"/> Francis returned to General Hospital in August 2008 to reprise her role, appearing until November 12. In December 2008, she had a starring role in the Hallmark Channel movie, The Note, which earned her critical acclaim. On January 31, 2009, Francis reprised her role of Peyton MacGruder in the Hallmark Channel movie, Taking a Chance on Love. In 2012, she again reprised her role as Peyton MacGruder in the Hallmark Channel movie Notes from the Heart Healer.<ref name="Healer"/>

In March 2011, it was announced that Francis would join The Young and the Restless as Genevieve Atkinson, the long-absent birth mother of Cane Ashby. With her appearance, she was reunited with former General Hospital co-star Tristan Rogers, who portrayed Colin Atkinson, Cane's estranged biological father. She received her second Daytime Emmy nomination in the category of Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Genevieve in May 2012.<ref name="NATAS 2012"/>

On September 13, 2012, it was announced that Francis had been let go from her role on The Young and the Restless due to budget cuts.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> On January 8, 2013, executive producer Frank Valentini and Entertainment Weekly confirmed that Francis would return to General Hospital, first airing on February 11. However, she remained with the series for only five months, as Laura departed for medical treatment in France, returning on June 5, 2015, as part of a storyline to help facilitate Anthony Geary's departure from the show and would later sign a contract to remain with the show.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> In January 2018, Francis was dropped to recurring status<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and in late July 2018 signed a contract to return to General Hospital full-time.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Other projects

Francis owned a store called The Cherished Home.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It was located at 31 Searsport Avenue, Belfast, Maine 04915, and they also sold items online. The store sold cottage furnishings and home accessories. Francis sold the store in August 2012, due to her workload on The Young and the Restless. The store closed in the fall of 2012.Template:Citation needed

In May 2007, Francis began appearing in magazine advertisements as a spokesperson for the Medifast Diet, claiming she lost 30 pounds as of December 2007, using the diet.

In November 2009, Francis along with her brothers, Ivor Jr. and Kenneth released It's Christmas Time Again.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> They decided to donate a part of all record sales to the Sisters of Saint Francis Children's Mission in Cuernavaca, a mission founded by her cousin Sister Margaret.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Francis decided to donate all of her proceeds/sales to this mission. This endeavor was a project involving various members of her family.Template:Citation needed

Personal life

Francis first met actor/director Jonathan Frakes in 1982 while filming the television miniseries Bare Essence. After meeting again in 1984 during the filming of the miniseries North and South, Francis and Frakes began dating in 1985. They became engaged the following year, and were married on May 28, 1988. The couple have two children, Jameson Ivor Frakes and Elizabeth Frances Frakes. After residing in Belfast, Maine, they moved to Beverly Hills, California, in 2008 and later relocated to Calabasas, California.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1994	Camp Nowhere	Mrs. Speigel	uncredited
2004	Teacher's Pet	Marsha/Marcia	Template:Plain list
	Thunderbirds	Lisa Lowe	Science fiction-comedy-action-adventure film<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> based on the 1960s television series of the same name and directed by Jonathan Frakes.<ref name="Thunderbirds">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1976	Family	Alice Dennison	Episodes: Template:Plain list
1977–84, 1993–2002, 2006, 2008, 2013, 2015–	General Hospital	Laura Spencer	Template:Plain list
1981	Fridays	Herself/Template:Nowrap	Template:Plain list
1982	Fantasy Island	Christa Ackland	Episode: "Daddy's Little Girl / The Whistle" (S 5:Ep 14)
1982–83	Bare Essence	Patricia 'Tyger' Hayes	1982 two-part miniseries (CBS) 1983 television series (NBC) @ 11 episodes
1984	Murder, She Wrote	Victoria	Episode: "Birds of a Feather" (S 1:Ep 4)
	Hotel	Jenny Bernard	Episode: "Outsiders"(S 2:Ep 5)
1985	North and South	Brett Main Hazard	Template:Plain list
	Glitter	Template:CGuest	Episode: "The Matriarch" (S 1:Ep 10)
1986	North and South: Book II	Brett Main Hazard	Template:Plain list
	Murder, She Wrote	Victoria	Episode: "Corned Beef and Carnage" (S 3:Ep 5)
1987	The New Mike Hammer	Susan Timmons	Episode: "Body Shot" (S 3:Ep 13)
	Hotel	Melinda Jenkins	Episode: "Barriers" (S 4:Ep 18)
1987–89	Days of Our Lives	Diana Colville	Contract role: April 13, 1987, to June 21, 1989
1990	Murder, She Wrote	Victoria	Episode: "The Fixer-Upper" (S 6:Ep 15)
1990–92	All My Children	Ceara Connor Hunter	Contract role: June 27, 1990, to July 16, 1992
1991	Loving		Recurring role: October 31, 1991, to December 5, 1991
1993	Perry Mason: The Case of the Killer Kiss	Kris Buckner	Template:Plain list
1994	Roseanne	Laura Spencer	Episode: "Suck Up or Shut Up" (S6 : Ep 13)
	Heaven and Hell: North and South Book III	Brett Main Hazard	Template:Plain list
1995	Terror in the Shadows	Sarah	Made-for-TV movie directed by William A. Graham.<ref name="Terror in the Shadows">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman	Amber Lake	Episode: "Don't Tug on Superman's Cape" (S 3:Ep 6)
1996	The Incredible Hulk	Betty Ross	Template:CRecurring
		Sister Rose Erak	Episode: "Innocent Blood" (S 1:Ep 50
2000	3rd Rock from the Sun	Gwen McMichael	Episode: "Gwen, Larry, Dick & Mary" (S 5:Ep 10)
2000	Oh, Baby	Rachel	Episode: "Image" (S 2:Ep 21)
	Roswell	Mother	Episode: "Destiny" (S 1:Ep 22)
2007	The Note	Peyton MacGruder	Made-for-TV movie directed by Douglas Barr.
2009	Taking a Chance on Love		Made-for-TV movie written and directed by Douglas Barr.
2011	Bar Karma	Waitress	Episode: "Three Times a Lady" (S 1:Ep 9)
2011–12	Pretty the Series	Dr. Kate	Template:CRecurring
	The Young and the Restless	Genevieve Atkinson	Contract role
2012	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Peyton MacGruder	Made-for-TV movie written and directed by Douglas Barr.

Videos

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1994	Luke and Laura, Vol. 1: Lovers on the Run<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>	Host/Laura Spencer	Directed by David Seeger.
1995	Luke and Laura Vol. 2: Greatest Love of All<ref>Template:Citation</ref>

Awards and nominations

List of acting awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Title	Result	Template:Abbr
1979	Young Artist Award	Best Juvenile Actress in a Daytime Series	General Hospital	Template:Nom	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1980	Soapy Awards	Outstanding Actress		Template:Nom	Template:Citation needed
	Young Artist Award	Best Juvenile Actress in a Daytime Series		Template:Won	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1981	Soapy Awards	Outstanding Actress		Template:Won	Template:Citation needed
1982	Young Artist Award	Best Juvenile Actress in a Daytime Series		Template:Nom	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1997	Soap Opera Digest Awards	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Daytime Drama		Template:Nom	Template:Citation needed
	Daytime Emmy Award	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series		Template:Nom	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2002		America's Favorite Couple - (shared with Anthony Geary)		Template:Nom	Template:Citation needed
2007		Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series		Template:Won	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Winners 07">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2012			The Young and the Restless	Template:Nom	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2021		Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series	General Hospital	Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

References

Notes

1. ^{{#if:| }} Originally published by Signet in 1982.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
2. ^{{#if:| }} Originally published Harcourt Brace Jovanovich in 1987 with the Template:ISBN.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Sources

• Template:Cite journal

External links

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• Template:Twitter
• Genie Francis Discusses Her Christmas CD Template:Webarchive
• Genie Francis profile at Soap Central
• Genie Francis to Guest Star in Web Series
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