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 since 1977, 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. Her father was Canadian actor Ivor Francis.
Career
Francis began acting on the television series Family, in the two part episode titled "Jury Duty". Her big break came in 1977 with the role of Laura Spencer on General Hospital. 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. At the peak of her success, in 1982, Francis left the series to try her hand at prime-time television. She soon 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. On January 8, 2013, executive producer Frank Valentini and Entertainment Weekly confirmed that Francis would return to General Hospital 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 she would later sign a contract to remain with the show. In January 2018, Francis was dropped to recurring status, but in late July 2018 signed a contract to return to General Hospital full time.
Other projects
Francis owned and operated a cottage-style home furnishings boutique called The Cherished Home in Belfast, Maine. She later stepped away from retail operations to accommodate her increased filming workload for television roles like The Young and the Restless.
In May 2007, Francis began appearing in magazine advertisements as a spokesperson for the Medifast Diet, claiming she lost 30 pounds using the diet as of December 2007.
In November 2009, Francis along with her brothers, Ivor Jr. and Kenneth, released the holiday album It's Christmas Time Again. Francis' whole family participated: Her children Eliza and Jamo performed backup vocals and percussion, while her husband, actor/director Jonathan Frakes, played the trombone. Francis decided to donate all of her proceeds from the record sales to the Sisters of Saint Francis Children's Mission in Cuernavaca, a mission founded by her cousin Sister Margaret.
Personal life
Francis first met actor/director Jonathan Frakes in 1982 while filming the television miniseries Bare Essence. After meeting again 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 has 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.
Filmography
Film
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| rowspan="1" | 1994
| Camp Nowhere
| Mrs. Speigel
| Uncredited
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2004
| Teacher's Pet
| Marsha/Marcia
|
|-
| Thunderbirds
| Lisa Lowe
| Science fiction-comedy-action-adventure film based on the 1960s television series of the same name and directed by Jonathan Frakes.
|-
|}
Television
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1976
| Family
| Alice Dennison
| Episodes:
|-
| 1977–84,
1993–2002,
2006, 2008,
2013, 2015–
| General Hospital
| Laura Spencer
|
|-
| 1981
| Fridays
| Herself/
|
|-
| 1982
| Fantasy Island
| Christa Ackland
| Episode: "Daddy's Little Girl / The Whistle" (S5:E14)
|-
| 1982–83
| Bare Essence
| Patricia 'Tyger' Hayes
| 1982 two-part miniseries (CBS)<br>1983 television series (NBC) 11 episodes
|-
| rowspan="2" |1984
| Murder, She Wrote
| Victoria
| Episode: "Birds of a Feather" (S1:E4)
|-
| Hotel
| Jenny Bernard
| Episode: "Outsiders"(S2:E5)
|-
| rowspan="2" |1985
| North and South
| Brett Main Hazard
|
|-
| Glitter
|
| Episode: "The Matriarch" (S1:E10)
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1986
| North and South: Book II
| Brett Main Hazard
|
|-
| Murder, She Wrote
| Victoria
| Episode: "Corned Beef and Carnage" (S3:E5)
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1987
| The New Mike Hammer
| Susan Timmons
| Episode: "Body Shot" (S3:E13)
|-
| Hotel
| Melinda Jenkins
| Episode: "Barriers" (S4:E18)
|-
| 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" (S6:E15)
|-
| 1990–92
| All My Children
| rowspan="2" | 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
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1994
| Roseanne
| Laura Spencer
| Episode: "Suck Up or Shut Up" (S6:E13)
|-
| Heaven and Hell: North and South Book III
| Brett Main Hazard
|
|-
| rowspan="3" | 1995
| Terror in the Shadows
| Sarah
| Made-for-TV movie directed by William A. Graham.
|-
| Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
| Amber Lake
| Episode: "Don't Tug on Superman's Cape" (S3:E6)
|-
|Cybill
|Genie Francis
|Episode: "As the World Turns to Crap" (S1:E3) (uncredited)
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1996
| rowspan="2" | The Incredible Hulk
| Betty Ross
|
|-
| Sister Rose Erak
| Episode: "Innocent Blood" (S1:E50)
|-
| 2000
| 3rd Rock from the Sun
| Gwen McMichael
| Episode: "Gwen, Larry, Dick & Mary" (S5:E10)
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2000
| Oh, Baby
| Rachel
| Episode: "Image" (S2:E21)
|-
| Roswell
| Mother
| Episode: "Destiny" (S1:E22)
|-
| 2007
| The Note
| rowspan="2" | 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" (S1:E9)
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2011–12
| Pretty the Series
| Dr. Kate
|
|-
| The Young and the Restless
| Genevieve Atkinson
| Contract role
|-
| 2012
| Notes from the Heart Healer
| Peyton MacGruder
| Made-for-TV movie written and directed by Douglas Barr.
|-
|2020
|Quarantine
|Norma
|Episode: "Day 60" (S1:E25)
|-
|}
Videos
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1994
| Luke and Laura, Vol. 1: Lovers on the Run
| rowspan="2" | Host/Laura Spencer
| rowspan="2" | Directed by David Seeger.
|-
| 1995
| Luke and Laura Vol. 2: Greatest Love of All
|-
|}
Awards and nominations
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|+ List of acting awards and nominations
|-
! scope="col" | Year
! scope="col" | Award
! scope="col" | Category
! scope="col" | Title
! scope="col" | Result
! scope="col" class="unsortable" |
|-
| 1979
| style="text-align:left" | Young Artist Award
| style="text-align:left" | Best Juvenile Actress in a Daytime Series
| style="text-align:left" | General Hospital
|
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1980
| Soapy Awards
| style="text-align:left" | Outstanding Actress
| General Hospital
|
|
|-
| style="text-align:left" | Young Artist Award
| style="text-align:left" | Best Juvenile Actress in a Daytime Series
| General Hospital
|
|
|-
| 1981
| Soapy Awards
| Outstanding Actress
| General Hospital
|
|
|-
| rowspan="3" | 1997
| style="text-align:left" | Soap Opera Digest Awards
| style="text-align:left" | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Daytime Drama
| General Hospital
|
|
|-
| Daytime Emmy Award
| Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
| General Hospital
|
|
|-
| Online Film & Television Association
| style="text-align:left" | Best Actress in a Daytime Serial
| General Hospital
|
|
|-
| 2006
| TV Land Award
| style="text-align:left" | Most Wonderful Wedding (shared with Anthony Geary)
| General Hospital
|
|
|-
| Online Film & Television Association
| style="text-align:left" | Best Supporting Actress in a Daytime Serial
| General Hospital
|
|
|-
| Indie Series Award
| Best Supporting Actress (Comedy)
| Pretty the Horses
|
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2020
| Soap Hub Award
| Soap Hub Editors' Choice
| General Hospital
|
|
|-
| Soap Hub Award
| Favorite General Hospital Actress
| General Hospital
|
|
- Originally published Harcourt Brace Jovanovich in 1987 with the .
Citations
Sources
External links
- Genie Francis Discusses Her Christmas CD
- Genie Francis profile at Soap Central
- Genie Francis to Guest Star in Web Series