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Carly on GENERAL HOSPITAL — Everything You Need To Know

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Carly has been through the wringer more than once on GENERAL HOSPITAL, and every time she gets herself into a dangerous situation, fans fear the worst. But it will take a whole lot to get rid of Carly for good! Don’t believe us? She’s survived a whole lot in her colorful past! The character was first introduced back in 1996, portrayed by Sarah Joy Brown. The actress remained with the soap until 2001, at which point the role was recast with Tamara Braun. In 2005, Jennifer Bransford briefly took over the part until it was recast again, this time with Laura Wright, who is still playing Carly on GH to this day.

When she first arrived in Port Charles, Carly enrolled in the nursing program at GH to get closer to her biological mother, Bobbie Spencer. But after being rejected by her mom, Carly retaliated by seducing her husband, Tony Jones! Now bitter rivals with Bobbie, Carly fought with Tony and slept with A.J. Quartermaine on the rebound and got pregnant. She convinced Jason Morgan to claim the child as his own, and they named him Michael. Unfortunately, Carly struggled with postpartum depression, and it wasn’t until she and Bobbie finally buried the hatchet during a terrible blizzard that she came out of it. When Carly confessed her true identity, Bobbie didn’t believe it until her adoptive mother, Virginia Benson, confirmed the story.

Tony kidnapped Michael to protect him from Jason and Sonny’s dangerous lifestyle, and a vengeful Carly shot him. She faked insanity to avoid prison and ended up being committed. Jason got her out, at which point Robin Scorpio exposed Michael’s true paternity. Jason signed away all rights to Michael but remained part of his life. When Jason comforted Elizabeth Webber as she grieved the presumed death of Lucky Spencer, Carly misunderstood and slept with Sonny. Jason was furious at their betrayal and left town for a while.

General Hospital Sonny Carly Wedding
Sarah Joy Brown was playing Carly the first time she and Sonny walked down the aisle.Scott Garfield/ABC

Carly got pregnant again from her night with Sonny but suffered a miscarriage during a fight with A.J.. She and Sonny bonded in their grief and married in September of 2000. But when Carly tried to force him out of the mob, he divorced her. She hoped they could still get back together, at least until she caught him in bed with his attorney, Alexis Davis! Also complicating things was Carly being presumed dead after a car accident. However, when she did return, Carly and Sonny were remarried.

Sonny’s vengeful brother, Ric Lansing, kidnapped a pregnant Carly, but she escaped and was instead taken hostage by Lorenzo Alcazar! Worse still, after the guy helped Carly deliver her son, Morgan Corinthos, Sonny arrived and shot at Alcazar accidentally hitting Carly! After she came out of her coma, Carly met her biological father, John Durant, who was trying to send both Sonny and Rick to prison. Sonny split up with Carly again because she kept Alexis’ secret that Kristina was really his daughter.

Carly next started dating Alcazar, but then Michael was kidnapped and presumed dead. She also discovered that Sonny’s new girlfriend, Reese Marshall, was actually her formerly dead best friend, Carly Roberts, whose name she’d taken! The stress led Carly to suffer a nervous breakdown and marry Alcazar before landing in a mental hospital. After recovering, Carly divorced Alcazar and went into business with Jasper Jacks running the Metro Court Hotel. The pair fell in love, but their plans to marry were spoiled when Carly had to temporarily remarry Sonny to avoid testifying against him.

General Hospital Carly Jax Josslyn
Jax and Carly eventually fought bitterly over their baby girl.Michael Yarish/ABC via Getty Images

Eventually, Carly and Jax tied the knot and she gave birth to their daughter, Josslyn. Claudia Zacchara took Carly hostage intending to steal Josslyn, but Michael killed her. Carly, Sonny, and Jason tried to cover up the crime, but Michael was sent to prison. Carly was fine with Sonny planting drugs on Jax so she could win custody of Joss, but sabotaging his plane so it would crash was too much! (Luckily, Jax survived.) An upset Carly sent Morgan to military school to protect him from Sonny.

Carly had a short-lived relationship with Johnny Zacchara, then began dating Todd Manning. But that fell apart when she found out he was part of the scheme to replace Jason’s son with his stillborn child. Eventually, she got mixed up with Franco and even defended him after it was revealed he was Jason’s long-lost twin. Carly wasn’t crazy when Morgan eloped with Kiki, but it was even worse when he started sleeping with her mother, Ava Jerome! Carly and Franco discovered a tape revealing that Sonny had killed A.J. and Ava had killed Connie Falconeri. Keeping the secret drew Carly and Sonny closer and they began an affair despite her engagement to Franco. Having learned the truth, Franco waited until their wedding day to shock Carly by exposing not only their affair but also Sonny’s guilt in A.J.’s murder!

General Hospital Sonny Carly
In sickness or health, richer or poorer, freedom or prison…Howard Wise/jpistudios.com

Carly stood by Sonny throughout his trial and stint in prison, and after his release, helped him fight for custody of Avery, his daughter with Ava. They were about to marry but Sonny was shot and temporarily paralyzed hours before the ceremony and Ava took the little girl. Carly married Sonny in the hospital in the hopes of bolstering their custody case. She and the rest of Port Charles were shocked when John Doe was revealed to be Jason back from the dead with a new face, but it was even crazier when the real Jason showed up (with his original face) and they learned the wild truth about the switch!

After Morgan was killed by a car bomb, Carly was absolutely devastated. She and Sonny confronted Ava about switching Morgan’s bipolar meds and vowed to make her pay. Although Carly and Sonny considered splitting up and he even attempted to leave the mob again, they came to realize that they are stronger together than apart.

Carly was stunned to learn that Nelle Benson, who had pretended to seduce Sonny as part of a plot to destroy her, was the daughter of her adopted father, Frank Benson, out for revenge. Nelle had seemed to turn over a new leaf and rekindled her romance with Michael, but after she got pregnant, things took a turn. Nelle began gaslighting Carly by haunting her with memories of Morgan. And after she fell down the stairs at her baby shower, Nelle accused Carly of pushing her. To avoid prison, Carly once again pleaded insanity at Diane’s urging and was sent off to Ferncliff.

General Hospital Nelle Carly
”I’ll just tell everyone you’re taking a nap…”XJJohnson/jpistudios.com

While waiting for the truth to be revealed, Carly found herself being contacted by a mysterious patient in the next room of the hospital who turned out to be Ryan Chamberlain, setting up his inevitable escape after switching places with his twin, Kevin Collins. So even after getting out of Ferncliff and celebrating Nelle being sent to prison, Carly has still found herself mixed up with Ryan as the serial killer rampages through Port Charles while pretending to be Kevin. But getting too close to the truth put Carly at the top of his hit list!

Meanwhile, Carly was stunned to learn she was pregnant, and Sonny worried about her health as they were informed the pregnancy was very high-risk. Unfortunately, she couldn’t stay out of trouble and found herself kidnapped by Ryan and taken to Niagara Falls where she was left for dead in the snow! Thankfully, both she and the baby survived the ordeal, but things became further complicated when Sonny and Carly learned their baby would be born with spina bifida. Then, not only did Carly break her foot in a fall (to write in Wright’s real-life injury), but she went into premature labor! Sonny and Carly welcomed their daughter into the family and named her Donna.

Carly and Sonny’s marriage was impacted by Jax’s return to Port Charles and her discovery that he was working with Nikolas Cassadine, who was very much alive. Hiding this secret from Sonny caused friction between them, and she ultimately came clean and told her husband the truth. Then Carly had more to worry about as Sonny’s relative, Gladys Corbin, insinuated herself into the family just as their organization began to find itself under attack! During a violent shootout, Carly’s life was saved by Brando Corbin, who turned out to be Gladys’ presumed dead son. As Sonny welcomed him into the family, Carly remained wary of the newcomers and the villainous Cyrus Renault, who got out of prison and insinuated himself into Port Charles society.

After a confrontation with Nelle led to her falling off a cliff to her death, Carly kept mum about what had really happened to her. And when Avery found Nelle’s half-heart pendant in the woods, Carly realized that the dead woman was Nina Reeves‘ long-lost daughter but kept quiet about that, too! Ultimately, the truth came out, and Nina was furious with Carly, who was also dealing with Sonny’s disappearance. After having her husband declared dead, Carly got a call from Nina, who wanted to tell her he was alive, but Carly wouldn’t let her get a word in edgewise as she warned Nina to stay away from Wiley!

GH Carly Jason wedding
Carly’s marriage to Jason proved very short-lived!Eric McCandless/ABC

As Cyrus attempted to take over the Corinthos family business, Carly stepped up to run it in Sonny’s place, arranging for Cyrus’ mother, Florence Grey, to be abducted and taken to a secure location. Eventually, Cyrus was brought to justice, but the Novak Family, headed by Vincent Novak, was eager to take over, so Carly and Jason decided to present a united front by getting married! And although it started as a business arrangement to solidify the Corinthos clan, Carly eventually confessed that she had real feelings for Jason and he returned them so their wedding was an emotional ceremony.

Following their wedding reception, Carly returned home with Jason but before they could spend the night together, the newlyweds were stunned when Sonny walked in on them, very much alive! After explanations were exchanged, Carly was relieved Sonny agreed they’d done the right thing for the safety of the family, but when she later found out that Nina had known for months that Sonny was alive, she vowed to destroy her rival!

When Sonny asked her to let it go so they could all move on, Carly did so, but reluctantly. She continued to clash with Nina, who she always seemed to be running into around town. Then, Carly was heartbroken when Jason was presumed dead again. She was looking forward to Nina going to jail for keeping Sonny from his family, but the hearing took a turn when Sonny and Nina’s relationship was revealed during the testimony. Crushed, Carly lashed out at Sonny for not telling her the truth himself and accused him of still having feelings for Nina.

GH Carly Sonny boat
Sonny really blew it with Carly!Christopher Willard/ABC

When Sonny planned a romantic surprise for Carly on The Haunted Star, she arrived so late that he thought she wasn’t coming and Carly was shocked to find him in bed with Nina! Sonny begged for another chance but Carly declared their marriage over and met with a lawyer about a divorce. Caught burning evidence, Harmony Miller drugged Carly and stashed her in her car, but Alexis arrived in time to rescue her. After being hit by a car, Harmony made a deathbed confession to Carly that Nina was Willow Tait’s biological mother! After confirming this with a DNA test, Carly opted to keep the secret given the animosity between Willow and Nina.

Wanting to help Drew and Michael, Carly ignored their warnings and sold her half of the Metro Court to buy stock before the Aurora/ELQ merger. But when Valentin squashed the merger, Carly was left with no way to buy back her hotel. She turned down everyone’s help, especially when Nina bought her half with the intention of giving it back to her to make amends. Her relationship with Drew intensified and although she was reluctant to take things further for fear of ruining their friendship, she was strongly affected by a kiss they shared at the Quartermaine picnic.

When Carly’s flight to Aruba got diverted to Jacksonville, FL, she found herself back in her old hometown and confronted by Peyton Honeycutt, Reese Marshall’s mother who blamed her for her daughter’s death. Drew flew down to join her and offer his support and so did Bobbie. Putting her past behind her, Carly decided to take the Spencer name. Although they decided to embark on a relationship, Drew warned they had to keep it quiet because Ned had threatened to report Carly for insider trading. As Willow searched for her birth mother, Carly secretly undermined Drew’s search for the truth but changed her mind when she learned that Willow was suffering from leukemia and needed a bone marrow donation. She was also forced to tell Nina the truth about the DNA test and while Willow forgave Carly for keeping the secret, Nina wasn’t so kind.

GH Drew Carly beach
Time away in Florida kickstarted Carly and Drew’s romance.Christine Bartolucci/ABC

Carly reconciled with Drew, but he warned her not to keep things from him again. The SEC interrupted Michael and Willow’s wedding reception to take Carly in for questioning, but Drew was out of town with a group trying to stop Victor Cassadine’s evil plan. When he returned, they believed Ned was responsible for turning them in and plotted to dig up dirt on Tracy to blackmail him into stopping the insider trading investigation. Carly was stunned to learn that Michael had been using Dex Heller to spy on Sonny and destroyed the flash drive of evidence he gave her now that he’d changed his mind. Drew took the full brunt of the charges from the SEC and Carly was stunned when he was sentenced to three years in Pentonville.

Having to pay a hefty fine, Carly was left with no backup savings but Bobbie came to the rescue by making her the new owner of Kelly’s. She also asked Diane to find a way to get Drew out of prison, though the attorney warned it would be tricky. She grew even more concerned when he was put in solitary confinement for his own safety. Thankfully, it was soon revealed that the judge who sentenced Drew was corrupt, and he agreed to commute his sentence to avoid it being exposed. Carly was thrilled to have Drew home,

When Nina offered to sell her half of the Metro Court back to her, Carly declined. When a charming newcomer named Brennan flirted with her at Kelly’s, Carly turned down his advances which was a good call, because although he was the head of the WSB, he was soon arrested for all kinds of criminal activities!

GH Carly Bobbie memorial
Carly had to say goodbye to her mother.Christine Bartolucci/Disney

As 2024 began, Carly was heartbroken to receive news that Bobbie had passed away in her sleep. And worse still, Nina stopped by to tell her and Drew that she had been the one who turned them in to the SEC! After Bobbie’s funeral, Carly joined Felicia in dealing with Bobbie’s unfinished business and rescued an asylum seeker. She also decided to rename Kelly’s “Bobbie’s.” Carly was upset that Michael had known about Nina for a while but forgave him for keeping quiet. When Drew fired Nina from Crimson and installed Carly as the new editor-in-chief, she was reluctant but ultimately agreed. Although she struggled with the magazine, Carly had a successful first issue. Still, she ended up quitting when Drew refused to stop attacking Nina. Wanting to leave the past behind them, Carly begged Drew to move on. 

Carly was stunned when Jason showed up at her house and she helped tend to his bullet wound and hide him from the cops when they showed up. She refused to believe the accusations that Jason was the one who was after Sonny and who had shot Dante, and Drew called it quits with her, realizing she would always put Jason first. 

Stay tuned to see how Carly’s story continues!

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