Catching up With GENERAL HOSPITAL’s Cari Shayne (EXCLUSIVE)
Actress and mother Cari Shayne (ex-Karen, GENERAL HOSPITAL) said that it was her son’s autism diagnosis more than a decade ago that prompted her to leave Hollywood to her husband, Zeus Mendoza (Joe, PORT CHARLES), and instead explore a career with a more reliable schedule: that of an obstetrics nurse. With both of their children now doing well, the actress has returned to her first love via a new role that was tailor-made for her!
In the new season of Amazon’s THE BAY THE SERIES, “I play Memorial Hospital’s Dr. Genevieve Cates. The name is a tribute to GH’s Karen, who became Dr. Cates after marrying Jagger,” Shayne said. “Genevieve delivers some medical news to the Garretts that stirs up controversy.”
Shayne had not shared scenes with the soap’s star, Mary Beth Evans (Kayla, DAYS OF OUR LIVES), when she played GH’s Katherine but enjoyed finally crossing paths with her. “Upon meeting me on set for the first time, she was like, ‘Wait, do I know you?’” Shayne laughed. “We hit it off like long-lost best friends!”
However, things may not remain genial on screen because, as the actress previewed, “Dr. Cates appears to be a good gal, but there’s some mystery about where things might go… I’ll continue into the subsequent season.”
Joining the soap was like being “home again” for the star, who admitted that she hadn’t realized how much she’d really missed acting. “It felt just like a cozy sweater,” she confided. Instead of just scratching an itch, doing THE BAY opened the floodgates for Shayne, who said that she’s now “auditioning and fully immersed again in the industry.”
Amongst her new production company’s projects is “a YouTube show for my daughter about allergy-friendly foods for kids.” She’s also working as a baby nurse on sets, most recently for Roma Downey’s new series, THE BAXTERS.
The GH alum remembers well Karen “struggling so hard to find herself” but is forever grateful to the soap. “It laid the groundwork for me as an actor because it was the first thing that I had ever done, and it shaped my work ethic at a very young age. That still sticks with me to this day.”
For more on your favorite GH stars — past and present — keep reading the ABC edition of Soaps In Depth magazine.
This story originally appeared in our print magazine