What Happened to Olivia on GENERAL HOSPITAL
Olivia Falconeri Quartermaine on GENERAL HOSPITAL has had quite the dramatic history in Port Charles! The character was first introduced in September of 2008 and has always been played by the lovely and talented Lisa LoCicero. In 2015, the actress earned a Daytime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress for her work on GH.
Olivia arrived in Port Charles to be maid of honor at her cousin’s wedding to Sonny Corinthos. But the thing is, her cousin was Connie Falconeri, and Olivia didn’t appreciate her ignoring her family and going by the name Kate Howard. They had a big argument at the wedding when Kate refused to wear a family heirloom, and Olivia was horrified when her cousin was later shot at the altar! As Kate slowly recovered, Olivia learned that Sonny had lied about leaving the mob as he’d told everyone. Of course, Olivia was keeping secrets of her own as she had a grown son with Sonny she never told him about! Kate accused Olivia of just being jealous that she’d won Sonny’s heart, and threatened to tell him about his son.
Olivia got a job as the manager at The Metro Court and became close friends with Carly Corinthos (Carly Jacks at the time!). She also started a relationship with Johnny Zacchara that met with much disapproval from their families and friends. Olivia was pleased when her son, Dante Falconeri, arrived in town but not that he was working for Sonny under an alias. Although married to Claudia Zacchara, Sonny began professing his love to Olivia, who pushed him away. Learning about Dante’s existence, Claudia threatened to tell Sonny the truth unless Olivia split up with her brother, Johnny.
Tragically, when Dante attempted to make his big arrest, Sonny shot him in the chest and Olivia arrived to announce that he’d just shot his own son! Sonny was shocked and also upset Olivia had never told him about Dante. Olivia was relieved when her son pulled through the surgery, but he was also upset she hadn’t told him about his father. While giving their statements, Olivia didn’t implicate Sonny and Dante claimed he’d accidentally shot himself. Olivia felt that the guilt over what he’d done would be enough punishment for Sonny.
Over time, Olivia found herself constantly having to defend Dante as he attempted to bring justice to Port Charles. Her relationship with Johnny was also strained when he agreed to fake a relationship with Kristina Davis so she could get back at Sonny. Ultimately, irreconcilable differences forced the couple to split up and Olivia was crushed. After Steven Webber saved her life following a wintry bush crash, Olivia began to fall for the handsome doctor. However, as their relationship developed, she grew concerned that he was keeping something from her regarding his past in Memphis. It turned out he’d let a prison inmate in a coma die so he could transplant his heart into a young girl. Olivia wasn’t thrilled but understood and promised to keep his secret.
When Steven’s mother, Heather Webber, was released from Ferncliff, she knew immediately the former mental patient wasn’t as well as she claimed and even hired Spinelli to look into her actions. Steve was upset and broke up with Olivia, who was then drugged by Heather with a syringe of LSD! Dante rescued his mother and rushed her to the hospital where she began having horrifying visions and Steve finally realized the truth about Heather. Olivia recovered from the LSD but following that, continued to have occasional psychic visions that turned out to be frighteningly accurate!
Steven proposed to Olivia, who tearfully accepted, but she later had a vision of her fiancé covered in blood. It tragically came true when Heather tried to stab Olivia and Steven got between them. After he came through the surgery, Olivia wanted to marry him immediately in his hospital room but they were interrupted by the Memphis police who had caught up with Steven.
After having a vision of a bloody Sonny, she went to save him and ended up getting shot by Ava Jerome herself. Sonny invited her to recuperate at his home and they became close once again. But then Kate, now going by the name of Connie after suffering from DID, wanted him back so Olivia stepped aside. When Connie was shot dead, Olivia had to support Sonny and talk him down from a suicide attempt. During this time, the pair gave in to their feelings and slept together for the first time since they were teens.
Olivia dumped Sonny after learning about his one-night stand with Ava, and began spending time with Ned Ashton. He was dating Alexis Davis at the time and only thought of Olivia as a friend, but she had developed genuine feelings. Upset at seeing Alexis and Ned together at a New Year’s Eve party, Olivia drunkenly slept with Julian Jerome, who was also upset because he didn’t like seeing Alexis with another man. By Valentine’s Day, Olivia learned she was pregnant, and Ned agreed to claim paternity. But at the Nurses Ball, Julian learned the truth as Olivia went into labor. Ned and Olivia faked the baby’s death and she claimed her son, Leo, was a child she’d adopted, but Julian ran a DNA test and uncovered their lie. Ultimately, Olivia and Julian reached a truce and she allowed him to be a part of their son’s life.
Ned wasn’t crazy about starting a family with a lie but once the truth was out, he and Olivia grew closer again and he eventually proposed. She was wary since he’d had multiple failed marriages, but after the two of them were involved in a deadly holdup, Olivia popped the question herself and he happily accepted. He also agreed to adopt Leo so the boy would have a stable father figure. Before they married, Ned changed his last name to distance himself from his father, Larry Ashton, so when they finally tied the knot, Olivia became Mrs. Quartermaine.
Olivia then became the First Lady of Port Charles when Ned became mayor in a special election and often butted heads with Monica Quartermaine as she attempted to take over for Cook in the family mansion. A scandal cost Ned the reelection and they settled into a more quiet life. Olivia helped honor Oscar Nero‘s request to plan his memorial after his death, and she and Ned had part of the park named “Oscar’s Meadow.” She was also crushed to learn that Dante was suffering from PTSD and would not be returning to Port Charles.
Olivia refused to give up on bringing Dante home and wasn’t happy to see Lulu moving on with another man. Unable to see her son, Olivia was upset with Ned for pushing his daughter away after he felt Brook Lynn betrayed the family. After a disastrous visit to the WSB facility where Dante refused to see his mother, she’d started to give up hope and went on a spy mission with Robert Scorpio that cheered her up some. Unfortunately, Ned thought she and Robert were having an affair so he spent a drunken night with Alexis!
When Olivia found out what Ned and Alexis had been hiding from her, she was heartbroken, but things got even worse when a drunken Alexis stabbed Dante with a syringe at the hospital and Olivia feared she would lose her son! Dante recovered, but Olivia’s marriage was another story as Ned tried to win her back. They eventually reconciled, but when Ned relayed Dr. Austin Holt‘s suggestion that they have Leo checked by a specialist she refused to even consider her son could be autistic. When Ned persisted, Olivia grew so upset she asked for a divorce!
After drowning her sorrows, a drunk Olivia kissed Robert, but he gently rebuffed her. She was impressed when Ned helped fund a showing of nature photographer Joel Sartore’s work at the Jerome Gallery, but panicked when Leo went missing during the show. Finding her son laying on the dock by the water, Olivia finally admitted that Ned was right and accepted that Leo was on the Autism spectrum. She also paid Austin a visit to apologize for the way she’d acted and invite him to the Quartermaines for Thanksgiving. Ned and Olivia renewed their wedding vows and moved forward with Ned legally adopting Leo.
When Carly lost her shares of The Metro Court in a bad investment and Nina Reeves picked them up, Olivia offered to buy them off her, but Nina declined. She also noticed the sparks between her friend and Drew, but Carly insisted they were just friends. Her annual attempt to save the Quartermaine Thanksgiving dinner was ruined when she had to deal with a live turkey, and at Christmas, they took in a pregnant woman who was having her baby that day!
When Ned was accused of turning Drew and Carly in to the SEC for insider trading, Olivia initially feared the worst but soon believed her husband’s claims of innocence. When Ned had an accident at the Metro Court pool and nearly drowned after falling and hitting his head, she was stunned that he woke up believing himself to be Eddie Maine!
Although “Eddie” insisted he wasn’t Ned, he and Olivia eventually found some common ground and she began to see another side of her husband. Thankfully, a few months later, Olivia rescued “Eddie” from drowning and he resurfaced as Ned once again. He wanted to expose Nina’s lie, but she urged him to keep quiet so as not to ruin the fragile peace. Olivia was also thrilled when her old pal Lois Cerullo came for a visit and they happily celebrated Thanksgiving and Christmas with the family. Unfortunately, on New Year’s Eve, Olivia got tipsy and shared a little too much about Nina so Lois realized the truth and told Sonny what everyone had been keeping from him!
As 2024 began, Olivia was furious with Lois, but they eventually mended their friendship. In March, she feared the worst when Dante was shot in the line of duty while protecting Sonny and she blamed her ex for once again putting their son in danger. Thankfully, Dante came through the surgery and eventually woke up from his coma.
Stay tuned to see what happens next!
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