Vanessa Marcil Exited General Hospital as Brenda and Other Big Soap Moments from September 11

In 1998, Vanessa Marcil ended her original run as Brenda Barrett on General Hospital, which had kicked off in 1992. Marcil had become a GH megastar over the course of her time there, particularly when Brenda was paired with Maurice Benard's Sonny Corinthos and was later the center of a hot love triangle between Brenda, Sonny and Ingo Rademacher's Jax. After wrapping at GH, Marcil joined the cast of Beverly Hills, 90210 in the role of Gina Kincaid. She later returned to GH for limited runs in 2002, 2010 and 2013.

In 2000, Philip Kiriakis (Jay Kenneth Johnson) and Chloe Lane (Nadia Bjorlin) shared their first kiss on Days of Our Lives. The popular young duo, known as "Phloe" to their fans, were soon torn apart by the reveal that Philip had only escorted Chloe to the Last Blast Dance because he lost a bet with Shawn Brady, but they did manage to overcome that obstacle and become a proper couple.

In 2008, Thom Christopher made his final One Life To Live appearance as Carlo Hesser. Christopher, who won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor for his work as Carlo in 1992, originally played the villain from 1990-92, then returned from 1996-97, and again reprised the role in 2005 before his last stint in 2008. Christopher also played the role of Carlo's twin, Mortimer Bern, from 1992-93.

In 2015 on Bold and Beautiful, Wyatt Spencer (Darin Brooks, l.) and Liam Spencer (Scott Clifton) looked on as Steffy Forrester (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) fired Ivy Forrester (Ashleigh Brewer) as the Face of Forrester. The prestigious position was one Ivy had only gotten because she had blackmailed Steffy with a video in her possession that could be seen as incriminating Steffy in the death of Aly Forrester.

In 2024 on General Hospital, Ric Lansing (Rick Hearst) agreed — somewhat reluctantly — to serve as Ava Jerome's (Maura West) attorney in the criminal case brought against her after Kristina Corinthos-Davis's fall out of Ava's hotel room window, which resulted in the death of the baby Kristina was carrying as a surrogate for TJ Ashford and Molly Lansing-Davis, Ric's daughter. Their professional affiliation ultimately led to the duo becoming lovers. Hearst told Soap Opera Digest how delighted he was that his character had been paired with West's, noting, "There’s a lot of factors that makes it a very complex, interesting relationship. These two characters have lived independent, yet very similar, existences in Port Charles and, and this is them coming together at a time where he has nobody but his daughter — and that, from day to day, becomes a tenuous situation for him… It’s a mutual kind of understanding of who they are. There’s no pretense between the two of them. [Ric and Ava] are two people who have been through multiple relationships in their lives and have been through the ringer in relationships, and have made certain mistakes, and they are now at this point in both of their lives, I think, where they’re not looking for anybody in particular. And yet, that familiarity can make strange bedfellows! I am very excited for it."