Remembering Leslie Charleson And GH’s Monica In Photos

In 1967, Leslie Charleson landed on the daytime soap Love is a Many Splendored Thing, playing the role of Iris Donnelly until 1970. When she left, she had decided not to do another soap — but fate, of course, had other plans.

Charleson made her way to Los Angeles and worked steadily in prime-time and film. One stand-out project was a 1975 episode of Happy Days, in which she shared a smooch with Ron Howard — his first on-screen kiss!

Charleson was coaxed onto GH in 1977, when then-Executive Producer Tom Donovan asked her to replace Patsy Rahn as Monica. This photo, taken on the GH set in 1978, is one of the earliest photos of Charleson in her physician garb. In fact, it was taken before Monica married Alan — her name tag reads "Dr. Monica Webber!" Fun fact: the woman next to her is her real-life sister, Kate Charleson, who appeared on GH as a nurse named Gloria Roberts.

Charleson posed with on-screen hubby Stuart Damon, Alan Quartermaine to her Monica Bard Quartermaine, in 1979. The actress and Damon, who passed away in 2021, joined the show within months of each other and the pair forged a close off-screen friendship over the course of their decades-long working relationship.

In 1979, Monica was a guest at Scott Baldwin's (Kin Shriner) wedding to Laura Webber. Scott's stepmother, Gail Baldwin (Susan Brown) had been like a mother to Monica, who grew up in the foster care system.

One of the juiciest triangles in GH history featured Monica, her ex-fiancé Rick Webber (Chris Robinson, l.) and her husband, Alan, pictured in 1980. That was the year that Alan discovered that Monica had been having an affair with Rick. Crazed with jealousy, he launched a nefarious plan to do away with the two of them....

Alan and Monica's son, Alan, Jr., better known as AJ, was born late in 1979 and christened in 1980. The boy was delivered by Rick's wife, Lesley — and while delirious in the midst of labor, Monica blurted out that Rick was her baby's father! Monica believed that to be true at the time, but ultimately, it was proven that Alan was the biological dad.

Monica with Alan, baby AJ and her father-in-law, Edward (David Lewis), in 1980.

Another early portrait of Charleson and Damon, this one taken in 1981.

At the 1981 GH Christmas party, Charleson posed alongside Genie Francis (Laura, far l.) and then-Executive Producer Gloria Monty (second from l.)

Charleson turned on the glamour for this 1982 publicity shot.

When she wasn't working on GH, Charleson loved to spend as much of her free time as possible with her beloved horses. The actress, pictured here in 1983, was an accomplished rider.

Jacklyn Zeman (ex-Bobbie) and Charleson had a lot to celebrate when GH marked its 20th anniversary in April of 1983.

Monica continued her string of extramarital affairs when she took up with Sean Donely (John Reilly), pictured in 1986.

Charleson joined Lewis, Anna Lee (Lila) and Damon for a Quartermaine family portrait in 1989.

In 1989, Monica infamously bedded a tennis pro who went by the name of Ward. Imagine her shock when "Ward" turned out to be her nephew-by-marriage, Ned (then-Kurt Robin McKinney)!

Alan and Monica, who divorced in 1990, remarried in 1991 after he extricated himself from his disastrous, short-lived marriage to Lucy.

The truth about Monica and Ned's (Wally Kurth) affair came out in 1990, after he became romantically entangled with Dawn, the daughter Monica had secretly birthed and given up for adoption years prior. Here, the pair is pictured at the 1991 wedding of Tracy to Paul Hornsby.

By 1993, Monica and Alan's sons, AJ (Sean Kanan, l.) and Jason (Steve Burton) — Jason was the product of Alan's affair with Susan Moore, and Monica adopted him — were all grown up and living dramatic lives of their own.

Monica was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1994, and in 1995, she grew close to another woman who was battling the disease, Paige (Riley Steiner, c.). When Paige passed away, Monica and Alan adopted her daughter, Emily (Amber Tamblyn).

It was a full house in the Quartermaine living room when this photo was taken in 1996! Charleson sat on the couch with Kanan and Damon; directly behind them (from l.) are Kurth, Rena Sofer (Lois), Ingo Rademacher (ex-Jax), Vanessa Marcil (ex-Brenda), Jane Elliot (Tracy), and to their right are John Ingle (ex-Edward), Lee and Joseph C. Phillips (ex-Justus).

Monica's affair with sleazy Dr. Pierce Dorman (Tuc Watkins) did not end well; in 1997, she held him hostage and threatened to kill him after he got Emily hooked on drugs.

In 1998, Charleson helped celebrate Anna Lee's 20th anniversary with the show. They were joined by (clockwise from l.) Tamblyn, Billy Warlock, Burton, Ingle, Damon and Jeffrey Byron, Lee's real-life son.

Charleson was all smiles in this 2000 publicity shot.

Charleson's official GH portrait in 2003.

Charleson, along with Damon and Jacklyn Zeman, helped welcome Rick Springfield back to the show as Noah Drake in 2005.

Monica was devastated when, in 2007, her beloved husband succumbed to a heart attack. "They were each other's one great love," Charleson remarked to Soap Opera Digest in 2022 about the enduring Alan/Monica relationship.

Reeling from the deaths of both Alan and Emily (who was felled by the Text Message Killer late in 2007), Monica began a downward spiral into alcoholism, and even drank on the job at the hospital. In 2008, she got behind the wheel of her car while inebriated and ended up striking Sam, her future daughter-in-law, with her vehicle. Luckily, Sam survived, and in time, Monica went to rehab.

Along with Edward, Monica offered warm congratulations to Jason (Steve Burton) and Sam (Kelly Monaco) on the occasion of their 2011 elopement.

Monica and Tracy were both hit hard by the passing of Edward in 2012.

In 2013, Monica performed at the first Nurses' Ball of its new era alongside Tracy and Epiphany (Sonya Eddy). Calling themselves Epiphany and the Revelations, their number was "Jump" by The Pointer Sisters.

Monica suffered another devastating blow in 2014, when her firstborn, AJ, died after being shot by Sonny Corinthos (who had been manipulated by Ava into believing that AJ, not Ava herself, had killed Connie in cold blood).

Monica became a grandmother again in 2017, when Drew (then-Billy Miller), who was at the time believed to be Jason, and Sam welcomed their daughter, Emily Scout.

Monica and sister-in-law Tracy did not always get along, but they developed a deep love for one another over the years, and shared a heartfelt good-bye when Tracy relocated to Europe in 2017. Happily, she eventually moved back to Port Charles!

In 2018, Monica paid a poignant visit to the Quartermaine crypt and reflected on the many loved ones she had lost.

Charleson posed on the GH set during the taping of the 2019 Quartermaine Thanksgiving celebration (which, per tradition, resulted in the family eating pizza for dinner). Pictured, from l., are O'Neill Monahan (ex-Rocco), Emme Rylan (ex-Lulu), Kurth, Lisa LoCicero (Olivia), Max Matenko (ex-Leo), Roger Howarth (ex-Austin) and Amanda Setton (Brook Lynn).

In late 2019, Charleson (along with, from l.) Chad Duell (Michael), Kurth, LoCicero, Elliot and Setton, helped show off the newly refurbished Quartermaine mansion set.

Selfie time! Monica was part of this suitable-for-framing family moment with son Jason, grandson Michael and great-grandson Wiley in 2020.

Charleson took her rightful place among a slew of heavy-hitting GH veterans who, in 2021, took part in the special episode honoring the memory of John Reilly and his alter ego, Sean Donely, after Reilly passed away. Reilly's real-life daughter Caitlin, who played the role of Annie Donely, joined Charleson and (from l.) Tristan Rogers (Robert), Genie Francis (Laura), Finola Hughes (Anna), John J. York (Mac), Kimberly McCullough (Robin) and Kristina Wagner (Felicia).

Charleson posed on the set with Laura Wright (Carly) and Steve Burton while filming the 2021 nuptials of Carly and Jason.