Background
Casting and character creation
When producers at '' All My Children'' were looking for a new villainess to wreak havoc in fictional town Pine Valley, they created character Greenlee Smythe, inspired by the likes of Erica Kane (Susan Lucci) and Kendall Hart (Sarah Michelle Gellar). Executives atJudy Blye_Wilson,_''AMC''_Blye_Wilson,_''AMC''_casting_director">Judy_Blye_Wilson.html"_;"title="Judy_Blye_Wilson">Blye_Wilson,_''AMC''_casting_director_told_me_that_Greenlee_was_a_bad_girl_who_comes_to_Pine_Valley_and_causes_trouble._It_was_the_summer;_I_figured_there_wasn't_going_to_be_anything_going_on_in_ Blye_Wilson,_''AMC''_casting_director">Judy_Blye_Wilson.html"_;"title="Judy_Blye_Wilson">Blye_Wilson,_''AMC''_casting_director_told_me_that_Greenlee_was_a_bad_girl_who_comes_to_Pine_Valley_and_causes_trouble._It_was_the_summer;_I_figured_there_wasn't_going_to_be_anything_going_on_in_Los_Angeles,_California">L.A._-_why_not_go_back_to_New_York_City.html" ;"title="Los_Angeles,_California.html" "title="casting_director.html" ;"title="Judy_Blye_Wilson.html" ;"title="Judy Blye Wilson">Blye Wilson, ''AMC'' casting director">Judy_Blye_Wilson.html" ;"title="Judy Blye Wilson">Blye Wilson, ''AMC'' casting director told me that Greenlee was a bad girl who comes to Pine Valley and causes trouble. It was the summer; I figured there wasn't going to be anything going on in Los Angeles, California">L.A. Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ..._ Los_Angeles_(_;__es,_Los_Ángeles,_link=no_,_),_often_referred_to_by_its_initials_L.A.,_is_the__largest_city_in_the_state_of_California_and_the__second_most_populous_city_in_the_United_States_after_New_York_City,_as_well_as_one_of_the_world_...
Recast and Budig return
In early 2007, nearly two years after Budig left the role in 2005, the writers decided to recast Greenlee. Actress Sabine Singh was selected to step into the role after Budig turned down the offer to return. Viewers, at first, had a difficult time embracing a new actress as the character. There was sentiment that the new Greenlee was "too whiny" and too self-defeatist to be the strong, independent Greenlee they had become accustomed to. Singh, however, managed to gain a fanbase for her portrayal, having made the character somewhat recognizable to viewers again. New head writers of the series,Controversy
When viewers received news that Budig would be returning to the role following Singh's departure, they were initially pleased; they had been against the network's decision to recast Greenlee and slow to embrace Singh as the character. "Fans were quite vocal", stated ''All My Children'' spokesman Michael Cohen. "They wanted Rebecca back as Greenlee. When the timing is right, as it was now, Rebecca was available so we brought her back". Though welcomed back by fans, news of her return was largely overshadowed by reports of what transpired in releasing Singh. "Sabine was fired!" said a note on a MySpace page claiming affiliation with Singh's fan club: Fans were outraged and conflicted by the news. Viewers pleased with Budig's return now felt emotions of guilt and bitterness; they cited their eagerness for Budig to return while also feeling that they could not fully enjoy it. Viewers who had come to accept Singh as the "bad girl" were disheartened, and both sides felt Singh was treated unfairly. The controversy heightened when ABC ran advertisements promoting Budig's return, claiming that "the real Greenlee is back". This move was seen by viewers as disrespectful to Singh's portrayal, particularly because she was still filming. Fans expressed the network could have had more tact in letting Singh go and that it did not have to unfold the way it did. Of her return, Budig said the reason she decided to take the offer was because of timing. She stated that her life is in Los Angeles, and that ABC did a lot to make the transition easier for her. Viewers reasoned that Singh's treatment by ABC was not Budig's fault, since she had been approached by Frons himself and could not have known exactly what would transpire in the upcoming weeks. When asked of Singh, Budig praised her work but seemed aware of how the writers had altered Greenlee's character and of the audience's dissatisfaction with the change; in response to this, she hinted that this issue would not be the case with her return. "I think abinebrought in a different perspective on the character", she said. "Obviously, I played this character for six years and I have a different take on Greenlee". Singh commented on her departure in the subsequent issue of ''Storylines
Leo and widowhood
Greenlee Smythe is a young upper class woman from one of Pine Valley's richest families. She has an affair with Scott Chandler at college, and wants to resume it when they return home to Pine Valley. Scott, however, has fallen for Becca Tyree, and Greenlee makes sure Becca sees a video of the former lovers having sex. When Becca ends things with Scott, he initially reunites with Greenlee, though he ultimately ends it when he discovers her scheme. After her quest to win Scott ends, Greenlee turns her attention toBack to Ryan
Though Kendall and Ryan are romantically involved, Greenlee continues to be a factor in their relationship. After Michael's death, Ryan is named the head of Cambias Industries by Alexander Cambias. Out of revenge for Greenlee's courtroom antics, Kendall takes advantage of a clause inserted by Bianca during her time as C.E.O. to bar Greenlee from working at Fusion. Angered with Kendall's manipulations, Ryan decides to marry Greenlee, since as his wife the clause would be void. Despite Kendall's interference, their old romantic feelings resurface and they are married. Greenlee begins experiencing blurred vision, loss of impulse control, and fugue states. Though they seek treatment, her erratic behavior continues, culminating in her nearly falling off the roof of the Fusion building while imagining a trapeze act. Kendall manages to save her friend, but she is also the first suspect when it is revealed that Greenlee was being poisoned with overdoses of an anti-psychotic drug. Recalling Kendall saving her life, Greenlee clears her and the two begin to repair their friendship. Ryan's emotionally scarred brother Jonathan is suspected by Greenlee, but Jonathan claims their older brother Braden is the culprit. Braden had fled town years earlier to avoid being charged with the rape of Jackson Montgomery's sister, Christine, and Ryan vowed to find him. While Ryan is searching for Braden, Jonathan kidnaps Greenlee, Kendall and Lily Montgomery, and reveals that he actually is responsible for poisoning Greenlee, shooting Ryan, and murdering both Edmund Grey and Braden. Though Jonathan claimed to be trying to save Ryan, Ryan is forced to shoot his Jonathan, who is presumed dead. Greenlee thinks having a baby could help Ryan get over his losses, but fearing his family's violent past, Ryan chooses to have aReturn
In 2007, Greenlee returns to Pine Valley and attempts to reunite with Ryan. She reclaims the shares of Fusion she gave toFresh start
Despite everyone's opposition to the idea, Kendall testifies in court to the set-up and to the truth behind Spike's deafness, and Greenlee's testimony convinces the judge to let Kendall off on probation and with community service. Aidan and Greenlee love continues to grow stronger, though he feels guilty about sleeping with Kendall. She faces another medical crisis when her health is compromised from the water in the bomb shelter, and again briefly lapses into a coma. Aidan proposes, but a wary Greenlee initially turns him down before accepting. Zach sends Aidan on a mission to Darfur to rescue a doctor, who turns out to be Jake Martin, again trapped in a war torn country. Greenlee and Aidan's relationship is tested when she reveals she no longer wants to have children, but Aidan is able to move past his insecurities. DuringReturn from the dead
Several months after her presumed death, Ryan receives a champagne flute from Greenlee. Realizing that no one ever actually identified the body, he comes to believe that Greenlee is still alive. In November 2009, Ryan discovers Greenlee's medical records on David's computer, who claims he was using them for research into Amanda Dillon's pregnancy. It is later revealed that David has been keeping Greenlee in Massachusetts while she recovers. Greenlee has been comatose for the past year and has no memory of the accident. Upon her awakening, David tells Greenlee that she is paralyzed and if she does not have surgery to fix her spine, she will remain paralyzed for the rest of her life. She tells David that she wants to do the surgery, but if she dies during surgery, not to tell anybody that she was alive before her death. After successfully recovering from her injuries, Greenlee attempts to visit Ryan but is surprised to see him having sex with Erica Kane. Out for revenge, Greenlee asks David to bring her a hard-drive hidden in Ryan's house. She puts the hard-drive into Fusion's computer and it crashes all the files. Even with Fusion's files being lost, Erica is set out to build Fusion back up once again; during an interview, she tells reporters that whoever crashed Fusion's computers has not destroyed the company. Greenlee feels that she has not done enough and decides to stay in Pine Valley. Greenlee asks David to marry her, hoping that when she walks down the aisle at her wedding, everyone will be surprised, and that Ryan will be hurt. Greenlee reveals herself to Jack. Jack cannot believe his eyes when Greenlee appears before him. After explaining how David hid her away for a year, Greenlee threatens to disappear from Jack's life again if he presses charges against David. Greenlee demands that Jack not tell anyone, especially Ryan, that she is alive. On Valentine's Day, David walks down the aisle and is joined by his heavily veiled bride, whose face is obscured. Just as Jack, Erica and Ryan walk in, Greenlee reveals herself as the bride. Greenlee's sudden "return from the dead" sends shock waves through the assembled guests, who soon take their leave with the exception of Ryan (but not before everyone tells Greenlee it is a dumb idea to marry David). Ryan's speechless over Greenlee's intention to marry David, let alone on Valentine's Day of all days. Ryan tells Greenlee he never stopped loving her and is dismayed she kept her survival a secret from him. Greenlee defends David, insisting he is the one who is going to take care of her now. Despite her insistence that Ryan stay away, it is obvious that she still cares for him. Annie crashes the now non-wedding and is stunned to see Greenlee. Ryan lets Greenlee go but remains confident they will get back together one day. Greenlee explains to David why it is so important to her that they get married: It will protect her from falling back in love with Ryan. David and Greenlee's wedding gets underway. Greenlee becomes increasingly interested in what really happened the night of her accident. She gets on Erica's computer and sees a picture of Kendall on a boat and so she goes to find her. She finds Kendall, who tells her everything that happened, including her affair with Ryan and that she was the one who drove her off the road. Greenlee accuses Kendall of doing it on purpose so that she could have Ryan. Since Greenlee has been gone, and Kendall left to repair her relationship with husband Zach, Erica has been running Fusion. Now that Greenlee is back, she wants Fusion back too. Erica does not want to hand back the company to Greenlee and "battle" ensues. Greenlee makes a deal under wraps that is later ruined by Erica, who sees the important contract papers on Jackson's desk. Erica takes the papers when Jackson leaves her in his office alone for a minute. Greenlee realizes she needs to pull out the big guns to win back the company she created and loves like a child. Greenlee and David team up to regain control of Fusion. Greenlee plants documents that frame Erica for stealing money from the Miranda House to pay for her new line of Fusion products. When this scandal becomes public, Erica is out of state, and in order to delay Erica from returning quickly and make a counter-statement to the scandal, David has someone sabotage the plane – expecting the pilot to run routine inspection before take-off. Erica, in a hurry to get back to Pine Valley, insists the pilot take off without the pre-flight inspection or filing a flight plan. While Erica is missing, Greenlee starts to feel guilty and is looking suspicious. David assures her he is handling the situation and has people out there looking for Erica. Greenlee ends up letting the residents of Pine Valley know that she knew Erica had planned on taking a plane from West Virginia. Ryan immediately has her taken down to the station to be interrogated. David intervenes to prevent Greenlee from incriminating them further. Regardless, everyone in PV blames Greenlee and threatens her. While Jackson, Greenlee's father, is searching the mountain for Erica, he makes a statement that "If Erica is dead, then Greenlee is dead to me." When Erica is finally found and taken to PV Hospital, Greenlee stops by to bring Erica flowers, but Jackson stops her before she reaches Erica and tells her to go away. Ryan gives Greenlee the space she needs, and soon she begins to act like the old Greenlee. Greenlee sees David standing over Ryan as he is lying on the ground bleeding, and David does nothing to help him. After Ryan wakes up, Greenlee visits him and realizes that if she had not come by when he was hurt, Ryan would have died. So Greenlee asks David for time apart and, to Greenlee's surprise, he is very understanding. David asks Greenlee to have dinner with him before she leaves; during dinner, David blackmails her. He says that he will go to police and say she was the one who sabotaged Erica's plane if she does not agree to stay in their marriage. Greenlee is at first shocked and upset, but eventually "agrees" to David's terms. In reality, Greenlee is planning to play David. Ryan fakes a relapse in order to get Greenlee to open up to him and tell him what David is doing. Greenlee tells Ryan that David is blackmailing her in order to stay married to him. He manufactured evidence incriminating Greenlee in Erica's plane crash, which he is using to blackmail her. Ryan promises Greenlee that he will help her escape the marriage and put David behind bars. Kendall returns on hearing the news that Ryan is gravely ill, but soon learns of his plan. She agrees to help him and Greenlee.Widowed again and reunited with Ryan
On September 7, David fakes his own death at the Yachting Clubhouse. Once learning of this Krystal and David's daughter Marissa Tasker breaks down into tears. Suspects range from Ryan toLeo and Zach's return
On August 1, Greenlee asks David for help about her leg numbness. She tells David that she saw someone else besides herself, him and Gale, in the hospital room. He admits that there is someone in the room and that he will help her. However, she has to go with him to a clinic that is in Brazil. On August 2, Ryan tells Greenlee that he wants her to go to Brazil. On August 4, it was revealed that Greenlee lied about her leg numbness. The only reason she went with David was so that she could see Leo. David injects her with something before leaving. When Greenlee wakes up, she sees Leo, laying on the hospital bed. On August 5, when Greenlee and Leo share a kiss, it turns out that Greenlee was dreaming; it is revealed that the person who was next to her was Zach. She is soon brought back from ''The Orpheus Project'' that David created.See also
*References
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