Jennifer Smith is a fictional character on the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

, ''

General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the list of longest-running television shows by category, longest-running American soap opera in pro ...

''. She is the daughter of notorious mobster, Frank Smith, and known for her broken engagement with

Luke Spencer Luke Spencer is a fictional character in the American television soap opera ''General Hospital'', played by Anthony Geary from 1978 until his departure in July 2015. Geary holds the record for most Daytime Emmy wins for Outstanding Lead Actor in ...

. Lisa Marie portrayed the character in 1980, Roseanne Arnold in 1994,

Sally Struthers Sally Anne Struthers (born July 28, 1947) is an American actress and activist. She played Gloria Stivic, the daughter of Archie and Edith Bunker (played by Carroll O'Connor and Jean Stapleton) on ''All in the Family'', for which she won two Emm ...

in February 2002, and

Holly Gagnier Holly Gagnier (born December 12, 1958) is an American actress. Early life Gagnier was born in Los Angeles, California. Her parents were Hugh Gagnier, a cinematographer and Eleanor Gagnier, a stenographer for the United Nations. Eleanor served ...

in June 2015. Gagnier returned to the role in 2022.

Casting

The role of Jennifer Smith was originated by actress and model Lisa Marie, in 1980. Shortly after, the character was written out of the show. In 1994, Jennifer returned to the canvass, portrayed by comedian and ''

Roseanne ''Roseanne'' is an American sitcom television series created by Matt Williams and Roseanne Barr which aired on ABC from October 18, 1988, to May 20, 1997, and briefly revived from March 27, 2018, to May 22, 2018. The show stars Barr as Roseann ...

'' star Roseanne Arnold. Arnold, who is a fan of the series, appeared with her then-husband

Tom Arnold Tom Arnold may refer to: * Tom Arnold (actor) (born 1959), American actor * Tom Arnold (economist) (born 1948), Irish CEO of Concern Worldwide * Tom Arnold (footballer) (1878–?), English footballer * Tom Arnold (literary scholar) (1823–1900), ...

, for three episodes in late March 1994. In return,

Anthony Geary Anthony Geary (born May 29, 1947) is an American actor. He is known for playing the role of Luke Spencer on the ABC daytime drama ''General Hospital''. He originated the role of Luke in 1978 and received a record eight Daytime Emmy Awards for O ...

and

Genie Francis Eugenie Ann Francis (born May 26, 1962) is an American actress. She is best known for playing the role of Laura Spencer (General Hospital), Laura Spencer on the television soap opera ''General Hospital'' from 1977 to present, for which she won a ...

, who portray

Luke Spencer and Laura Webber Luke and Laura Spencer are fictional characters, and the signature supercouple from the American daytime drama '' General Hospital''. Luke is portrayed by Anthony Geary, and Laura is portrayed by Genie Francis. Though other supercouples came b ...

, appeared in an episode of Arnold's sitcom, ''

''. The role was played by ''

All in the Family ''All in the Family'' is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS for nine seasons, from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. Afterwards, it was continued with the spin-off series '' Archie Bunker's Place'', which picked up where ''All in ...

'' actress

for 10 episodes in 2002. Struthers said of Jennifer's return, "Needless to say, Jennifer has a few issues with Luke and Laura. She has some unfinished business." Jennifer returned to the screen on June 22, 2015, portrayed by Holly Gagnier. Jennifer is holding

Lucky Spencer Lucky Spencer is a fictional character from the ABC Daytime soap opera, ''General Hospital''. He is the son of Luke (Anthony Geary) and Laura Spencer (Genie Francis). His birth having been announced on-screen in 1985, a ten-year-old Lucky was ca ...

hostage and demanding that if Luke and Laura want to see Lucky again, Luke Spencer must spend the night with her.

Storylines

1980

In 1980, Jennifer Smith was in love with

. Luke was only involved with Jennifer to gain control of her father's, Frank Smith non mob related businesses.

Laura Webber Laura Spencer may refer to: * Laura Spencer (actress) (born 1986), American actress * Laura Spencer (''General Hospital''), a fictional character in the television series ''General Hospital'' * Laura Horton (formerly Spencer), a fictional characte ...

was jealous of their relationship. Luke and Jennifer decided to get married. Their wedding was going to be held on a yacht.

Scott Baldwin Scott "Scotty" Baldwin is a fictional character from the ABC soap opera ''General Hospital'' and its now-defunct spinoff ''Port Charles''. The character debuted played by child actors in the 1960s until Kin Shriner assumed the role in 1977. Sc ...

discovered that Luke had raped Laura. He found his way on to the yacht and attacked Luke. Luke fell overboard and was presumed dead. He was not. He swam to a dock where Laura was waiting for him. They ran off together. After Frank was put in jail, Jennifer disappeared. She was later said to be in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

1994

In 1994, Luke and Laura ran into Jennifer and her husband, Billy "Baggs" Boggs in

Atlantic City Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, Boardwalk (entertainment district), boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020 United States censu ...

. It was clear that Jennifer had never gotten over Luke because she kept flirting with him. Billy was also attracted to Laura. Luke and Laura got away when they threatened to expose theft charges against Jennifer and Billy. If they were exposed, Jennifer would go to prison.

2002

In 2002, Jennifer kidnapped Luke and Laura. She wanted Luke to marry her. She said if he didn't, she would kill Laura. She wanted Laura's death to be a wedding present to her.

Roy DiLucca Roy is a masculine given name and a family surname with varied origin. In Anglo-Norman England, the name derived from the Norman ''roy'', meaning "king", while its Old French cognate, ''rey'' or ''roy'' (modern ''roi''), likewise gave rise to ...

posed as the priest for the ceremony and

Felicia Jones ''General Hospital'' is the longest-running American television serial drama, airing on ABC. Created by Frank and Doris Hursley, who originally set it in a general hospital (hence the title), in an unnamed fictional city. In the 1970s, the city ...

posed as his wife. Roy and Felicia helped Luke and Laura escape without harm.

2015

Reception

The Milwaukee Journal The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper. It is also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely distributed. It is currently o ...

said of the Luke and Jennifer's wedding scenes being interrupted by the 1980

Republican convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of U.S. presidential nominating convention, presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the United States Republican Party. They are administered by the Republican N ...

, "A soap fan's worst nightmare." The high-profile appearances by Arnold and Struthers have gained significant critical attention. For their appearances as Jennifer, both actresses were named as some of the best ''General Hospital'' cameos of all time. Arnold is regarded not only as one of ''General Hospital's'' best guest stars, but one of the best celebrity appearances, in soap opera history.

References

External links

Jennifer Smith profile
Soapcentral.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Jennifer General Hospital characters Fictional gangsters