Leslie Charleson (born February 22, 1945) is an American actress, best known for her role as Monica Quartermaine in the ABC daytime soap opera '' General Hospital''.

Life and career

Charleson was born in Kansas City, Missouri. Actress Kate Charleson was her sister. Her career began on short-lived ABC daytime soap opera '' A Flame in the Wind'' in 1964. In 1966 she joined the cast of ''

As the World Turns ''As the World Turns'' (often abbreviated as ''ATWT'') is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created ''As the World Turns'' as a sister show to her other soa ...

''. From 1967 to 1970, she starred on the CBS soap opera '' Love Is a Many Splendored Thing''. She played the role of Iris Donnelly Garrison. Her character was a part of a highly popular love triangle with

David Birney David Edwin Birney (April 23, 1939 – April 27, 2022) was an American actor and director whose career included performances in both contemporary and classical roles in theatre, film, and television. He is noted for having played the title role ...

and Donna Mills. In 1968, she played the role of a doctor's daughter in the ''Wild Wild West'' in the episode "The Night of Fire and Brimstone". She guest-starred on many series from 1970 to 1977, including ''

Adam-12 ''Adam-12'' is an American television police procedural crime drama television series created by Robert A. Cinader and Jack Webb. The series follows Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers Pete Malloy and Jim Reed as they patrol the stre ...

''; ''

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''; '' Ironside''; ''

Mannix ''Mannix'' is an American detective television series that ran from 1967 to 1975 on CBS. It was created by Richard Levinson and William Link, and developed by executive producer Bruce Geller. The title character, Joe Mannix, is a private in ...

; Marcus Welby, M.D.''; ''

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''; ''

Cannon A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder duri ...

''; '' The Streets of San Francisco''; and ''

The Rockford Files ''The Rockford Files'' is an American detective drama television series starring James Garner that aired on the NBC network from September 13, 1974 to January 10, 1980, and remains in syndication. Garner portrays Los Angeles private investigat ...

''. She had a supporting role in the 1973 science-fiction film '' The Day of the Dolphin'' and co-starred opposite

Shelley Winters Shelley Winters (born Shirley Schrift; August 18, 1920 – January 14, 2006) was an American actress whose career spanned seven decades. She appeared in numerous films. She won Academy Awards for ''The Diary of Anne Frank'' (1959) and '' A Patch ...

in the television thriller ''

Revenge! ''Revenge!'' is a 1971 American made-for-television horror-thriller film directed by Jud Taylor and starring Shelley Winters, Bradford Dillman and Stuart Whitman. The film premiered as the ''ABC Movie of the Week ABC are the first three lette ...

'' (1971). Charleson also had leading roles in a number of unsuccessful television pilots. On August 16, 1977, Charleson returned to daytime television with the role of Monica Quartermaine in the ABC soap opera '' General Hospital''. Fred Silverman, then president of ABC, asked her to join the series, which at that time was near the bottom of the ratings and near cancellation. Charleson replaced Patsy Rahn as Monica, a doctor caught between her husband Jeff Webber and his back-from-the-dead brother, her true love Rick Webber. For her long-running performance on the show, she was nominated for a

Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series The Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series is an award presented annually by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) and Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS). It is given to honor an actres ...

four times. On August 24, 2010, it was announced that Charleson was being demoted to recurring status. Charleson is currently the longest-serving cast member of ''General Hospital''.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Charleson, Leslie 1945 births Living people Actresses from Kansas City, Missouri American soap opera actresses American television actresses 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses