How has Leslie Charleson’s time as Monica Quartermaine defined her legacy on General Hospital? A look back

Monica Quartermaine of General Hospital resides remotely in her mansion and still holds the reins of many lives in the town as per the soap’s storyline.

However, Monica actor, Leslie Charleson passed away in January 2025 after her last onscreen appearance in December 2023. Yet, she is referred to as the Quartermaine head and honored at the soap’s hospital for being one of the noteworthy doctors in the facility.

Charleson’s long tenure in General Hospital made her character a legend. Incidentally, Charleson was one of the longest-serving soap opera actors portraying a character in an American show. Her contribution to the character, which was introduced by Patsy Rahn in 1976, before Charleson took over in 1977, improved the show’s ratings. 

Monica’s tumultuous relationships with Rick and Alan made the centre of her journey on the long-running ABC soap. Her love-hate relationship with stepson, Jason, was also worth noting since she loved him despite resenting his presence.

The fiery cardiologist faced many tragedies and problems in her long life including being raped, getting fired multiple times, fighting cancer and being accused of murder.

General Hospital: A glimpse at Monica’s journey

Monica’s long journey in Port Charles spans more than five decades. She arrived in the General Hospital storyline as the newly wedded wife of Dr. Jeff Webber. At the same time, she was in love with his brother, Rick Webber.

The latter’s arrival in the scenario created tension in her marriage while her love interest resisted her. Through this turmoil, she came closer to Dr. Alan Quartermaine.

She married Alan in 1978 and moved into their new mansion. They were soon joined by the rest of the Quartermaines.

Monica formed a loving relationship with Alan’s parents, Edward and Lila, but faced rivalry from her sister-in-law, Tracy. Monica and Tracy’s long-drawn rivalry ended in a camaraderie quite late in their relationship.

Meanwhile, her romance with Alan was interrupted multiple times due to her continued love for Rick and her quick affairs. On the other hand, Alan also had multiple extra-marital romances including one with Susan Moore, ending with the birth of Jason. Although disliking her husband’s fling with Susan, Monica adopted Jason and came to love him.

Meanwhile, she herself gave birth to AJ, believing him to be Rick’s son due to a one-night stand with her love interest. However, AJ was revealed to be Alan’s son. Eventually, she battled with her own breast cancer, and joblessness when she was handling AJ’s alcoholism.

Later, Monica became an alcoholic after the deaths of her husband, Alan, her son, AJ, and her adoptive daughter, Emily. Jason helped her get legal help and seek treatment after her alcoholism got her into a car accident. However, she was revealed to have faked AJ’s death to keep him out of trouble. But when AJ returned, Sonny murdered him and Monica was left childless again.

She had to fight to keep things straight at the General Hospital through Dr. Liesl Obrecht’s new diktats. Monica and Tracy bonded as she helped her sister-in-law heal with Dr. Finn’s help and fought to stay Finn’s recruitment. Tracy and Monica continued to fight to save the hospital even after they had to briefly close it down due to attacks from a serial killer.

Monica seemed to be out of town often and appeared on screen rarely since 2018. Since 2024, she is presumably resting at home and only sees her close family sometimes.

General Hospital: Leslie Charleson’s career

The Missouri-born Charleson started her career in 1964 with television. Her debut show was A Flame in the Wind, where she played Pam. Some of the other series where she played notable roles include As the World Turns, Love Is a Many Splendored Thing, and Port Charles, besides being one of the long-tenured actors of General Hospital.

Charleson featured in three movies, A Lovely Way to Die, The Day of the Dolphin and Cheering Section. She was also part of television movies, Woman on the Ledge and The Return of the Muskrats.

Moreover, she made appearances in other popular shows such as Friends, Dharma & Greg, The Rockford Files, Most Wanted, Medical Centre, The F.B.I, and more.

Fred Silverman, the ABC president at the time, invited her into the cast of General Hospital in 1977. The soap was going through a low phase at the time, threatened for a closure before Charleson joined. However, her fiery character, Monica, and the various issues she dealt win helped the show’s ratings and popularity.

Charleson’s portrayal of Monica earned her four Daytime Emmy nominations. However, health issues stemming from her multiple falls left Charleson unable to pursue her character on the soap since 2023. On January 12, 2025, she passed away due to complications from one of her fall-induced head injuries. She was 79 at the time of her death. 

General Hospital is yet to play out the exit arc of Monica Quartermaine in its storyline. Stay tuned to ABC to catch the latest twist in the soap’s plot.