Helena Cassadine

Infobox soap character
series = General Hospital
name = Helena Cassadine



first = 1981
occupation =
residence =Formerly Port Charles, New York
Private island in Greece
Formerly at a Monastery in the Arctic Circle
Formerly Wyndemere and the Cassadine yacht
born =
portrayer = Elizabeth Taylor (1981)
Dimitra Arliss (1996)
Constance Towers
(1997-2002, 2003, 2004-2007)
parents = Basil (father, deceased)
* Agatha (mother, deceased)
siblings =
spouse = Mikkos Cassadine (deceased)
romances = Andreas
* Ari (lovers; deceased)
* Coleman
* Luke Spencer (faux flirtation)
* Jasper Jacks (flirtation)
children = Stavros Cassadine (son, with Mikkos Cassadine; deceased)
* Stefan Cassadine (son, with Mikkos Cassadine; deceased)
* Alexis Davis (step-daughter)
* Kristina Cassadine (step-daughter; deceased)
grandchildren = Nikolas Cassadine (grandson; by Stavros Cassadine)
* Samantha McCall (step-granddaughter; by Alexis Davis)
* Spencer Cassadine (great-grandson; by Nikolas Cassadine)
* Kristina Davis (step-granddaughter; by Alexis Davis)
* Molly Lansing (step-granddaughter; by Alexis Davis)
grandparents =
aunts/uncles =
cousins =
relatives =

Helena Cassadine is a fictional character on the American soap opera "General Hospital". The character is a sometime resident of Port Charles and of the private Cassadine-owned island in Greece. Perhaps because of her connection to Luke and Laura Spencer, she is generally regarded as the most notorious villain in the show's history. While the role was originated by film actress Elizabeth Taylor (in a highly-publicized appearance), Helena has been portrayed primarily by Constance Towers.

Character history

Helena made her first appearance in 1981, when she placed a curse on Luke Spencer and Laura Webber as they were being married in a lavish, public wedding ceremony. Helena's late husband Mikkos Cassadine (along with his brothers Anthony and Victor) were involved in various nefarious plans, including a plot to freeze the world using a weather machine. The Cassadines also abducted Laura and forced her to marry Helena's son Stavros, after telling Laura that Luke was dead. During her captivity in Greece, Laura gave birth to Stavros' son Nikolas. When Laura discovered Luke was alive, she left Nikolas behind in Greece to be raised by his uncle Stefan Cassadine, Helena's second son. Stefan and Laura had also been lovers and Laura believed Stefan to be her son's father. Helena has been obsessed with gaining control over Nikolas, who is the heir to the Cassadine legacy and is often regarded as Greco-Russian royalty. She is also determined to gain control over her great-grandson, Spencer. Helena placed a nanny in Nikolas' home, Colleen McHenry, in hopes of getting the baby. For a while, everything was going according to plan, until Colleen turned on Helena with her own agenda. She had fallen for Nikolas, and when her feelings weren't returned because Nikolas and Emily had gotten back together, she lost it. Colleen overpowered Helena and held her captive in a tower near Wyndemere for a couple days, then kidnapped baby Spencer on Christmas Eve. Nikolas and Emily searched for them and tracked Colleen to Chicago where she had dyed her hair and gotten a job at a daycare center to save enough and start a new life with "her son". After a few near-misses with Nikolas and Emily, Helena encountered the psycho nanny and took Spencer to St. Petersburg, Russia. Nik & Em followed her and got there just in time to stop Helena from baptizing Spencer with a different name. When they tried to get him back, Helena threatened to kill him with a dagger. Emily offered to trade herself for the infant and Helena accepted. Emily was able to get away, as was Helena. Nikolas, Emily and Spencer returned home to Port Charles after baptizing Spencer themselves as "Spencer Alexi Nikolaivich Cassadine". Helena's current whereabouts are unknown but she will certainly turn up sooner or later. Before Spencer's birth, she abducted his now deceased mother Courtney Matthews, believing (correctly) that Courtney was carrying Nikolas' child.

Because of Luke and Laura's involvement in the death of her husband Mikkos, Helena declared a very personal war against the entire Spencer family, and has been their most consistent and ruthless enemy. On three separate occasions, Helena has abducted a member of the Spencer family (Laura Spencer, Lesley Webber, Lucky Spencer), and fooled everyone else into believing that the individual in question had been killed in some sort of accident. She has threatened the lives of every member of the Spencer clan at some point, including Luke's nephew Lucas Jones (who was still a child at the time), and great nephew Michael Corinthos III. Of all the individuals related to Luke or Laura, only Nikolas and his baby son appear to be physically safe from Helena (although she recently kidnapped the child and threatened his life before returning him).

She slit the throat of Mikkos's mistress, Kristen Bergman, in front of their daughter Alexis Davis. Helena also brought her son Stavros back to life in 2001, who had been in suspended animation after his presumed death in 1983, and attempted to take over Port Charles and gain power over Nikolas. Helena also attempted to kill Alexis and her daughter Kristina Davis. Eventually, after years of disagreement and conflict, Helena even attempted to murder her own son, Stefan. She has been arrested repeatedly for her many crimes, but through her wealth and cunning style, Helena always manages to get out of jail and return to Port Charles on her private yacht to hatch more nefarious schemes.

References

* [http://www.soapcentral.com/gh/whoswho/helena.php Helena Cassadine Profile @ SoapCentral.com]