Leslie Charleson, “General Hospital” star for nearly 50 years, dies at 79

Leslie Charleson, best known for her long-time role on General Hospital, has died. She was 79.

The actress's death was confirmed to Entertainment Weekly by a representative for General Hospital. The series' official Instagram shared a smiling picture of Charleson in a Jan. 12 post accompanied by words from executive producer Frank Valenti.

"It is with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of my dear friend and colleague, Leslie Charleson," Valenti began. "Her enduring legacy has spanned nearly 50 years on General Hospital alone and, just as Monica was the heart of the Quartermaines, Leslie was a beloved matriarch of the entire cast and crew."

Valenti continued, "I will miss our daily chats, her quick wit and incredible presence on set. On behalf of everyone at General Hospital, my heartfelt sympathy goes out to her loved ones during this difficult time."

Charleson was first cast as Monica Quartermaine on General Hospital in 1977. She was only 32 at the time but was already a veteran of daytime television, with stints on As The World Turns, The Wild Wild West, and the short-lived soaps Love Is a Many Splendored Thing and A Flame in the Wind. She remained on the cast of the ABC mainstay until December 2023, making her the longest-tenured actor on the series.

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She was born in Kansas City, Mo., in 1945, sister to the actress Kate Charleson, known for her role in Terms of Endearment. Leslie Charleson reflected in a 2020 interview that after Love Is a Many Splendored Thing, she "never intended to work on another soap opera." Tom Donovan, a producer on both soaps (he would continue to produce General Hospital through 2006) convinced her to join the soap in 1977. "I could never have envisioned the impact that this job would have on my life," she said.

Monica Quartermaine is an integral member of the core cast of General Hospital and an influential power player in Port Charles' affairs. The matriarch of the illustrious Quartermaine family, Monica owns the coveted Quartermaine Mansion and is the former chief of staff and most recent board chairman of General Hospital.

The character has survived explosions, murder attempts, alcoholism, a car accident, multiple exposures to deadly toxins, stalking, a hostage crisis, and more. She also stirred up her fair share of scandal, committing adultery with her nephew Ned (Wally Kurth), strangling her husband Alan (Stuart Damon), and drugging Pierce Dorman (Tuc Watkins). She has also slapped half of the women of Port Charles.

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Monica's breast cancer arc from 1994-2000 remains one of the most harrowing and impactful sagas in recent General Hospital history.

"We had all women — women writers, a woman producer — and they had all been affected by breast cancer, including me. My mother had it," Charleson told costar Maurice Benard in a 2022 interview. "I went to Wellness Hospitals, just to see what it was like, because we wanted to be honest. So much of the soap had been fantasy time, but this we took special effort and concentrated effort to make sure it was done properly."

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Charleson was nominated for four Daytime Emmys for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, in 1980, 1982, 1983, and 1995.

Outside of General Hospital, Charleson also appeared on Dharma & Greg, Diagnosis: Murder, and in a 2004 episode of Friends, where she competed against Joey (Matt LeBlanc) on a game show. In 1993, she appeared in the made-for-TV movie Woman on the Ledge, costarring fellow soap stars Deidre Hall (Days of Our Lives) and Colleen Zenk (As the World Turns).

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