Which Actor Did Tanisha Harper Replace On General Hospital?
There's a new face on "General Hospital" in an old role that has now been recast twice. Jordan Ashford was first introduced on the Port Charles scene in 2014 as the mother of TJ Ashford (Tajh Bellow), the teenage boy that Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) and Shawn Butler (Sean Blakemore) had taken under their wing. (In a plot twist, audiences later learned that Shawn was TJ's real dad.) Sadly, TJ wanted nothing to do with his mother because he thought she was a drug dealer. Eventually however, it was revealed that Jordan was actually an undercover agent for the DEA. When she brought down a group of drug dealers, she was promoted to police commissioner and remained in the role ever since, per Soaps In Depth.
Unfortunately, Jordan suffered health complications, which led to her departure from Port Charles. Soap Hub reported that after Jordan left the scene, she was replaced by another actress just a few months later. In total, three different actresses have brought the character of Jordan to life over the last seven years.
Tanisha Harper replaced the second Jordan Ashford
When Jordan suddenly needed treatment for her kidney problems out of town, fans were shocked to learn that was actor Briana Nicole Henry's last day on the soap. Previously, Soaps In Depth explained that she had begun playing Jordan in 2018, when she took over for Vinessa Antoine, the actress who had originally starred in the role. The day after Jordan was wheeled out of Port Charles General Hospital on a gurney was the same day that Henry took to Instagram to bid the soap goodbye.
"As I celebrated my third year of being on General Hospital yesterday, I also watched my last episode as Jordan Ashford air," Henry wrote. "People kept asking me how it felt to have ended my time on the show, and it wasn't until yesterday that it really sank in, as I watched Jordan's goodbye to her family and knew the tears you saw were real tears between not just colleagues but friends." Henry also admitted it was her choice to leave the soap, saying, "I decided it was time for me to move on from @generalhospitalabc and I got nothing but love and support from everyone involved. Not to mention was given the most beautiful send off that left me quite literally shaken." Since Henry's departure, life has gone in a new direction as she became a mom to a baby girl named Coda on February 28, 2022, according to her Instagram.
Tanisha Harper became the third Jordan
Thankfully, it only took a few short months for Jordan to get better. Soon afterwards, actress Tanisha Harper reprised the role and waltzed back into the lives of Jordan's friends and family. Since then, Harper has fit seamlessly into the role of the former rule breaker turned-no-nonsense police commissioner.
Harper's debut on "General Hospital" was announced on February 23, per Deadline. The Tokyo-born actor — who kicked off her career as a model — previously appeared on TV series like "Hacks" and "Dear White People," according to IMDb. Per News.am, Harper also enjoyed a stint on "Project Runway," with her modeling pics drawing comparisons to the likes of Naomi Campbell. As a modeling pro, her first taste of soap opera work came nearly two decades ago on "The Bold and the Beautiful," where she played a model for Spectra fashions, working for the original Sally Spectra (Darlene Conley) in 2005, according to Soap Hub. She later returned as a model to the soap in 2010.