The Top Five Elizabeth Webber Storylines After 25 Years On General Hospital
Actress Rebecca Herbst will celebrate her 25th anniversary playing Elizabeth Webber on "General Hospital" on August 1, 2022 (per Soaps in Depth). Herbst has dedicated the majority of her career to the soap and has been nominated for three Daytime Emmys (via IMDb).
Elizabeth is the granddaughter of Steve Hardy (via Soap Central), who was one of the original characters on the soap when it premiered in 1963. She was first introduced to Port Charles as a troubled teenager in 1997, arriving on her grandmother's doorstep (via Soaps in Depth). In the decades since her arrival, Liz has become a successful nurse, had romantic relationships with prominent men in town, and gave birth to three sons.
Elizabeth has long been a fan favorite, earning much love and devotion from viewers. It's no secret that "GH" has come under fire from its audience over the years for not giving the character the storylines she deserves. Her most recent storyline, involving a stalker that was terrorizing her after the death of her husband — which turned out to be Elizabeth herself sleepwalking — leading to a stint in a psychiatric facility, was met with much criticism. Though many fans are hoping this latest development leads to a reunion between Elizabeth and her long-absent father Jeff Webber.
In truth, it's not possible to remain on a soap for as long as Liz has without experiencing juicy drama that sticks in fans' minds. Here are the five best Elizabeth Webber storylines of the last 25 years.
Elizabeth survived an assault as a teenager
When she was still relatively new to Port Charles, Elizabeth Webber was the victim of a vicious attack. On Valentine's Day 1998, the teenage girl was raped in a park by a stranger — later revealed to be a man named Tom Baker (via Soap Central). Following the incident, Elizabeth was comforted by her crush Lucky Spencer (Jonathan Jackson) and while working together to find the man responsible, the two fell in love. Elizabeth and Lucky gained a huge fan following and soon became known as one of the soap's super couples.
Elizabeth's experience on "GH" received widespread publicity and was met positively by audiences who felt that the show had portrayed the assault and recovery with grace and authenticity. In fact, according to SoapHub, the storyline was based on a true experience from one of the soap's writers at the time, Michele Val Jean. "GH" went on to win a Shine Award (Sexual Health in Entertainment) that year, according to Variety.
In 2016, the soap reintroduced Tom Baker (Don Harvey) when he was released from prison for assaulting Liz 20 years earlier (per Soaps). Her husband at the time, Franco Baldwin (Roger Howarth), went to extreme lengths to protect her from her attacker, though that made him suspect number one when Tom wound up dead. However, Elizabeth and Franco were able to prove his innocence and eventually move on.
Elizabeth was in a love triangle with Lucky and Nikolas
Though Elizabeth Webber and Lucky Spencer fell in love as teens, they broke up and got back together several times over the years (via Soaps in Depth). While they were apart, Liz gave birth to a son named Cameron with bad boy Zander Smith (Chad Bannon), and later a second son Jake with mob enforcer Jason Morgan (Steve Burton). However, the only man who ever truly held a candle to Lucky in Elizabeth's eyes was his own brother Nikolas Cassadine (then Tyler Christopher).
Liz, Lucky, and Nikolas were devastated when their friend Emily Quartermaine (Natalia Livingston) was murdered in 2007. A few years later, Nikolas was heartbroken after his relationship with Emily's long-lost twin fell apart and he looked to Elizabeth for comfort (via Soap Central). Liz was having problems at home with Lucky and she and Nik fell into bed together and began a steamy affair. Many viewers were upset that Elizabeth had betrayed Lucky, but it soon became clear that she and Nikolas had deep feelings for each other.
Not long after Lucky found out about his fiance and brother's betrayal, Elizabeth discovered she was pregnant with her third son. Due to a paternity test switch at the hands of the evil Helena Cassadine, everyone came to believe Nikolas was little Aiden's dad for the first year of his life. However, they eventually figured out that Lucky was actually the boy's biological father, leaving Nik heartbroken.
Elizabeth kept Jake Doe's identity a secret
In 2014, Elizabeth found herself at the center of another major storyline. As a nurse, she bonded with an accident victim who had amnesia and dubbed himself Jake Doe (Billy Miller), per Soaps in Depth. Liz invited Jake to recover at her home and they grew closer.
A wrench was thrown into Elizabeth and Jake's budding romance when Hayden Barnes (Rebecca Budig) showed up in town claiming to be his wife. Jake left Liz to try to rebuild his life with Hayden, but she was eventually revealed to be a con woman with no ties to the man at all. In an interesting twist, Hayden was later discovered to be Elizabeth's half-sister.
Jake and Elizabeth reunited, though she had learned that Jake was really her ex Jason Morgan who was presumed dead. Elizabeth decided to keep his identity a secret for fear he would go back to his wife Sam Morgan (Kelly Monaco). She even kept it hidden when the son they shared turned up alive after he was also presumed dead, watching her beau bond with his own child that he didn't know (via NewsBreak).
Jason's friend Carly Corinthos (Laura Wright) discovered the truth and revealed it to everyone, according to Soap Central. Jason went back to Sam and began to regain his memory. To make things more confusing, it later turned out that Jake was actually Jason Morgan's long-lost twin Drew Cain who had been implanted with his brother's memories.
Elizabeth fell in love with Franco
After Port Charles learned that Elizabeth Webber had kept the secret that Jason Morgan was alive from the many people who loved him, she became the town pariah. In her loneliness, she formed an unlikely friendship with the hospital's new art therapist Franco Baldwin (via Soap Central). Franco was extremely disliked because he had previously terrorized the community when he had a brain tumor that affected his behavior — he was a reformed serial killer.
Franco began helping Elizabeth's son Jake process his years in captivity through art and bonded with her other sons as well. Elizabeth and Franco fell in love, despite the many, many warnings she received from those around her. The couple was married in 2019 and settled into family life as Franco became a father figure to Liz's boys (via SoapDirt). The pair helped each other through difficult times, such as dealing with the release of Liz's rapist and Franco discovering that he had been molested as a child.
Franco and Elizabeth became one of the most beloved couples that "GH" has had in the last several years. The pair grew a cult-like following with fans thrilled with Franco's redemption arc and happy that Liz had finally found true love after years of turmoil. However, their life of bliss was cut short when Franco was murdered by Peter August (Wes Ramsey) in March 2021, leaving Elizabeth and her sons completely distraught — along with most of the show's viewers.
Elizabeth teamed up with Finn against Peter
During the summer of 2021, Elizabeth began assisting Dr. Hamilton Finn (Michael Easton), an expert in infectious diseases, who was desperately trying to find a cure for a mysterious illness that was killing his little brother Harrison Chase (Josh Swickard), per Soaps in Depth. Both were spurred on by their hatred for Peter August, who they believed poisoned Chase and who was a suspect in Franco's murder.
During an altercation between Finn and Peter, Finn pushed the other man down a flight of stairs. Elizabeth came upon the scene and the two deduced that Peter was dead. Deciding that temporarily hiding the body was their best course of action, the two worked together to stash Peter in a secret lab under the hospital.
Over the following weeks, Finn and Elizabeth grew closer through their shared secret as they worried about how to deal with the dead body on their hands. A police investigation into Peter's disappearance led law enforcement to the secret lab, and Finn and Liz were both relieved and concerned when the body was missing (via Soaps). It was later revealed that Peter had survived and escaped, though his days were numbered.
In February 2022, "GH" finally killed off the sinister Peter for good (via SoapHub), and by then Elizabeth and Finn were exploring a new romance. Viewers will have to wait and see if Liz's latest love story will survive her mysterious psychological break and possible reunion with her parents.