[1] McKinsey made the character one of the most memorable women on daytime television and although she loved her family, "her voice dripped venom when she addressed her enemies.
Collins' portrayal brought a large amount of press and attention to the show as her incarnation of the character was known as "your typical rich bitch.
You roll around in time as the character evolves.After a difficult childhood, throughout which she and her brother, Alan, alternated between feuding and supporting one another against their domineering father, Brandon, the young Alexandra ran away from her family wealth to gallivant across Europe in a series of relationships with poor musicians before marrying a baron, divorcing him and finally arriving in Springfield.
She remained a central power figure in Spaulding Enterprises for decades, with a series of successful tenures as the corporations diva CEO.
Her complicated love/hate relationship with Alan would endure for the rest of his life, with them alternately defending and confiding in one another and battling one another for control of the family company.
Lewis before a plane crash left her on a desert island, with Fletcher Reade and a mysterious man who turned out to be Roger Thorpe.
More surprisingly, she discovered Lujack's twin, Nick McHenry, and pulled him into the family, but alienated him with her continuing meddling in his life and in his marriage to Mindy Lewis, Roger's former mistress.
Alexandra's days in Springfield came to a brief end in early 1997 after it was revealed that she knew the secret that Alan's supposed daughter, Amanda Wexler, was really their sister, having been fathered by Brandon.
Tired of endless corporate intrigue, she left for Europe with Nick and his wife Susan after discovering that Alan was hiding the nefarious Annie Dutton in the Spaulding attic.
During the last year of the show, Alexandra became a sounding board of advice to her back-from-the-dead nephew, Philip, his daughter Lizzie and various friends and family members who forgave her for her past schemes.
In the Guiding Light finale, Alexandra mourned the sudden death of her brother Alan and left Springfield to travel around Europe with Fletcher Reade, promising to return for an upcoming family wedding.