After a six-year run with the show, the character was believed to have died after her mentally ill mother drove their car off a cliff.

In April 2013, in celebration of the series' 50th anniversary, Marcel returned to General Hospital for a four-week guest stint.

[3] In an interview with TV Guide, Marcil stated:[3] When I signed a short-term deal last summer, I made it clear I'd have to see how my son responded to my going back to work.

During her stint on the NBC series Las Vegas, Internet rumors began to heat up over a possible reprisal of Brenda Barrett.

[4] In early 2008, then-executive producer Robert Guza, Jr. confirmed to Soap Opera Digest that he was in close talks with Marcil to reprise her role of Brenda.

We were trying to fit it in this past year, but it didn't work out, so maybe in '09 we'll find a way.However, a mere two weeks later, such "talks" were muted when Marcil landed the recurring role as Kim Marcus on the CBS primetime series Without a Trace.

[9] On June 7, 2010, after seven years of speculation, ABC announced that Marcil had signed a one-year contract with the series to reprise the role of Brenda Barrett on General Hospital.

We've bought a farm in upstate New York and she and I went up there to spend a week together before she had to start her chemo, and it got me thinking about how grateful I am to GH for giving me pretty much everything I have.

I told him I wanted to settle down for a while so that I could be available to my sister and my family, and that maybe during that time I could come in and out at GH for a couple of days a week.

I left GH for a few different reasons, but it was never because I wasn't madly in love with the show and the character and with daytime.During an interview in February 2011, Marcil revealed she'd entertain signing another one-year contract if it worked with her scheduling and family life.

An 18-year-old Brenda begins an unforgettable romance with older mobster Sonny Corinthos in 1993, bringing General Hospital some of its highest ratings since previous Supercouple Luke & Laura.

Brenda nurses Sonny back to health after he is shot in his attempt to break Frank Smith out of prison.

Brenda and Sonny later reunite as Hernando, Lily’s father, is attempting to frame her for the murder of Dr. Pierce Dorman.

Sonny finally proposes and Brenda happily accepts, assuming they can leave Port Charles and the mob behind.

On their wedding day, Sonny realizes Brenda will never be safe with him and sends Jason Morgan to tell her he has left town.

Brenda’s estranged mother Veronica Wilding arrives in town in 1998 revealing she has a mental illness which could be hereditary.

Luis Alcazar, an arms dealer, rescues Brenda from the water after her accident and brings her back to Port Charles in September 2002.

On August 11, 2010 Brenda appears on-screen in Italy now a world-famous supermodel and the face of the Alliance to Save Exploited Children.

When Jason finally decides to go back to Port Charles, the Balkan's thugs get hold of Brenda and inject her with heroin.

Through flashbacks and her discussions with Dante and Jason, the audience learns Brenda was once involved with the Balkan's son, Aleksander.

Brenda breaks down and tells Dante she lost the baby, a boy, while on a relief trip to Africa for ASEC.

It was revealed Suzanne was responsible for destroying the wedding dress and is married to Theo Hoffman (the Balkan) and was Aleksander's mother.

When Brenda repeatedly fails to give Theo the answers he wants, he loses his patience and injects her with a deadly neurotoxin.

Suzanne kept Alec hidden from her, so she would be able to spend the rest of her life with her grandson, and they would never be apart again, while Brenda spent her time happily with Lucian, believing he was her true son.

Suzanne's plan fell apart, however, after Brenda, with the advice of Sonny and best friend Robin, decided to take a DNA test on Lucian to see if he is really her biological son.

She went on television with her ex-lover and friend Jasper Jacks identifying Suzanne as Lucian's kidnapper and offering a reward for any information on her whereabouts.

Brenda later learns that Jax has been arrested for attacking the court mediator, Grace Yand and having drugs in his suite.

Brenda returns to Port Charles in early April 2013 to attend the Nurse's Ball in Robin's honor, who is assumed dead.

Before leaving Port Charles, Brenda reveals the truth to Sonny, and invites him to live with her and Alec in Rome.

On the General Hospital spin-off Night Shift, one storyline surrounds a woman visiting from Europe – Brenda lives in Italy.