Jessica Eugenia Buchanan (also Santi, Vega, Brennan, Ford and Wentworth) is a fictional character on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live.

She is the fraternal twin sister of Natalie Buchanan, and is born on-screen in the episode first-run on September 23, 1986, with the birth year later revised to 1978.

Child actresses Jessica Azenberg, Janelle and Tamara DeMent, Alex and Brittany Smith, and Eliza Clark played the role since the character's introduction in 1986.

Actress Erin Torpey played the role of adolescent to young adult Jessica from September 18, 1990,[2] revising her birth year to 1980.

The 1986 Mitch Laurence storyline which culminated with new-born Jessica's kidnapping occurred during a season in which One Life to Live rose from #4 to #3 in the Nielsen ratings.

"[7] At the time, Tomlin explained how then-Head Writers Christopher Whitesell and Lorraine Broderick had thought, "OK, where can we do something where we do bring back that history but also explore something that's going to affect the future of this show?

"[7] Soap Opera Weekly called what followed "The Mother Of All Reveals," [8] a storyline in which the series exploited a loophole in its continuity and created a secret history that would "resonate for months and years.

[10] The daughter of Victoria Lord and Clint Buchanan, Jessica is born on September 23, 1986[11] and is soon kidnapped by Allison Perkins on instructions from Viki's nemesis, Mitch Laurence.

Jessica's father, Clint, and Cristian's mother, Carlotta, initially object to the relationship, forcing the teens to see each other in secret.

Natalie Balsom appears in 2001, stirring up trouble and soon making the startling claim that she is in fact the biological daughter of Jessica's parents, Clint and Viki.

After this is confirmed by a DNA test, it is at first believed that when Allison Perkins had kidnapped the Buchanan baby in 1986, another child had been returned and had grown up to be Jessica.

Mitch, however, had wanted his daughter to grow up loved by Viki in the lap of luxury, and had sent Allison to kidnap Clint's child.

In the summer of 2004, Jessica and Antonio visit Puerto Rico as part of his ongoing investigation of the Santi crime family.

Antonio is furious with Carlotta over the deception, and his obsession with the "Santi case" leads Jessica to return his engagement ring to him.

Not wanting to be integrated out of existence, Tess incites a huge argument with Todd that causes Viki to have a heart attack.

The icy Tess warms to Nash, telling him that the "Jessica" she blames for ruining her life is her dead twin sister.

[16] As the search for a suitable donor begins, Jessica tells Antonio about her feelings for Nash;[16] furious and devastated, he leaves town with Jamie.

Wanting to keep the identity of the real Buchanan heir, David Vickers, a secret to protect the family, Asa's butler Nigel goes along with Jared's plan.

Once free, Allison manages to elude them, but not before collecting a mysterious package from the Lord family mausoleum where Viki's father is buried.

Discovering that they instead intend to take his land for commercial development, Nash accepts an offer from Jared to buy the winery via Buchanan Enterprises.

A pregnant Tess sets a bomb to take care of Jared and Natalie once and for all, but goes into premature labor and flees to Nash and Jessica's abandoned vineyard cottage.

Bess tells Tess that her obsession with getting revenge against Jared and Natalie, and subsequent failure to seek any prenatal treatment, caused her baby's death.

Months later, Jared and Natalie discover that the babies were switched, but decide to keep the secret to preserve Jessica's fragile sanity.

With everyone around her now aware of the truth and waiting for Jessica's psychologist to help them break the news to her, Bess emerges and runs off with the baby, taking Chloe to Nash's parents' house far away.

Viki, disguised as her alter Jean Randolph, manages to get Bess to rethink the circumstances and let Jessica back out.

Tess moves in with Ford and begins a flirtation with Cutter Wentworth which results in Jessica momentarily regaining control.

Tess soon continues to see Cutter and she soon discovers that he and Aubrey Wentworth are con-artists who are scamming the Buchanans and she decides to join them for the money.

Joey and Aubrey eventually come over to get Ryder, and Ford makes them a deal: he'll commit Tess to St. Ann's if they give him his son back.

Brody takes Tess into custody, determined to bring Wes back and find out what he knows about Liam's kidnapping.

However, Tess retreats and Bess temporarily returns, saying that Wes has locked away all his secrets, and she only managed to get one name: Todd Manning.