Emily McLaughlin was cast as one of the original leading actresses on the series, previously having played Dr. Ellen Seaton on Young Dr.

The series' original premise centered on the drama of Brewer and Dr. Steve Hardy's personal lives and experiences at General Hospital.

Actor and friend John Beradino (Steve Hardy) gave an on-air announcement and moment of silence the week after her death.

In 1976, while McLaughlin was on medical leave for internal bleeding, photographer and actress Aneta Corsaut stepped in to play Brewer for a six-week period.

Jessie also briefly dated attorney Lee Baldwin who would defend her when she was accused of murdering her husband Dr. John Prentice who had actually committed suicide after discovering that he was terminally ill.

After a while, Dan tired of the arrangement and began to court Bobbie's aunt Ruby Anderson which made Jessie secretly jealous.

Jessie continued to be seen periodically over the next decade, and in a 1988 episode, confided to Amy that she was reluctant to attend an event on the Port Charles docks due to her fear of heights.

Gary Warner, author of General Hospital: The Complete Scrapbook, told the Los Angeles Times in 1995: "A lot of people don't even know how important a character [Jessie] was.

"[4] In 2023, Charlie Mason from Soaps She Knows placed Jessie #7 on his ranked list of General Hospital's 40+ Greatest Characters of All Time, commenting that "Steve Hardy's stalwart right-hand woman was the all-time most-tortured soap-opera martyr.

"[5] The following year, Mason placed Jessie 38th on his ranked list of Soaps' 40 Most Iconic Characters of All Time, writing, "Elizabeth Webber may think she's got it rough.