Monica Quartermaine is a fictional character from General Hospital, an American soap opera on the ABC network, played from August 17, 1977, to December 21, 2023, by Leslie Charleson.
Her various affairs, primarily involving Jeff's older brother Rick Webber, and her quarrels with her second husband Alan and their dysfunctional family were all major stories on the show throughout the late 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.
New storylines developed in 2007 (an investigation into the murder of Rick Webber and the deaths of her husband and daughter Emily Quartermaine), and she has since featured more prominently.
With the returns of Denise Alexander (Lesley Webber), Genie Francis (Laura Spencer), and Kin Shriner (Scott Baldwin), Monica remains the fourth oldest character on General Hospital[2][3][4] and Charleson is the show's most tenured performer.
[7][8] In May 2011, newly appointed head writer Garin Wolf expressed his interest in having Charleson appear on a much more frequent basis.
The marriage collapsed when Rick was revealed to be still alive; Monica had an affair with him and Jeff had one with Heather Grant that produced a son, Steven Webber.
Monica makes a last-ditch effort to bed Rick while trapped in a remote ranger station overnight during a storm while working on the project, but is turned down.
Tracy, who had made efforts to get to know her sister-in-law whom she respected as a physician, suspected the truth and plotted to have the unborn child declared illegitimate so her son Ned would inherit the Quartermaine estate.
Monica was unaware that the gossipy Amy was totally enamored of the handsome Alan who used her as a spy to keep an eye on his wife.
Monica managed to trick Alan into admitting on tape that he had tried to kill her and Rick and moved into Tracy's old apartment as she prepared to file for an uncontested divorce.
The next day when Monica went to get her final divorce decree, she discovered that Alan had contested it, and when she confronted him, he threatened her with the loss of her son for her actions, forcing her to return to him even though she couldn't stand the sight of him.
Eventually, because of issues concerning Laura on the run, Rick went back to Lesley, having Monica removed as his assistant in surgery, although he later relented, citing their shared excellence in the operating room.
The only good thing that happened for Monica around this time was Tracy's departure after discovering that her husband Mitch Williams was having an affair with sexy waitress Susan Moore who ended up being manager of the Campus Disco which Alan bought as a side investment after owner Frank Smith was sent to prison for mob activities.
Monica was greatly amused when Alexandria's will left all of her ELQ stock to Lila, putting her in control and keeping Edward from making deals he felt important to gain more money and power.
The following year, Jimmy Lee's mother, Beatrice LaSeur, showed up and proceeded to attempt to blackmail the family, leading to her apparent murder in which Monica was once again a suspect.
One of the suspects in Beatrice's death was spa owner Lorena Sharpe who turned out to be Monica's long-lost cousin.
To Monica's surprise, Ward turned out to be Ned Ashton, the son of her sister-in-law, Tracy Quartermaine (who came back after a decade's absence) and thus, Alan's nephew.
's relationship with David's daughter Nikki and Alan's friendship with Rhonda Wexler did give the couple some cause for concern.
In court, Dorman's lawyers brought up Monica's past indiscretions, including her affair with Ned and ended up winning the case.
The two women would socialize at hospital events even though Lesley did not return to the medical profession, but on occasion, their pasts would create some comic tension.
lost custody of Michael to Carly and her new husband Sonny Corinthos, while Emily was temporarily paralyzed in an accident and later diagnosed with breast cancer.
faked his death as part of a complicated plot to frame his ex-wife, Courtney Matthews, for murder and eventually kidnap his son Michael.
Monica's drinking landed her in a horrific car accident; Jason insisted that she seek treatment otherwise he would report her to the police.
Jason would promise help her in future, be a better son, and hire his lawyer Diane Miller (who bores a striking resemblance to Ric) to defend Monica.
was accused of murdering Connie Falconeri and lapsed back into alcoholism, Monica got fired as chief of staff trying to support A.J.
Monica was targeted by the General Hospital serial killer, later revealed to be Paul Hornsby who is like Valentin and Victor Cassadine.
She was thrilled by the tribute, and met her granddaughter after Olivia Jerome was sent to a mental asylum when Judge Horace Sanchez found out Liv was unfit to stand trial.
The following April, Monica was reunited with old colleague Lesley Webber who showed up to visit Laura and pay her respects to Gail, and after trading barbs about the past, Monica and Lesley joined the rest of the hospital staff in tossing confetti that Gail had sent as a tribute for the hospital's anniversary party and to remind old friends of the good times they had shared.
In 2023, Charlie Mason from Soaps She Knows placed Monica at 21st on his ranked list of General Hospital’s 40+ Greatest Characters of All Time, commenting "She's now arguably Port Charles' most respected surgeon.
But to us, Alan's widow will always be the impetuous strumpet who drove the Webber brothers to distraction and accidentally had a fling with her own nephew.