Anthony Geary’s Most Memorable ‘General Hospital’ Leading Ladies

The late Anthony Geary, who passed away on December 14, 2025, at the age of 78, debuted on General Hospital in 1978 as Luke Spencer in what was supposed to be a brief role. Luke arrived to help his sister, Barbara Jean “Bobbie” Spencer, help ship Laura Webber (Genie Francis) off to reform school, so Bobbie could have Laura’s beau, Scotty, all to herself. The plan worked out better than anyone could have imagined, as Luke fell for Laura, Geary’s contract was extended and he and Francis emerged as the most popular couple in soap opera history.

But Francis wasn’t Geary’s only leading lady costar. Over the decades, the Daytime Emmy-winning Geary shared screen time with numerous actresses on GH. Here’s a look back at eight of his most memorable scene partners, some of whom were already superstars when they connected with Luke.

8 Demi Moore as Jackie Templeton

When Genie Francis exited her role as Laura in early 1982, GH was tasked with finding another scene partner for Geary. The show conducted an extensive casting search, finally opting to go with Moore, then an unknown.

Luke and Jackie both had something in common: He was looking for his wife, Laura, and she was looking for her missing sister, Laura Templeton (Janeen Turner). In the end, Moore’s Jackie had more chemistry with Tristan Rogers‘ Robert Scorpio, but after Scorpio was paired with Holly (Emma Samms), Jackie left town. She returned decades later, this time played by Kim Delany (Jenny, All My Children).

7 Jane Elliot as Tracy Quartermaine

Luke and Tracy came together due to a combination of  factors, including Luke being an opportunist and Tracy choosing men that weren’t the best for her. It wasn’t supposed to work, but for a long time, it did, and Tracy was a loving stepmother to Luke’s daughter Lulu (then, Julie Marie Berman) after she and Luke got married. Ironically, Geary screen-tested for the role of politician Mitch Williams (Christopher Pennock), who became Tracy’s fifth husband. Deep down, Tracy knew that Luke would never get over Laura – or maybe he would. Either way, she was done with Luke.

Off-camera, Geary and Elliot were very good pals. While he retired in 2015, he returned to the show in 2017 for a cameo when Tracy moved to Amsterdam. She walked into a coffee shop and there was Luke.

6 Roseanne Barr as Jennifer Smith

ABC attempted some synergy in 1994 by having Geary and Francis appear as versions of themselves on the hit sitcom Roseanne. In turn, Roseanne Barr (Roseanne) and her then real-life husband Tom Arnold briefly appeared on GH as Jennifer Smith, Luke’s former fiancée, the daughter of Frank Smith (George Gaynes). Arnold played Jennifer’s new squeeze, Billy “Baggs” Boggs. Because Barr was so identified as her sitcom character, the scenes on GH with her and Geary came off as some kind of hybrid soap opera/sitcom.

5 Crystal Carson as Julia Barrett

Actress (and acting coach extraordinaire) Crystal Carson was cast on GH in 1991 to play opposite Geary, but he wasn’t Luke Spencer at the time. The actor came back to Port Charles (minus Francis’s Laura) as Bill Eckert, Luke’s cousin. Carson played savvy businesswoman Julia Barrett, who ran her father’s company.

The couple’s relationship was complicated by the arrival of Nancy Eckert, played by the dynamic Linda Dona. Nancy controlled whether or not Bill could visit their son, Sly, so scenes between Geary and Dona were filled with tension.

4 Elizabeth Taylor as Helena Cassadine

Soap stars are among the most popular entertainers on television, but they can get star struck, too — as they were when Oscar-winner Elizabeth Taylor appeared on the show. The actress came on to GH to play villainess Helena Cassadine, who cursed Laura and Luke on their wedding day. Helena demanded an audience with Luke, who had killed her husband, Mikkos (John Colicos). The scenes between Geary and Taylor were Oscar-worthy!

3 Jackie Zeman as Barbara Jean “Bobbie” Spencer

On-screen chemistry isn’t limited to actors who play romantic love interests. Geary and Zeman sparkled as siblings Luke and Bobbie; viewers would have sworn up and down that the two performers had known each other all their lives. Luke had Bobbie’s number, and she had his. Bobbie and Luke could snap at each other as siblings are wont to do, but if anyone ever tried to come between them, they had each other’s backs like nobody’s business!

2 Emma Samms as Holly Sutton

When viewers heard that GH was casting another leading lady for Geary, they weren’t exactly hopeful, given how the actor’s pairing with Demi Moore’s Jackie had failed to ignite. But second time was the charm when Luke came upon a beautiful Holly skinny dipping in a lake, and was instantly captivated by her beauty. The couple’s love song, “Baby, Come to Me” by James Ingram and Patti Austin, helped propel them to the top of the popularity charts. The two got past Holly’s con artist past, but Holly’s destiny was to be with Luke’s pal Robert (Tristan Rogers), which set the stage for Geary’s most memorable leading lady to make her return.

1 Genie Francis as Laura Webber Baldwin Spencer

Luke was immediately drawn to Laura when he met her at Port Charles University. Still scarred from her ordeal with lecherous David Hamilton (Jerry Ayres), whom she accidentally killed, Laura was terrified of being shipped off to reform school. Bobbie wanted Luke to hate Laura as much as she did, but Bobbie was out of luck: Luke told his sister he felt kind of sorry for her, much to Bobbie’s chagrin, and the dynamic between Luke and Laura was on! In terms of acting, Daytime Emmy-winning Francis matched Geary in each and every scene that they were ever in together. The couple was electric together, and soaps will likely never see the likes of their pairing ever again.

General Hospital, weekdays, ABC