Laura Spencer is a fictional character from General Hospital, an American soap opera on the ABC network. Laura, originally played by Stacey Baldwin, was introduced in 1974 as the illegitimate daughter of Lesley Webber (Denise Alexander). The character was written out in the summer of 1976. In early 1977, Genie Francis took over the role of the rebellious teenage Laura. In 1978, thanks to the efforts of executive producer Gloria Monty's plan to entice younger viewers, the character's popularity skyrocketed in the late 1970s and early 1980s due to her pairings with Scott Baldwin (Kin Shriner) and, most famously, Luke Spencer (Anthony Geary); the latter became a popular supercouple among soap opera fans and viewers. Luke and Laura's 1981 wedding – which featured a guest appearance from Elizabeth Taylor — was viewed by 30 million people. In 1981, Francis quit the show, claiming unequal treatment compared to Geary, and the character was written out as having disappeared the following January. Francis returned for a brief stint in late 1983 to reunite Luke and Laura, and then again in late 1984 when Laura was revealed to be pregnant. In 1993, Laura was re-introduced by producer Wendy Riche, along with Luke and their young son Lucky Spencer (Jonathan Jackson). Their stories consisted of their struggle to hide from mobster Frank Smith, the 1994 birth of their daughter Lulu Spencer and the introduction of Laura's illegitimate son Nikolas Cassadine (Tyler Christopher), who comes to town to save an ailing Lulu. Francis quit the series in 2002, and Laura was written out after suffering a psychotic breakdown, after believing to have killed her adoptive father Rick Webber (Chris Robinson). Francis returned in 2006 to celebrate Luke and Laura's 25th wedding anniversary. The return stint, which only lasted a month, featured Laura's reunions with her children, Nikolas, Lucky (Greg Vaughan), and Lulu (Julie Marie Berman), and Laura's renewal of her wedding vows with Luke on their anniversary date. The return garnered Francis the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. Francis returned to the series again in 2008 to help Lulu, who had also been institutionalized. In 2013, in honor of the show's 50th anniversary celebration, Francis reprised the role of Laura when the writers revisited the iconic Ice Princess plot, and Laura was briefly remarried to Scott. Although initial reports said the actress would stick around, Francis left the role