Who was Vanessa Marcil on General Hospital? Everything you need to know

Modified Aug 26, 2024 12:33 GMT

Vanessa Marcil, who played Brenda Barrett on General Hospital (via ABC)

Vanessa Marcil was one of the General Hospital cast members when she played the role of Brenda Barrett. Marcil played the character on-and-off from 1992 to 2011, and briefly appeared in a guest cameo as the character in 2013.

Marcil has also been nominated for multiple Soap Opera Digest Awards and Daytime Emmys for her portrayal. She won the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2003. She also bagged two Soap Opera Digest Awards in 1997 and 1998. The first was in the Hottest Female Star category and the next one was for Outstanding Lead Actress.

Who is Vanessa Marcil? Actress profile and filmography

Vanessa Marcil is an American actress who made her mainstream acting debut in 1992 by playing Brenda Barrett on General Hospital. She briefly took time off the role in 1998 to feature in a television movie named To Love, Honor and Deceive. Apart from these, some of her major works and roles are listed below:

The Rock (1996) as Carla Pestalozzi
Beverly Hills, 90210 (1998) as Gina Kincaid
This Space Between Us (2000) as Maggie Harty
Las Vegas (2003) as Sam Marquez
Lipstick Jungle (2008) as Josie Scotto
One Hot Summer (2009) as Margarita Silva Santos
The Bannen Way (2010) as Madison
Stranded in Paradise (2014) as Tess Nelson
The Convenient Groom (2016) as Dr. Kate Lawrence
The Wrong Mother (2017) Kaylene
Bad Tutor (2018) Kelly
My Stepfather's Secret (2019) Tina

Vanessa Marcil was married to actor Corey Feldman in 1989 but the couple separated in 1993. In 2015, Marcil announced her engagement to MC Martin, a California sherriff. She also keeps in touch with her co-stars, including Maurice Bernard, who currently plays Sonny on General Hospital.

Also read: When did General Hospital start? Soap opera’s timeline explored

Who did Vanessa Marcil play on General Hospital? Role and story dynamics explored

Vanessa Marcil began the character of Brenda Barrett on General Hospital in 1992. Brenda's first major storyline was her romance with Sonny Corinthos, turning the characters into a supercouple on the soap.

However, the two were unable to get together since Sonny's wife Lily got pregnant. Brenda decided to move on by marrying billionaire Jasper Jacks but then Lily passed away in a car bombing. Sonny tried to get Brenda back but she wanted to honor her marriage, turning her story into a love triangle. At the end, Brenda gave up her relationships with both Jasper and Sonny to avoid conflict or hurt feelings.

Much later, Sonny proposed to Brenda and she happily accepted. But, being a mob boss, Sonny thought he was in danger and left town before the wedding could proceed. Brenda became distraught at this and her mental health worsened.

In 1998, Brenda's mother Veronica came to town, revealing that she had a mental illness that might be hereditary. Since Brenda was also struggling with mental health, she decided to take a test for symptoms of the illness. However, before the test results could be revealed, Veronica drove her car off a cliff, with Brenda beside her. They both were presumed to be dead in Port Charles.

This was not the case as Brenda was rescued by an arms dealer named Luis Alcazar. She returned to Port Charles and decided to marry Jasper when he proposed to her. However, Brenda got cold feet at the last moment and shared a kiss with Sonny. Both Jasper and Sonny's now-wife Carly found out about the kiss, and Brenda's marriage got called off. Carly also decided to leave Sonny after the kiss.

Brenda confessed to Jason that she was guilty for her muddled feelings. She decided to leave Port Charles then and there, and Jason saw her off at the airport.

Also read: 5 fan-favorite characters who need to return to General Hospital

Audiences can watch General Hospital airing on ABC. New episodes of the soap are released on all weekdays.

Edited by Sudeshna Banerjee