‘We’re So Lucky’: Finola Hughes on 40 Years as Anna on the ‘GH’ 62nd Anniversary (EXCLUSIVE)
From Anna’s twin twist to Jason drama, Hughes looks back on four decades in Port Charles
As General Hospital celebrates 62 years with a special episode today, Woman’s World sits down with soap opera star Finola Hughes—who first showed up as Anna 40 years ago, this week! Here, the Daytime Emmy-winner reflects on her run as twins Anna and Alex, her character’s surprising relationship with Jason, the return of the WSB and the future of Port Charles.
Plus, Hughes—who originated the role of Victoria in Cats, danced her way into John Travolta’s heart in Staying Alive, and made magic on Charmed—dishes getting to shoot General Hospital’s anniversary episode with costars she’s known since she joined the show at only 25.
‘GH’ star Finola Hughes reflects on the friendships she’s formed in Port Charles
General Hospital will bid adieu to the late Leslie Charleson’s beloved character this summer with a proper goodbye. First, however, the show will commemorate its 62nd anniversary with the opening of the Dr. Monica Quartermaine Cardiac Care Center.
While Monica can’t make the big event, Port Charles legends Anna, Laura, Felicia, Mac, Tracy, Lucy, and Sonny are there to honor her—which means Finola Hughes was onset for a day with her old friends Genie Francis, Kristina Wagner, John J. York, Jane Elliot, Lynn Herring, and Maurice Benard.
“It’s like Thanksgiving with family,” Hughes says of coming together for special episodes like this—and it bears mentioning that she actually celebrated Thanksgiving with her former leading man, Ian Buchanan, last year!
“It’s life imitating art imitating life,” she grins. “I met him soon after I started, and some of my best friends are people I met when I first came on the show. Kristina and myself met almost 40 years ago, and she’s one of my closest friends and confidants. And I’ve told Jane Elliot that when [I have an empty nest in a couple years], I’m coming to live next to her. We’re gonna live next door to each other in two tiny little apartments and just chat!”
‘GH’ star Finola Hughes reflects on the ‘90s AIDS storyline and intergenerational drama
While the old guard got to hang out for the ribbon cutting, the nostalgic episode also sees Anna take a moment to thank Sonny for supporting her daughter back in 1995—when Robin lost her boyfriend, Stone, to AIDS and was diagnosed as HIV-positive, herself.
“That was just such an incredible moment in storytelling for General Hospital, and because of that, the character of Robin is just iconic,” Hughes says. “Kimberly McCullough, who played Robin, just did such a beautiful job and Michael Sutton was just so extraordinary in Stone’s final scenes. They’re heartbreaking.”
The vet adds that it’s these kinds of storylines that have carried the show to 62 years.
“It speaks to how storytelling that impacts an audience has longevity and keeps everybody coming back because they are invested in the characters,” she says. “The audience wants to know, ‘What happens next?’—which is one of the best sentences to get them asking, right?
“We’re also sort of catering to all,” she continues. “We’ve got a wonderful cast of young actors; all of us that have been doing it for a while and it’s second nature; and then this great, middle tier of actors that do the bulk of the show’s storytelling. We deal with the troubles of being a teenager… and then, what do you do when somebody is sleeping with somebody else’s husband? It’s that generational way of storytelling that’s made General Hospital so loved by families for so many years.”
