Tracy Quartermaine is back in charge on General Hospital and causing quite a stir! Unlike Tracy, her portrayer, actress Jane Elliot tends to avoid trouble, but she has a milestone she is celebrating.
Happy Birthday, Jane Elliot
That’s because she was born on January 17, 1947, in New York City, New York, which means that this acting dynamo is turning 77 years old today! Elliot began her storied career in 1965 when she landed a plum role on the daytime drama A Flame in the Wind.
After FLAME’s cancellation, Elliot appeared in plenty of popular primetime programs, including The Nurses, NYPD, The Mod Squad, The Bold Ones: The Lawyers, Kojak, and Barnaby Jones. Among her many film roles was Sister Barbara in the Elvis Presley-starring flick, Change of Habit, and Madge Frazier in One Is a Lonely Number.
In 1978, she joined the cast of the ABC soap opera General Hospital. As Tracy Quartermaine, Elliot was involved in a number of high-profile storylines, but probably the most celebrated moment of her original tenure was a scene in which she withheld her father’s medication while he suffered what appeared to be a heart attack.
The mesmerizing star remained at GH for two years but finally made the decision to exit the part in a bid to find other roles. To cap off her first run, Elliot received the Daytime Emmy statuette for Best Supporting Actress.
Upon her departure, Elliot could be seen in the made-for-TV movie Dan August: The Jealousy Factor and the serial Knots Landing. Though working in primetime had its advantages, she eventually made her return to the soaps.
First, she was Carrie Todd on Guiding Light — a sufferer of Multiple Personality Disorder — then from 1984-1986, she played gold-digger Cynthia Preston on All My Children. In 1987, Elliot originated the role of Anjelica Deveraux on Days of our Lives, and she remained on that NBC soap until a triumphant return to GH in 1989.
Elliot’s second go-around as Tracy would last until 1993, and after carrying the character of Tracy over to GH sister series The City in 1997, she would return to GH yet again in 2003 with a seemingly permanent exit in 2017. But, she returned a few times since then and is currently delighting fans of the show.
Soap Hub would like to wish Jane Elliot a very happy birthday and you can too by sharing your favorite memory of her work or if you’ve met her personally in the comments section.