Carly Corinthos

This article describes a work or element of fiction in a primarily in-universe style. Please help rewrite it to explain the fiction more clearly and provide non-fictional perspective. (April 2008) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

This article is overly long, poorly worded, and needs to be edited to fit WP:SOAPS guidelines and it contains information not relative to the article's subject's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. Please help improve it by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. (January 2008) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

This article may use tenses incorrectly. Please help improve this article. (January 2008) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Caroline "Carly" Jacks ^[1] (formerly Quartermaine,Corinthos and Alcazar, born Caroline Leigh Benson) is a fictional character on the ABC soap opera, General Hospital. The role of Carly was originated by Sarah Brown in 1996, who received three Emmys for her portrayal. Tamara Braun stepped into the role in 2001 when Brown opted not to re-sign with the show. Braun vacated the role in 2005, and a new actress, Jennifer Bransford was cast to replace her. However, this move was not well received by fans, and after six months Bransford was replaced by daytime vet Laura Wright.

The character of Carly Benson was somewhat a work in progress when she first aired. The writers did not know who the character was supposed to be at the outset, but eventually she took shape due to collaboration between Sarah Brown and the writing staff at the time:

Worse yet, we the writers didn't really know what Carly was supposed to be. That may sound like a horrifying confession, but in daytime, a successful character is always a collaboration between the writers and the actor. We begin by making a few decisions about who we think the character is, the actor finds certain other decisions have to be made and makes them, sparks fly between the actor and another actor, we see what's happening on-screen and start playing around with it in the writing- that's how a character takes shape.

Carly was different. We were afraid of her. I started [on the show] right around the time Sarah did, but it's my understanding that there was quite a hullabaloo about Carly before she was ever cast. I was told a writer (the one I think I replaced) had even quit over it. The issue was this: Carly was coming to Port Charles for the purpose of haunting Bobbie and making her life miserable, out of supposed anger at having been "abandoned" by her. But of course, she wasn't abandoned, she was given up for adoption, and the network and producers were rightly concerned that we might be "sending the message" (that phrase that soap writers dread) either that adopted children were hateful and full of rage, or that their adoptive parents were neglectful or otherwise inadequate enough to instill this smoldering resentment of being adopted in their kids... I need not go on. The pitfalls are obvious, and I imagine Bob [Guza, the headwriter] promised Wendy [Riche, the executive producer] and ABC that we had no intention of falling into them. ~ Patrick Mulcahey^[2]

Carly was given up for adoption by her mother, Bobbie Spencer, who was then a teenage prostitute, because she could not care for her. Carly was adopted by Frank and Virginia Benson, but Frank abandoned the family when she was a pre-schooler and Carly was raised in modest circumstances. She resented being poor and her adoptive mother for not telling her the truth about her adoption. She found out accidentally when she was 13 and afterwards ran wild. Carly was seduced at a young age by Dan Roberts, who had walked in on her changing in Reese's room and took advantage of the fact that she and her mom had a fight. When Carly came to Port Charles, she called herself Carly Roberts. She'd assumed the name of her best friend, Charlotte "Carly" Roberts, who was presumed dead in a car accident when they were teenagers. Carly's real name was Caroline Leigh Benson. Few people knew her true identity in Port Charles for years. Ultimately, Bobbie learned the truth and mother and daughter patched up their relationship. Carly later learned that her biological father was John Durant, one of Bobbie's regular johns, and Carly also developed a relationship with him before he died.

When Carly first came to town, she slept with Bobbie's estranged husband, Tony Jones, to get revenge on her birth mother. Carly then became pregnant in a one night stand with A.J. Quartermaine, but slept with Tony the same night and was unsure which man fathered the baby. She went to great lengths to keep A.J. from telling Tony that he might be the baby's father. At one point, she drugged A.J. (a recovering alcoholic), loaded him onto a laundry cart and dumped him in a back alley behind a bar to make him think he was drunk. She wanted him to leave town and go to a rehabilitation facility so he wouldn't be around when the baby was born. Her efforts failed and A.J. demanded a paternity test when the baby was born. Midway through the pregnancy, when both Tony and A.J. had threatened to take the baby from her, she persuaded her former lover Jason Morgan, a mafia hitman and A.J.'s half brother, to claim that he was actually the baby's father.

Custody battles over Carly's son Michael Corinthos III have been ongoing on the show for much of the past decade. Carly suffered from post-partum depression after Michael was born and left town for a time, leaving Michael to be raised by Jason. A few months after she returned, Tony abducted the baby thinking he was his. Michael was recovered and Tony was put on trial. Carly shot him in open court wounding him when he was found not guilty by reason of insanity. Carly, also judged temporarily insane, was committed to a mental hospital for a time after the incident and Jason continued to raise Michael. Carly married A.J. for a time to keep Michael, after Jason's girlfriend Robin Scorpio told the former that he was the actual father. However, Carly was unhappy with the Quartermaines and had a sexual encounter with mobster, Sonny Corinthos, and became pregnant by him. She miscarried that baby after she had a fight on a staircase with A.J. that ended with her fall down the steps. Carly divorced AJ and married Sonny. Michael was ultimately adopted by Sonny after Sonny forced A.J. to sign away his parental rights. Sonny ordered his henchmen to hang A.J. from a meat hook and threaten to kill him if he did not give up Michael.

Carly also later had another son,Morgan Corinthos, by Mob Boss Sonny Corinthos Jr. , the baby was born under very dramatic circumstances but he was a miracle and a baby who was really wanted by Sonny & Carly after many efforts and one miscarriage.

She was then involved with Jasper Jacks. Carly and Jax lied about the paternity of Spencer Cassadine, who was the son of Jax's dead former wife Courtney Matthews. Jax switched a paternity test to make it seem he was the father when Nikolas Cassadine actually fathered the boy. Jax and Carly were forced to give the baby back to Nikolas when Robin Scorpio revealed the truth at the baby's christening ceremony. Carly also continues to take a proprietary interest in her best friend Jason Morgan and would have married him if he had expressed a romantic interest in her. She continues to be connected to Sonny and is helping him deal with bipolar disorder. Jasper Jacks returned from his trip when Carly came and rescued him. Jax had a tough time trying to get Carly to take him back. After all his hard work, he earned Carly's trust back. On October 16, 2006, Jax proposed to Carly and she gladly accepted. Carly now continues to try to keep Sonny out of her personal life. Sonny has been plotting to make sure Carly and Jax's wedding doesn't happen, but Carly and Jax continue to fight him. Carly and Jax set a date and their wedding was postponed due to Luke and Laura's remarriage and 25th Wedding Anniversary being the same day, but they were eventually married, and now live in Carly's home with Michael and Morgan. At this point, Carly had decided she wants to try for another baby, but she is unsure as to whether or not she should tell Jax because she doesn't want to disappoint him if she is not able to get pregnant quickly.

Bobbie Spencer's biological daughter, Carly Roberts, arrived in Port Charles and plotted to steal her mother's husband, Tony Jones. She also struck up a friendship and brief sexual relationship with Jason Morgan. By the time her identity was discovered by her uncle Luke Spencer, Carly had already seduced Tony and then Luke chose to keep her secret.

After a bitter fight with Tony, Carly bedded a drunk A.J. Quartermaine. When Carly went to A.J. to convince him not to reveal their one-night stand, she learned he did not remember it. Carly realized she was pregnant and passed the child off as Tony's. A.J. eventually remembered the night he and Carly had made love and that he might be the father of her baby. When Carly discovered that Tony planned to leave her and get custody of the baby, Carly claimed that the child was her former lover Jason's. While Carly was recouvered from her depression, Jason took care of the baby and named him Michael Morgan, after Sonny Corinthos.

After suffering from post-partum depression, Jason and Bobbie helped Carly reconnect with her son, whom Jason had named Michael. Carly revealed that she was really Caroline, the daughter Bobbie had given up for adoption as a teenager. Tony Jones was prosecuted for running away with Michael, but when a jury handed down a minor sentence, Carly shot her former lover in open court and was sentenced to serve time in Ferncliff, a mental institution. After Jason secured her release, Carly and Michael moved into the cottage with Jason and his girlfriend Robin Scorpio.

Robin told A.J. that he, not Jason was the father of Carly's baby. Bowing to A.J.'s blackmail — he threatened to have her sent back to Ferncliff — Carly moved into the Quartermaine mansion hoping to land a big financial settlement by driving A.J. to drink and then divorcing him. A.J. proposed to Carly and they wed, though she plotted a future with Jason. Carly misread a close moment between Jason and Elizabeth Webber and slept with Sonny causing Jason to inform Carly that they could never be together.

Carly learned she was pregnant with Sonny's baby. Carly planned to make love to A.J. and pass the child off as his, but the plan backfired when A.J. realized she was already pregnant and he couldn't be the father. However, A.J. promised to raise the child as his own and Carly agreed. Sonny learned from Bobbie that he was the true father and blackmailed A.J. into relinquishing his parental rights and divorcing Carly. Carly and Michael moved into Sonny's penthouse. Sonny and Carly made love and she agreed to be his wife. At the Quartermaine mansion, Carly fought with A.J. and fell down the stairs, miscarrying her child. Carly and Sonny bonded over their loss. Carly tried to help Mike Corbin, Sonny's father, but her plan didn't work and Sonny was almost forced to do drug trafficking. Carly saved him before the police came but she was almost forced to testify. Alexis suggested that they both be married because married people seem like one person. Carly and Sonny wed so that she wouldn't have to testify against him in court, but after the charges were dropped, Sonny and Carly chose to stay married. Carly and Sonny had fallen in love.

Sonny and Carly renewed their vows in Martinique. Carly plotted with undercover agent Roy DiLucca to free Sonny from the mob by forcing him to turn state's evidence. Sonny broke up with Carly. She hoped to win Sonny back when she believed herself to be pregnant, but it was a false alarm. Carson had reunited several times but they were shortlived. Carly started to date Zander Smith.

Sonny paid Zander Smith to look out for Carly and the two struck up an unlikely friendship. Carly walked in on Sonny in bed with Alexis Davis and after being rebuffed by Zander, she faked her own death. Carly and Sonny reconciled. Alexis was pregnant with Sonny's child but hid the truth from he and Carly.

Out for revenge against Sonny, Ric Lansing drugged Carly and tricked her into believing they had sex. Soon after, Carly learned she was pregnant. She was thrilled to learn that the baby was Sonny's when Ric revealed nothing had happened between the two. She fell through the ice at the lake and was rushed to the hospital. Sonny was asked to chose between Carly and their child, but both pulled through. Ric, believing that Sonny had caused his wife, Elizabeth Webber's miscarriage, kidnapped Carly and kept her in a panic room in his house. His plan was to pass Carly's baby as his and Elizabeth's.

She was later kidnapped from Ric's home by Lorenzo Alcazar, who developed feelings for her while he was holding her on his yacht. After Carly returned home, Sonny moved out, fearing for his child's safety. When Sonny found Alcazar helping Carly give birth, he shot him, but the bullet went through Alcazar hitting Carly in the head as she gave birth to their baby boy, Morgan. Carly survived surgery, but fell into a coma for several weeks. While in the coma, Carly dreamt of a life with Alcazar. When she awoke from the coma, she felt detached from her family and friends, and only felt close to Alcazar. She soon regained a connection with Sonny, and her family, but began to have sexual fantasies about Alcazar triggered by her brain injury. Sonny and Carly reconciled but she remained drawn to Alcazar.

Sonny spotted Carly kissing Alcazar when she went to say a final good-bye, and he broke up with her. Alexis confessed to Carly that Kristina is Sonny's daughter, but Carly kept the secret in exchange for Alexis representing her in a custody trial against Sonny. Sonny offered Carly full custody of the boys. Carly broke up with Alcazar and eventually Sonny asked Carly to move back into the penthouse and they reconciled. Carly began to search for her biological father. She found out that her father, John Durant, was out to get Sonny. The two eventually began to see each other as father and daughter, and Durant was overjoyed when he found out that Carly and Sonny were getting a divorce. Sonny found out that Carly knew about Kristina and didn't tell him so he ended things between them.

With the new divorce, Carly now found herself pursued by Steven Lars Webber and turning back toward her old flame, Lorenzo Alcazar, while Sonny began to sleep with FBI agent, Reese Marshall . Carly married Alcazar, and Alcazar broke it off when he realized that Sonny mattered more to her than their marriage. Carly found out that Reese was her supposedly dead best friend, Charlotte. She revealed this to Sonny, in hopes that he would end it with Reese, but instead he forgave her and this sent Carly over the edge. Carly suffered a nervous breakdown and Sonny offered to let her live with him instead of committing her to a Mental Hospital. Sonny finally sent her to Rose Lawn Mental Institution. When she was released she wanted to start a new life that didn't revolve around Sonny.

After her release from the mental hospital she began to rebuild her life starting with a new job at the Metro Court Hotel. Carly's best friend,Courtney Matthews, died soon after giving birth to a baby boy. Carly offered to raise this baby with the father, Jasper Jacks. Yet, Carly was unaware that Jax lied to her, and that Baby John was really the child of Courtney's lover Nikolas Cassadine. Once she found out this information, she agreed to keep the paternity of Baby John a secret for Jax, and the two of them fell in love. Once Robin Scorpio revealed that John was Nikolas's, he was returned to his right father, and Carly and Jax became engaged to be married.

With the wedding approaching, Jax skipped town before their wedding to rescue his brother Jerry. Ex-husband Sonny Corinthos had been trying to win her back, using whatever means necessary. After Carly barged in on Sonny shooting business rival Lorenzo Alcazar in the head, she lied to D.A. Ric Lansing and told him that she had witnessed the entire proceedings. Faced with taking the stand and implicating Sonny, Sonny and Jason urged Carly to marry Sonny in order to keep her from testifying against him. Recent facts in the case had been uncovered that made Carly's testimony obsolete, but it appeared that Sonny would withhold this information in order to marry Carly regardless. Carly realized this and was about to head to the Dominican Republic to get a divorce, when the Metro Court Hostage Crisis began. When Robin was shot, Carly did everything that she could to save her. Carly found Sonny locked in a room and saved him.

Carly admitted to Sonny that she still loved him. When James Craig, the man holding them and many others in the Metro Court Hotel which was wired to explode, tells Carly to leave, she refused to leave without Sonny. Then the lobby exploded, leaving Carly, Sonny, Coop Barrett, James Craig, Max Giambetti, Maxie Jones, Jason Morgan, Cruz Rodriguez, Mateo Ruiz, Lucky Spencer, Lulu Spencer, Damian Spinelli, Emily Quartermaine, and Elizabeth Webber inside. After they were rescued, Carly slept with Sonny. Although she was in love with Jasper Jacks, Carly couldn't stop loving Sonny. After only a few days since she slept with Sonny, Jax returned home, only to find out that his fiancee had wed, and bedded Sonny. He has come to understand why it happened, and they were starting to fall in love all over again. Carly went to Sonny to tell him that she wanted to be with Jax, but he still refused to give her a divorce, stating that he loves her and Jax doesn't. Sonny eventually signed the divorce papers, Jax and Carly wedded days after the divorce was final.

Once she and Jax were happily married, she found out that James Craig was Jax's brother, Jerry Jacks. She protected Jerry from Jason and Sonny who were out for revenge, for her husband's sake. She knew that if Jason, her best friend, killed Jax's brother, then their marriage wouldn't last. Jerry lured Jax out of town so he and Carly could reaquant. Carly promised to be Jerry's best friend if he was able to free Jason of the murder charges that were over his head. He did just that by making it look like Lorenzo Alcazer (her ex-husband, and victim) was alive and well in Venezuela. Jerry revealed that he "lost" Jax, and the two of them flew to Turkey to find him. When they got there, they found out that Jax had been held captive by Jerry's supposedly dead lover, Irina, who then raped Jax. Once rescuing Jax, Carly and Jax flew home and Jax learns that Carly can't forgive him for sleeping with Irina, even when he was forced. After a few months Carly is able to get over this and they grow closer together.

At the black and white ball Carly encountered many dangerous situations including being strangled. She was then revived by Johnny Zaccarah. Carly decided she wanted to try to have a baby with Jax so she and Jax had sex. In the days before Christmas, Carly wondered if she was pregnant so she went and purchased a home pregnancy test. She was contemplating whether or not to take it when Lulu came over and needed her advice. Carly shoved the bag containging the test under the couch and visited with Lulu. Then Jax came home and Lulu left. Later, when Jax too had left, she finally took the test. Unfortunately for her, it was negative. Mildly disappointed, she put the idea of a baby with Jax out of her mind and finished getting ready for Christmas. On Christmas Eve, while preparing to attend the hospital Christmas party, she fainted and Jax asked if she was pregnant. She brushed off the idea.

Carly finds out from Sam that Elizabeth's son Jake is actually Jason Morgan's baby. She is very upset with Jason for not confiding in her and telling her the truth. She is trying to get Jason to claim Jake as his own but Jason tells her to mind her business and that him and Elizabeth came to an agreement to tell everyone that Elizabeth's ex-husband Lucky, is the father. Carly finally talks to Jax about wanting to have a baby and they are currently continuing to try and conceive a child. On February 5, Carly told Jax that she was pregnant. In March, Carly recently lost her baby due to Sonny's warehouse blew up with her and her eldest son Michael inside. In April, Carly learned that her son Michael was shot in the head because it's was meant for Sonny and it hit a metal pool and bound and hit him. She does not leave the hospital since telling Morgan that his brother was shot. When Carly finds out that Sonny saved Kate Howard instead of Michael, Carly says she doesn't want Sonny to be Michael's fther. Carly is in denial. In May, Carly wonders weather she should send Michael to a facility, bring him home or end his life.

• Supercouple

• Carly Corinthos profile at soapcentral.com