Stars You Forgot Were on the Soap Opera
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John Stamos
While today John Stamos is best known as Uncle Jesse from Full House, the actor first gained recognition for his role as Blackie Parrish on General Hospital. The role even earned him a Daytime Emmy Award nomination in 1983 for outstanding supporting actor in a drama series.
Meghan Markle
Before becoming the Duchess of Sussex, the former actress got her start on General Hospital (in fact, it was her very first acting credit!). She briefly played a nurse named Jill in an episode that aired in 2002, while she was still a student at Northwestern University.
Kristin Davis
The Sex and the City actress played a nurse named Betsy Chilson in 1991. Though they never crossed paths on General Hospital, Davis and Stamos later worked together on the Broadway play The Best Man.
"[We starred on the show] years apart or I would have been following him around the halls," Davis joked during an interview with ABC News.
Demi Moore
From 1982 to 1984, Demi Moore played a journalist named Jackie Templeton on the series.
Eva Longoria
Before starring on the ultimate soap opera, Desperate Housewives, Eva Longoria had a brief stint on General Hospital in 2000. Shortly after, she booked a starring role on The Young and the Restless.
Amber Tamblyn
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants alumna played Emily, the adoptive daughter of Stuart Damon's character Alan Quartermaine, early in her career.
Following Damon's death in 2021, Amber Tamblyn remembered her time on set with the actor, writing, "He played my adopted dad on General Hospital for seven years and he was the most kind, wonderful, loving, supportive person. He always made me laugh and made me feel safe on set. I love you, Stewy. Rest well now, my friend."
James Franco
After expressing an interest in doing soap operas to his manager, the creators of General Hospital wrote James Franco into the show as a new character named Franco in 2009. The actor even gave them a bit of direction with the role.
"I said, 'I want to play an artist, and I want him to be crazy.' And they wrote this character that was better than I could have ever asked for," the actor recalled to Vulture in 2010. "It was their idea to call the character Franco. I said, 'That's crazy. Thank you.' "
Ricky Martin
As Ricky Martin was establishing himself in the music scene in the early '90s, he also had an acting role as a bartender named Miguel Morez on General Hospital in 1994. "I learned a lot," Martin recalled to PEOPLE of his time on the show. "But, honestly, it was insane."
George Takei
The Star Trek actor briefly played a character named Mr. Diem on the series in 1985.
Elizabeth Taylor
Famed actress Elizabeth Taylor had a brief stint on the series in 1981 as the villainess Helena Cassadine, who famously crashed the wedding of Luke and Laura.
"I'm wild about General Hospital," Taylor told PEOPLE at the time. "Someone from [ABC] came to see me when I was doing The Little Foxes in New York, and I agreed to do the soap when I got to L.A. I had a ball."
Nathan Parsons
The Roswell, New Mexico actor first gained prominence for playing Ethan Lovett, the son of Luke Spencer and Holly Sutton, on the soap opera. In 2012, he earned a Daytime Emmy Awards nomination for outstanding younger actor in a drama series for his role.
Jonathan Jackson
Before starring on Nashville, Jonathan Jackson played Lucky Spencer, the son of Luke and Laura Spencer, on General Hospital in the '90s. The role, which he later reprised in 2009, earned him a total of five Daytime Emmy Awards.
Chandra Wilson
The Grey's Anatomy star made a special guest appearance on the medical soap opera in 2019, playing a fashion journalist during the show's annual Nurses Ball.
Tequan Richmond
Tequan Richmond, best known for his role on Everybody Hates Chris, played TJ Ashford on the soap opera from 2012 to 2018.
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