Early life

Francis was born in Englewood, New Jersey. Her father, Ivor Francis, a Canadian actor of English descent, died in 1986 from the effects of multiple strokes. He played a brief role on General Hospital as an adoption counselor when his daughter was also on the show. Her mother, Rosemary Daley, is a former actress/model of Lithuanian descent. Genie has an older brother, Ivor Jr.; a younger brother, Kenneth; and an older half-sister, Shelley, from her father's first marriage.

Career

Francis' best-known role, that of Laura Spencer on General Hospital, would bring her instant stardom in the late 1970s. The television couple of Luke and Laura wed on November 17, 1981, with 30 million viewers tuning in to make the episode the highest-rated hour in soap opera history. At the peak of her success, Francis left the show in 1982 to try her hand at prime-time television. Soon afterward, she landed a starring role in her own series, Bare Essence, which was unsuccessful. She returned to General Hospital in 1983 for a limited run, to coincide with the departure of Luke when Geary decided to leave the series. She was also offered the lead role for the movie Splash but turned it down because she thought the script was silly.

Through the years, Francis has appeared on numerous other daytime soaps. She starred on Days of Our Lives as Diana Colville (a reporter who became involved with John Black, at the time believing himself to be Roman Brady) from 1987 to 1989 and on All My Children as con artist and incest victim Ceara Connor Hunter from 1990 to 1992. She reprised her role as Ceara on Loving in a cross-over storyline in November 1991. Ceara was "killed off" when her character prepared to move to that soap's town of Corinth (although it was an unseen extra stepping off the bus into the line of fire), and ironically, years later, Genie would find herself once again in Corinth on General Hospital when ex-husband Luke found her tied up in the Alden family basement. She then returned to General Hospital in 1993. In 1994, when Francis became pregnant with her first child, the pregnancy was written into the show and she took six weeks off for maternity leave. However, in early 1997, when she was pregnant again, she took a much longer absence from the show, staying away for nearly a year and a half. Francis abruptly left General Hospital in 2002 due to contract issues.

In June 2006, Francis began negotiating with the casting directors on the show to return to the role of Laura Spencer for a limited run through November. She returned with spectacular fanfare to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Luke and Laura's wedding. Though she reprised the role for only one month, Francis' stint garnered her a Daytime Emmy Nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, which she won in June 2007. Francis later returned to General Hospital again in August 2008 to reprise her role, appearing until November 12.

In December 2007, Francis had a starring role in the Hallmark Channel movie, The Note, which earned her critical acclaim.

On January 31, 2009, Francis reprised her role of Peyton MacGruder in the Hallmark Channel movie, Taking a Chance on Love. (The Note II).

In March 2011, it was announced that Francis would join The Young and the Restless as Genevieve Atkinson, the long-absent birth mother of Cane Ashby. With her appearance, she was reunited with former General Hospital co-star Tristan Rogers, who portrayed Colin Atkinson, Cane's estranged biological father. She received her second Daytime Emmy nomination in the category of Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Genevieve in May 2012.

On September 13, 2012, it was announced that Francis had been let go from her role on The Young and the Restless due to budget cuts.

On January 8, 2013, executive producer Frank Valentini and Entertainment Weekly confirmed that Francis would return to General Hospital, first airing on February 11. However, she remained with the show for only five months, as Laura departed for medical treatment in France, returning on June 5, 2015 as part of a storyline to help facilitate Anthony Geary's departure from the show.

Personal life

Francis met actor/director Jonathan Frakes while filming the television miniseries Bare Essence. After meeting again during the filming of the miniseries North and South, Francis and Frakes started dating in 1985. They became engaged in 1986 and married on May 28, 1988. The couple has two children, Jameson Ivor Frakes, born in 1994, and Elizabeth Francis Frakes, born in 1997. They moved from Belfast, Maine, to Beverly Hills, California, in 2008 and later moved to Calabasas, California.

Other projects

Francis owned a store called The Cherished Home. It was located at 31 Searsport Avenue, Belfast, Maine 04915, and they also sold items online. The store sold cottage furnishings and home accessories. Francis sold the store in August 2012, due to her workload on The Young and the Restless. The store closed in the Fall 2012.

In May 2007, Francis began appearing in magazine advertisements as a spokesperson for the Medifast Diet, claiming she lost 30 pounds as of December 2007, using the diet.

In November 2009, Francis along with her brothers, Ivor Jr. and Kenneth released It's Christmas Time Again. They decided to donate a part of all record sales to the Sisters of Saint Francis Children's Mission in Cuernavaca. Francis decided to donate all of her proceeds/sales to this mission. This endeavor was a project involving various members of her family.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1985	North and South	Brett Main Hazard	Television miniseries
1986	North and South: Book II	Brett Main Hazard	Television miniseries
1994	Heaven and Hell: North and South Book III	Brett Main Hazard	Television miniseries
1994	Camp Nowhere	Mrs. Spiegel
1995	Terror in the Shadows	Sarah
2004	Thunderbirds	Unnamed Newscaster
2007	The Note	Peyton MacGruder	Television film
2009	Taking a Chance on Love	Peyton MacGruder	Television film
2011	Notes from the Heart Healer	Peyton MacGruder	Television film

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1976-1984, 1993-2002, 2006, 2008, 2013, 2015-	General Hospital	Laura Spencer	Contract role Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Soapy Award for Outstanding Actress Young Artist Award for Best Juvenile Actress in a Daytime Series Nominated — Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series Nominated — Daytime Emmy Award for America's Favorite Couple Nominated — Soap Opera Digest Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series Nominated — Soapy Award for Outstanding Actress Nominated — Young Artist Award for Best Juvenile in a Daytime Series
1981	Fridays	Herself/Co-Host	Special guest appearance with Anthony Geary
1982	Fantasy Island	Christa Ackland	Episode: "Daddy's Little Girl" / "The Whistle"
1982-83	Bare Essence	Patricia 'Tyger' Hayes	Series regular, 11 episodes
1984, 1986, 1990	Murder, She Wrote	Victoria	3 episodes
1987-89	Days of Our Lives	Diana Colville	Contract role
1990-92	All My Children	Ceara Connor Hunter	Contract role
1991	Loving	Ceara Connor Hunter	2 episodes
1995	Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman	Amber Lake	Episode: "Don't Tug on Superman's Cape"
1997	The Incredible Hulk	Betty Ross	Voice, 6 episodes
2000	3rd Rock from the Sun	Gwen McMichael	Episode: "Gwen, Larry, Dick & Mary"
2000	Oh, Baby	Rachel	Episode: "Image"
2000	Roswell	Mother	Episode: "Destiny"
2011	Bar Karma	Waitress	Episode: "Three Times a Lady"
2011-12	The Young and the Restless	Genevieve Atkinson	Contract role Nominated — Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

Awards and nominations

Young Artist Awards

Year	Award	Work	Result
1980	Young Artist Awards for Best Juvenile Actress in a Daytime Series	General Hospital	Nominated
1981			Won
1982			Nominated

Soapy Awards

Year	Award	Work	Result
1980	Soapy Award for Outstanding Actress	General Hospital	Nominated
1981			Won

Soap Opera Digest Awards

Year	Award	Work	Result
1997	Soap Opera Digest Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Daytime Drama	General Hospital	Nominated

Daytime Emmy Awards

Year	Award	Work	Result
1997	Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series	General Hospital	Nominated
2002	Daytime Emmy Award for America's Favorite Couple - (shared with Anthony Geary)		Nominated
2007	Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series		Won
2012		The Young and the Restless	Nominated

[ Source: Wikipedia ]