Early life

Ames was born Rachel Kay Foulger in Portland, Oregon, the only child of actress (and later college drama instructor) Dorothy Adams and actor Byron Foulger. Through her father, she is of English descent, the fourth generation of English immigrants from Norfolk who settled in the Salt Lake City area of Utah, United States.

Ames spent her early life in Portland, but relocated to California so her parents could work performing and teaching at the Pasadena Playhouse. She graduated from University High School and later enrolled at the University of California, Los Angeles, where her mother was a professor in the university's drama department.

Career

Early work

Ames debuted professionally in 1949 in Pilgrimage Play, and she joined her parents in acting in One Foot in Heaven at the Pasadena Playhouse in Pasadena, California. She transitioned into film under the stage name Judith Ames, and was under contract with Paramount Pictures for three years in the early 1950s; her first feature film was When Worlds Collide (1951), a science fiction thriller based on the 1933 novel of the same name. The same year, she had appeared in Toast to Our Brother, a short film documenting fraternity life at UCLA, where she was a student at the time.

She had an uncredited role in the film noir The Turning Point (1952), followed by a minor part in the Western Arrowhead (1953) with Charlton Heston. The following year, she had a supporting role in the Western comedy Ricochet Romance (1954). In her only regular role on prime-time television, Ames played Policewoman Sandy McAllister on The Lineup in that program's final season during 1959. Ames also had dozens of other guest-starring appearances in television, on series such as The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, The Virginian, Ironside, Wagon Train, Ben Casey, Perry Mason, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and six different appearances on Science Fiction Theater. She appeared in a lead role in the 1960 Western Gunfighters of Abilene, opposite Buster Crabbe and Barton MacLane.

General Hospital

On February 23, 1964, Ames debuted on ABC's daytime serial, General Hospital, playing Audrey Hardy, R.N.. Her tenure in the part is the longest-running role in the network's history, spanning five decades. She also played Audrey Hardy on the General Hospital spin-off series Port Charles in the late 1990s. Her contract was not renewed for General Hospital in 2003, but she still appeared as a recurring character from 2003 until 2007, and made a brief appearance in 2009. On February 13, 2013 Genie Francis (Laura Spencer) announced on Katie that Ames returned to the show on March 29, 2013. She reprised the role again for one episode on October 30, 2015.

Ames has been nominated three times for a Daytime Emmy Award as "Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama" for her role on General Hospital. In 2004, Ames was honored with a "Lifetime Achievement Award" at the 31st Daytime Emmy Awards ceremony at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. In 1997, she appeared on ABC's special two-hour primetime preview of new daytime series Port Charles, a spin-off of the long-running Emmy winning hit General Hospital. Ames played her signature role of Audrey Hardy.

Later career

In 2007, Ames retired from General Hospital after 43 years. However, it was announced on October 1, 2009, that she would reappear as Audrey in mid-October after a two-year absence from the show. She reprised Audrey again in April 2013, to coincide with General Hospital's 50th anniversary and again on October 30, 2015.

Personal life

Ames married Jack Genung January 31, 1952, in Los Angeles. She and her second husband, Canadian-born actor Barry Cahill, had two daughters, Christine and Susan, and two grandchildren, Jocelyn and Marc. (One source says that Susan was Ames' daughter by her first marriage.) Cahill died in April 2012, after forty-two years of marriage.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1951	When Worlds Collide	Julie Cummings	as Judith Ames
1951	Toast to Our Brother		Short film; as Judith Ames
1952	The Turning Point	Girl	Uncredited
1953	Arrowhead	Mrs. Kirk	Uncredited
1954	Ricochet Romance	Betsy Williams	as Judith Ames
1957	Oregon Passage	Marion	as Judith Ames
1960	Gunfighters of Abilene	Alice Hainline	as Judith Ames
1969	Daddy's Gone-A-Hunting	Dr. Parkington's Nurse	Uncredited

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1954	Your Favorite Story	Lucy Kilgore	1 episode
1954	City Detective	June	1 episode
1954-55	I Led 3 Lives	Comrade Jeanette / Margaret	2 episodes
1955	Soldiers of Fortune	Ellen Thayer	1 episode
1955-57	Science Fiction Theatre	Multiple	6 episodes
1955-1960	The Millionaire	Jessica March / Georgette French	2 episodes
1956	Alfred Hitchcock Presents	Laura	1 episode
1956	Dr. Christian	Julie	1 episode
1956	You Are There	Mrs. Fowler	1 episode
1956	Highway Patrol	Anne Reynolds	1 episode
1956	Studio 57	Janet / Jenny	2 episodes
1956	Broken Arrow	Terry Wilson	1 episode
1956	The Loretta Young Show	Nurse Holste / Alice Fuller	2 episodes
1956-57	Crossroads	Edith Brissie	3 episodes
1956-59	State Trooper	Various	3 episodes
1957	Cavalcade of America	Carol	1 episode
1957	Whirlybirds	Eve Douglas	1 episode
1957	General Electric Theater	Edith Duncan / Mary	2 episodes
1957-58	Tales of Wells Fargo	Maude Kimball / Ellen Craig	2 episodes
1957-59	The Californians	Madge Dorsett	2 episodes
1958	The Adventures of McGraw	Sue Walters	1 episode
1958	Telephone Time	Joan Yedor	1 episode
1958	Trackdown	Melinda Curry / Jenny Krail	2 episodes
1958	M Squad	Greta Loder	1 episode
1958	Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer	Mrs. Armstrong	1 episode
1958	Perry Mason	Marian Shaw	1 episode
1958	The Silent Service	Jeanne	1 episode
1958	Lassie	Mrs. Bridell	1 episode
1958-1960	The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp	Various	3 episodes
1958-1964	Wagon Train	Florence Yeager/Emily Dawson	5 episodes
1959	Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse	Muriel	1 episode
1959	Man with a Camera	Lila	1 episode
1959	Cimarron City	Emily Barton	1 episode
1959	Frontier Doctor	Nancy Turner	1 episode
1959	Wanted Dead or Alive	Sarah Buchanan / Ellie Morgan	2 episodes
1959	Union Pacific	Sarah Morgan	1 episode
1959-1960	The Lineup	Sandy McAllister	15 episodes
1960	Thriller	Betty Follett	1 episode
1960	Laramie	Mrs. LuBell / Helen Bentley	2 episodes
1961	Stagecoach West	Cecilia Barnes	1 episode
1962	G.E. True	Kate	1 episode
1963	77 Sunset Strip	Agnes	1 episode
1963	The Andy Griffith Show	Rosemary	1 episode
1963	The Fugitive	Ann Gerard	1 episode
1964	Ben Casey	Ethel Beldon	1 episode
1964	Arrest and Trial	Mrs. Harmon	1 episode
1964-2015	General Hospital	Audrey March Hardy	1,799 episodes Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award
1968	Off to See the Wizard	Nellie Malone	1 episode
1969	Ironside	Carolyn Channing	1 episode
1969	The Virginian	Mary Kinkaid	1 episode
1970	The Name of the Game	Mrs. Bailey	1 episode
1997-2003	Port Charles	Audrey March Hardy	695 episodes

[ Source: Wikipedia ]