Monica from 'General Hospital', actress Leslie Charleson, has died

This Monday, January 13, Leslie Charleson died at 79. She joined 'General Hospital' 1977 and played Monica Quartermaine for 46 years and 2,079 episodes.

Variety confirmed the actress's death, after a long illness that had led her to leave the soap opera, in which she was a true institution.

Born in Kansas City (Missouri, 1945), Leslie Charleson began her television career in 1964, at just 19 years old, with cameos in legendary series such as 'Ironside', 'Marcus Welby, M.D.', 'The Rookies' or 'Happy Days', where she met Ron Howard (pictured).

But it was in 1977 that she got her big break when she was offered the role of replacement for actress Leslie Rahn.

As she herself confirmed in several interviews, the dismissal of her colleague did not please the rest of the cast and, at times, she expressed her disappointment to Leslie Charleson who was not at fault for what happened.

Over time, however, the actress and her character, Monica Quartermaine, have won over her colleagues and, above all, the general public.

In 2010, her delicate health condition led the production company to reduce her screen time, transforming Monica Quartermaine from protagonist to recurring character.

Her character was the matriarch of a wealthy and dysfunctional family. Over the years she had to deal with infidelity, the death of several children, high-risk situations, something Leslie Charleson did like no other.

During her long career on the series, the actress was nominated four times for the Daytime Emmy Awards.

By the way, one of her most legendary cameos was in "Friends", in the episode "The Police Dance" (S10-E11), where she played herself, making it clear that her sense of humor was one of her great weapons.