Daytime soap legend Eva LaRue, best known for playing Dr. Maria Santos Grey on All My Children, is set to arrive in Port Charles as she joins the cast of General Hospital.
As reported by TVLine, LaRue will make her first appearance on the long-running soap on Monday, February 26. She will portray Blaze’s (Jacqueline Grace Lopez) mom, Natalia Rogers-Ramirez.
Her arrival comes just as Blaze begins a relationship with Kristina (Kate Mansi), which could lead to some family tension. Blaze has yet to open up about her sexual orientation because of her concerns about how it could hurt her career and potentially upset her family.
LaRue was a regular cast member on All My Children from 1993 to 1998 and then again from 2002 to 2005. She made sporadic appearances in 2010 and 2011. Her previous credits included Santa Barbara, Dallas, and Candid Camera.
In 2005, LaRue joined the fourth season of CSI: Miami, playing Natalia Boa Vista in a recurring role. She was upped to a main cast member from Season 5 to Season 10.
Jacqueline Grace Lopez as Blaze on ‘General Hospital; Disney/Christine Bartolucci
Since 2019, she has played Celeste Rosales on fellow daytime soap The Young and the Restless. The role won her her first daytime Emmy for Outstanding Guest Performer in a Drama Series.
LaRue’s casting comes amid many changes on General Hospital over the past few weeks. Earlier this month, the show temporarily said goodbye to Nicholas Alexander Chavez (Spencer), who is on hiatus while filming Season 2 of Ryan Murphy’s hit Netflix anthology series Monster.
In addition, Avery Pohl, who has played Spencer’s ex-girlfriend Esme Prince since 2021, exited the soap on Wednesday, January 31. It’s not yet known if Pohl will reprise her role in the future, but given how things ended, the door was left open.
Meanwhile, Steve Burton is set to reprise his iconic role of Jason Morgan later this year. Burton, who has been starring in Days of Our Lives, officially announced his return at the end of the General Hospital: 60 Years of Stars & Storytelling special that aired last month.
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