User:Livelikemusic/sandbox/Lois Cerullo

Lois Cerullo is a fictional character from the ABC soap opera General Hospital. Created by head writer Claire Labine, Lois was introduced in December 1993, originally played by Rena Sofer. Sofer quit the role in 1996, and the character was written out; Sofer briefly reprised the role for three episodes in 1997. In 2004, Lois was introduced for a second time, but the role was recast with Lesli Kay, who stayed in the role for ten months, before being dropped to recurring status and subsequently exiting. Frank Valentini decided to reintroduce the character in 2023, and opted to bring Sofer back.

Despite a short first stint, Sofer's time as Lois is highly praised and well received, with Soaps.com listing the character at number thirty-one on its list of "40+ Greatest Characters of All Time, Ranked" for General Hospital. Reception for Kay's casting was less success with fans. News of Sofer's reprise of Lois received positive results, from fans and press alike.

1993–1997
Lois first appears in 1993 when she see's Eddie Maine (Wally Kurth) perform at a New York concert. Lois, a band manager, hires "Eddie". Unbeknownst to her, Eddie Maine's real name was Ned Ashton. Believing he was a singer by night and a traveling pharmaceutical salesman by day, they soon fell in love and got married. After their wedding, Ned moved them to his hometown, Port Charles. There she was re-introduced to her old friend, Sonny Corinthos, whom she had known since their childhood in Bensonhurst. She also quickly became friends with Sonny's girlfriend, Brenda Barrett, and the two opened their own recording company, L&B Records.

Lois was still in the dark about Ned's true identity. Meanwhile, Ned was being forced to marry Katherine Bell, who was blackmailing his family, the Quartermaines. Ned refused to tell Lois the truth because he did not want to hurt her. She found out anyway, while watching TV, and saw that Eddie Maine was actually Ned Ashton, and that he was married to Katherine. During Katherine's birthday party, she popped out of cake, saying "Happy Birthday to Mrs. Ned Ashton, from the other Mrs. Ned Ashton!" Soon after, Lois left Ned.

Ned was not ready to give up on Lois, and persistently pursued her. Eventually, the two reconciled and Lois accepted his marriage proposal but under one condition - no more lies. He agreed and they married again. Their marriage went through tough times, starting with Ned telling Mac Scorpio that Sonny was a mobster, after Lois confided this to him. It was Ned's family, however that put real strain on their union. Lois wanted Ned to distance himself from the dysfunctional Quartermaines. His mother, Tracy Quartermaine, hated Lois from the first moment they met.

After Tracy put ELQ in financial jeopardy, she left town, leaving Ned to clean up the mess. Dismayed by this, Lois gave Ned an ultimatum: his job or her and their unborn daughter. Ned chose ELQ. Hurt, Lois left Ned and returned to Bensonhurst where she gave birth to a baby girl, who she named Brook Lynn after her favorite city.

Sometime later, Lois returned to Port Charles, feeling guilty for keeping Ned away from his daughter. During this time, it was revealed that Ned had had an affair with his uncle's wife, Monica Quartermaine. She then overheard him blackmailing his cousin, Justus Ward. Lois could not handle it, and again left town. It was at this time that she also help comfort Brenda, after Sonny left her at the altar.

2004–2005, 2010
In 2004, Lois returns to Port Charles in search of a now-teenaged Brook Lynn (Adrianne León) after she ran away. After Lois and Ned located Brook Lynn, Lois decided to return to Port Charles. Not long after her return, Lila Quartermaine died. Soon afterwards, Lois began dating Lorenzo Alcazar. Brook Lynn was very upset about this, and decided to start a girl band at Lois' request. Brook Lynn, Sage Alcazar, Georgie Jones, and Maxie Jones were going to fake the audition. But after Maxie was nowhere to be found, Dillon was forced to dress in drag and pose as a woman. Things got a bit out of control when Simon, the record producer, began hitting on Dillon at The Cellar. Those plans failed as the storyline ended, especially after Sage was murdered by Mary Bishop. Lois continued to date Alcazar. Alcazar's feelings for Carly Corinthos began to return, and Lois began to fade into the background. After Lesli Kay was placed from contract to recurring status in March 2005, Lois ceased to appear. Much later, it was explained that Ned, Lois and Brook Lynn had gone back to Manhattan to continue in the music industry.

They were mentioned by Sonny Corinthos who referred to her and her sister. On August 25, he called her mother Gloria, and asked her how to get a hold of Olivia Falconeri. Olivia later references the two as "tearing it up in L.A. and they always visit Gloria, that's Lois's mother, whenever they're in Bensonhurst."

In 2010, Lois was managing several bands thoughout Europe and was living in London.

2020–2021, 2023
In late 2020 and early 2021, Lois is mentioned and featured via phone calls with daughter Brook Lynn (Briana Lane/Amanda Setton), and is involved with the false presentation of Brook Lynn's pregnancy with Valentin Cassadine's (James Patrick Stuart) baby.

Lois returns to Port Charles in 2023 upon hearing the news of Brook Lynn's firing from Deception Cosmetics.

Sofer's initial stint (1993–1997)
In 1996, Sofer announced her decision to depart the role, to focus on becoming a full-time mom; however, she did not rule out returning. In September 1997, Sofer returned to the role when Lois returned to Port Charles for Brenda and Sonny's wedding on September 30. Lois left town on October 2. In 2000, Sofer told Portsmouth Daily Times she was open to reprising the role, and had made it known to the soap.

Kay's stint (2004–2005)
In March 2004, then newly-appointed head writer Charles Pratt, Jr. revealed plans were in-place for the character to return to Port Charles, with Pratt citing his desire for Sofer to reprise the role. Sofer revealed the following month she would not reprise the role, going as far as to say she had not been asked to reprise the role, stating: "It would have been respectful if General Hospital had had the courtesy to come to me about the role of Lois." She further stated she felt hurt for both herself and the fans who had been wanting her return. In response to Sofer, a representative for the network released a statement: "There was no expectation that Rena would be available. We're currently casting the role of Lois and hope to have an exciting announcement soon."

At press time, it was reported Alicia Coppola and Lisa LoCicero had already auditioned for the role, and others were testing opposite Ingo Rademacher's Jasper Jacks. On May 3, 2004, it was announced former As the World Turns actress Lesli Kay had been cast in the role in a regular capacity. Lois returned on June 10. On March 14, 2005, it was announced Kay had been dropped to recurring capacity but would continue to appear "as storyline dictates", however, did not make further appearances following the date of the announcement. Kay was later announced to have joined the cast of The Bold and the Beautiful in, effectively ending her tenure as Lois.

Sofer's return (2023)
On September 14, 2023, People magazine announced Sofer would reprise the role twenty-six years after first departing. Per the report, Sofer began filming her return earlier the same week. Her return scenes aired on October 11 of the same year.

Leading up to her return, Sofer spoke to several news agencies, detailing her return and her thoughts on reprising the role of Lois. She called her return "full circle," and cited her impending relocation to the east coast as reason for this feeling. She told the press: "My husband and I are planning a move to the East Coast and, you know, I just thought, when I moved here, one of my first big jobs was General Hospital, and it just felt very full circle for one of my last jobs in Los Angeles while I live here to be General Hospital and doing this character that I love so much." At the time of Lois' October 11 return, Sofer was still on-set filming scenes as Lois.