User:Nk3play2/Lulu Spencer

Lesley Lu "Lulu" Spencer is a fictional character from the original ABC Daytime soap opera, General Hospital.

Originally introduced in 1994, under executive producer, Wendy Riche, and created by head writer Claire Labine, Lulu is the only daughter of Supercouple, Luke and Laura Spencer. Sent away for her own protection as a child, the character is rapidly aged into a teenager in 2005 with Julie Marie Berman in the role. Lulu, much like her mother garners the attention of every young man in town from her stepbrother, Dillon Quartermaine (Scott Clifton), to the nerdy Damian Spinelli (Bradford Anderson). From 2006 to 2009, Lulu is embroiled in a love triangle with Logan Hayes (Josh Duhon), the son of her father's archenemy and mob prince, Johnny Zacchara (Brandon Barash). Most of Lulu's life mirrors that of her mother's, as she also faces mental instability resulting from the accidental murder of one of a loved one, in Lulu's case, her ex-boyfriend, Logan.

In addition to to her early romances, Lulu is also known for the show's first onscreen abortion as well her supercouple pairing with Dante Falconeri, and her rival turned friendship with Maxie Jones. Berman earned two Daytime Emmys in the Outstanding Younger Actress category for her portrayal of Lulu in 2009 and 2010, and a third in the Outstanding Supporting Actress in 2013.

Casting and creation
The character was initially played by several child actors. The role was originated by Amanda and Kerrianne Harrington in the summer of 1994. The Harrington siblings were replaced by Clare and Maribel Moses in March 1995. In September 1995 Alysin and Kelli Griffith stepped into the role and remained with the series until 2001. Child actress Stephanie Allen made her debut on September 11, 2001 on a recurring basis. Allen last appeared on December 23, 2003. Child actress, Tessa Allen stepped into the role on April 19, 2004 last appeared on June 17, 2005.

Julie Marie Berman joined the cast of General Hospital on October 25, 2005, as a rapidly aged Lulu. The casting immediately garnered much attention to due to Berman's strong resemblance to Genie Francis who played Laura; Lulu and Laura's strong resemblance was often mentioned within the series. In July 2012, Berman informed producers that she had no plans of renewing her contract when it expired in November. Despite no official word from ABC or Berman, rumors began to circulate that Berman was about to vacate the role. After months of speculation, on February 26, 2013, an issue of Soaps In Depth confirmed that Berman was indeed leaving the series and had just filmed her final scenes.

On March 6, 2013, TV Guide's Michael Logan hinted that an actor from General Hospital would be joining the cast of The Young and the Restless while a Y&R alum would be coming to GH on Twitter. Meanwhile, Jamey Giddens of Daytime Confidential reported that several sources said Rylan had been cast as Lulu, but nothing was official at the time. Several sources including Soap Opera Digest later confirmed that the reports were indeed true. Berman made her last appearance on March 22, 2013. Rylan took to Twitter and confirmed her first air date at April 11.

Genie Francis had just returned to the series in the fall of 1993, and had been happily married for several years now. She revealed to Soap Opera Digest that she was ready for children but admitted "it's unfair to the show to get pregnant during the first year of my contract. That would be unprofessional." The producers at the time requested that she avoid getting pregnant too soon and Francis agreed. However, shortly after the interview, Frances announced that she was indeed expecting her first child and the producers decided to write the pregnancy into the story. Laura gives birth to Lesley Lu on August 8, 1994 and to facilitate her maternity leave, in story Luke sends Laura and Lesley Lu into hiding when several threats are made against their lives.

Characterization
"As the product of the town's greatest love story, Lulu has a lot to live up to. Growing up virtually without both her parents hasn't been easy, but Lulu's slowly learning to move beyond her rebellious teen years. And while Lulu has admirers fighting over her left and right, the only guy she really wants in her life is her father." The writers originally introduce the teenaged Lulu as being "very rebellious and independent and open-minded as well," leaving Berman and the writers a lot of leeway to develop the character and figure out what works for her. The character of Lulu is often very feisty, and can at times come off as fearless. According to Berman, Lulu is anything but fearless, though she manages to hide her fear by mouthing off. Most significantly, Lulu has problems keeping her mouth shut when she and several others are taken hostage by Jerry Jacks (Sebastian Roché) at The Metro Court Hotel in February 2007; Berman explains that Lulu's comments come from a genuine place of survival, and as long as she can help it, she will never appear weak. Being the first adult performer in the role also allows Berman to put her own unique spin on the character, giving her specific strengths and weaknesses, adding more layers to the character. Berman describes Lulu as being "young and naive" one day, and "extremely wise and mature" the next day. Lulu comes out of every situation, and hardship in her life having learned something which Berman believes makes Lulu seem more "human" as apposed to appearing as a "hero" or "anti-hero," she's right in the middle which allows for the character to be easily redeemed when she messes up. However, Berman has expressed her desire to take the character a bit darker. Following her first Daytime Emmy win in 2009, Berman describes Lulu as being "a bulldozer," being "unlucky in love" which makes the character so much more "endearing." Berman sees Lulu as being one of the few characters who actually learns from her mistakes and does not repeat them.

Relationships
When Berman joined the cast, the writers scripted Lulu as being the object of every young male's affection, including her stepbrother, Dillon Quartermaine (Scott Clifton). In the meantime, Lulu develops a close friendship with mob tech-geek, Damian Spinelli (Bradford Anderson) who gives her the nickname, "The Blonde One." Berman admitted that she hoped the writers would pair Lulu and Spinelli together, romantically, because it was so unconventional, and went away from the usual soap theme of pairing two very attractive people together. Though she was of a fan of their potential pairing, Berman acknowledged that most of the entertainment comes from Spinelli's quest to win Lulu's affections, and constantly failing, instead of succeeding. Lulu also catches the attention of bodyguard, Milo Giambetti (Drew Cheetwood). According to Berman, "She likes his thoughtful personality and enjoys his dopey, heart-on-his-sleeve approach. It's nice to be adored, and Milo adores her." Berman revealed that she was never really aware of the fans' reaction to any of her romantic pairings. In 2009, the trend of Lulu having more than one man vying for her affections continued with Dr. Matt Hunter (Jason Cook) and Dante Falconeri. However, Berman's pairing with Cook is written off as a brief fling and mild flirtation before the character is paired with Dante. Berman labeled Lulu's trio of suitors, Dillon, Spinelli and Milo her "Three Stooges of Love" due to their wacky hijinks to get her attention. Dillon and Lulu's affair destroys his marriage to Georgie Jones (Lindze Letherman) and results in Lulu's pregnancy. The plot involving Lulu would be the network's second time dealing with the issue, since daytime legend, Susan Lucci's 1971 abortion story as Erica Kane on All My Children. Lulu's decision has lasting affects on the character, most significantly in the spring of 2010, when she must tell her new boyfriend, Dante Falconeri (Dominic Zamprogna), who is product of a teenage pregnancy, that she had an abortion.

In the spring of 2007, the writers started testing Berman's chemistry with newcomer, Josh Duhon as the mysterious Logan Hayes; however, Berman was unsure of the couple's potential. Before Duhon's arrival, the producers had trouble finding a strong enough actor to stand opposite Berman. In an interview with Soap Opera Digest, Duhon said that Lulu's personal strength is what attracts Logan to her. Logan sees Lulu as a kindred spirit because they both grow up with absent fathers. Throughout the summer of 2007, Logan and Lulu grow closer and when they finally start to explore their feelings for one another, Logan is revealed as the illegitimate son of her mother's first husband and her father's arch nemesis, Scott Baldwin (Kin Shriner). Logan initially pursues Lulu in exchange for sex with Maxie Jones (Kirsten Storms). Once Lulu sees that Logan isn't like his father, she starts to fall for him. Logan shows her his vulnerability, Lulu understands some of his questionable actions, and she begins to care for him. On the other hand, Logan falls for Lulu as well. Berman said that Logan actually being attracted to Maxie, but falling for Lulu, made the storyline much more compelling. Logan is torn, while Maxie has no idea that he actually has feelings for Lulu. However, the most significant part of the story would prove to be their fathers' strong disdain for one another, and neither man accepting the relationship. Though Luke will never approve, he always lets his children "live and learn" and he will never risk his relationship with Lulu to keep her away from Logan. After Lulu and Logan's break up, Lulu was paired with Johnny Zacchara (Brandon Barash) and the writers develop a romantic triangle, with Scott meddling and manipulating to get the couple back together. However, after Luke skips town with a comatose Laura, Scott charged him with kidnapping; in order to get the charges dropped, and her older brother Nikolas Cassadine (Tyler Christopher) reinstated as Laura's guardian, Lulu promised to give Logan a second chance. Despite Logan's betrayal, Lulu still cared for him and tried to maintain their friendship. Also, seeing Scott willing to give up Laura for Logan to be happy, caused Lulu to see Scott in a different light, much to her father's dismay. Johnny enters the picture at a very convenient time as Lulu ran off with him to avoid facing Logan. Berman describes Lulu as being attracted to people with "baggage," as she can relate to them, due to her own chaotic life. Johnny is the perfect type of guy for Lulu because his life is one big question mark; she can't really figure him out, and in trying to find out more about him, she begins falling for Johnny. The danger Johnny brings is very familiar to Lulu. At times, he scared her, and was very unpredictable, but Lulu seemed to have a calming effect on him, which only strengthened their attraction. When the duo break into a cabin, Johnny pulls a gun on the owner, threatening to kill him, and Lulu is able to talk him out of it. A confrontation between Logan and Johnny was inevitable; "I don't think she intentionally seeks out Johnny to spite Logan, but they do keep bumping into each other. And if Logan finds out about it? That's his problem," Berman stated in an interview. Johnny and Lulu officially began dating in early 2008, as Lulu suspected Logan of being the Text Message Killer and accidentally put him in a coma after hitting him with a wrench. Barash reveals in an interview that Lulu is very conflicted when it comes to her feelings for both men; she tries to do the right thing while also thinking about what is best for her. However, Logan waking from the coma complicated the new relationship even more. The writers then start to develop the trio as a triangle, with Lulu in a committed relationship with Johnny, while she harbors guilt about Logan's coma.

1994–2005
Lesley Lu Spencer is born on August 8, 1994 in the fictional city of Port Charles, New York to Luke and Laura Spencer. The character is named for her maternal grandmother, Lesley and the alias "Lu" used by her mother when her parents are on the run from mob boss, Frank Smith. Laura asks her close friend, Tiffany Hill to be Lulu's godmother. Due to Luke's association with mob boss Sonny Corinthos, Lulu's infancy is plagued by danger, with her mother fleeing town with her at one point. As an infant, Lulu is diagnosed with aplastic anemia, forcing Laura to reveal the existence of another son, Nikolas Cassadine, born during her captivity with Stavros Cassadine. Nikolas saves Lulu's life with a bone marrow transplant, but Luke and Laura's marriage is destroyed by the revelation of this secret. After the divorce, Lulu is primarily raised by her mother, but Luke and Laura eventually reconcile and plan to remarry. When Laura appears to have murdered her stepfather, Rick Webber, she becomes catatonic and Lulu is sent to be raised by Lesley.

2006–
In late 2005 a troubled 17 year old Lulu is sent to live Luke and her stepmother, Tracy Quartermaine (Jane Elliot). Lulu and Tracy clash while Lulu falls for her new stepbrother, Dillon. She teams up with Diego Alcazar (Ignacio Serricchio) to break up Dillon and his new wife, Georgie. After a one-night-stand with Dillon, Lulu learns she is pregnant and decides to terminate the pregnancy. In November 2006, Lulu is briefly reunited with her mother, long enough for her parents to "remarry" on what would've been their 25th wedding anniversary. Laura falls back into a coma, and Lulu decides to help clear her mother of Rick Webber's murder. In the meantime she develops a close friendship with Damian Spinelli, the employee mobsters of Sonny Corinthos and Jason Morgan (Steve Burton). In 2007, Lulu intercepts a letter from the late Alan Quartermaine (Stuart Damon) to her father, which reveals that Scott Baldwin as Rick's killer; knowing the trouble it will cause, Lulu keeps the information to herself. Meanwhile, Lulu falls for the troubled soldier, Logan Hayes who is soon revealed as Scott's son. Lulu later discovers that Logan only pursued her as part of a bet with Maxie Jones and after dumping Logan, she becomes involved with mob prince, Johnny Zacchara. Lulu accidentally puts Logan in a coma, and when he recovers, he begins stalking her. Meanwhile, Lulu and Maxie begin working together as the assistants to Kate Howard (Megan Ward), the editor of Crimson magazine. After Lulu kills Logan in self-defense, she and Johnny go on the run and when they return, Johnny admits to the crime while Lulu is committed to Shadybrook. Scott returns threatening Lulu with lethal injection for Logan's murder forcing Laura to wake up and defend her daughter. Following her split with Johnny, Lulu begins bonding with drifter Ethan Lovett (Nathan Parsons) who is revealed as Luke's illegitimate son. Lulu attracts the attention of mob soldier, Dominic Pirelli and Dr. Matt Hunter. Lulu agrees to go on a date with Matt to the General Hospital Carnival but he cancels at the last minute. After Dominic rescues her cousin, Morgan from being hit by a car, Lulu agrees to a date. In October 2009, Lulu is accidentally drugged at a Crimson photo shoot and comes upon Dominic conspiring with Detective Ronnie Dimestico (Ronnie Marmo) and realizes he's a cop. He takes her back to his place where she passes out, and fortunately, doesn't remember the previous night. While searching for a pregnant Carly, Lulu falls through the rotting floor boards at the old Zacchara and gets trapped in the water filled basement. Dominic gets in water with her to keep her warm and she forces him to admit that he is really an undercover cop named Dante, and his mother is Johnny's new girlfriend, Olivia Falconeri (Lisa LoCicero). Dante is investigating Sonny for the murder of his childhood idle, Lieutenant Vince Poletti and fearing for his safety, Lulu tries to talk him out of it. Dante and Lulu go on their first official date to the opera in December 2009.

In early 2010, the crazed artist Franco (James Franco) kidnaps Lulu and straps her to a bomb forcing Dante to save her. Lulu questions their relationship after discovering Nikolas's affair with Lucky's fiancée, Elizabeth Webber (Rebecca Herbst). Johnny warns Lulu about keeping Dante's secret from her family and when Dante starts pushing her away, Lulu calls him a coward. On January 29, as Lulu is standing up as the godmother for Carly's newborn daughter, Josslyn, Dante is shot by Sonny. Lulu professes her love for Dante before he goes into surgery and she helps Olivia reveal that Sonny is actually Dante's father. Lulu and Dante bring her cousin and his brother, Michael (Chad Duell) back to town to testify against Sonny and they are shocked when Michael confesses to Claudia's murder. With Michael going to prison, and the world against them, Dante and Lulu make love for the first time on May 5. In August 2010, Lulu catches on to Carly's scheme with Brook Lynn Ashton (Adrianne León) to seduce Dante and break them up. The couple faces another hurdle in early 2011 at Sonny's wedding to Brenda Barrett (Vanessa Marcil) where it is revealed that Brenda had a child, and Dante pretended to be the father. Lulu's family is sent into turmoil when an intoxicated Luke runs down Lucky and Elizabeth's son Jake, killing him. Lulu and Ethan are in denial about their father being an alcoholic but reluctantly agree to an intervention which sends Luke out of town. Lulu quits Crimson to run her father's casino, The Haunted Star in his absence. She later follows Luke to a brothel in Florida only for him to reject her again. Lulu is about to be raped by the brothel owner, Javier, when Dante rescues her. After a run in with Nikolas and Helena Cassadine (Constance Towers) in Greece, Dante convinces Lulu to go back to Port Charles. Lulu is furious when she learns that Dante has been hiding that Lucky has started using drugs again. After reconciling, Dante proposes marriage and she is hesitant. After several interferences, the couple finally marries on December 23. Lulu ends up working as the evidence room clerk for the Port Charles Police Department and falsely accuses Detective Delores Padilla (Rebeka Montoya) of covering for her husband, Eddie as the man attacking strippers. After Eddie's arrest, Lulu realizes Ronnie is the real culprit and he kidnaps her along with Sam McCall (Kelly Monaco) allowing for Dante and Detective John McBain (Michael Easton) to rescue them and kill Ronnie. Luke and Tracy are arrested in connection with the murder of Anthony Zacchara and Lulu maintains their innocence. Luke then mysteriously disappears and Lulu receives a letter from him which causes her to question her life with Dante; meanwhile, Lulu reopens The Haunted Star as a night club with Johnny as a partner, making Dante jealous. Fortunately, Lulu is soon revealed that Heather Webber (Robin Mattson) kidnapped Luke and forged the letter so his family wouldn't search for him. Lulu and Maxie convince the grieving widower, Dr. Patrick Drake (Jason Thompson) face his drug abuse and check into rehab. Another of Heather's victims, Olivia hallucinates Lulu being nine months pregnant after she is injected with LSD. After Lulu gets sick, Maxie convinces her to take a pregnancy test which is positive. The doctor tells Lulu and Dante that Lulu is not pregnant, and that the test may have been a false positive or Lulu experienced a chemical pregnancy, a miscarriage very soon after conception. Dante and Lulu then begin procreating until they learn she cannot carry to term. They then enlist Maxie as their surrogate. During the pregnancy, Lulu gets a bit overprotective. In the meantime, Laura returns home and reveals that she is engaged to Scott. Lulu realizes that her mother only accept Scott's proposal because she thought Luke was unavailable. In March 2013, Lulu and Dante invite their parents over to see the baby's first sonogram. After receiving a mysterious teddy bear with a clock, Lulu faints. Dante finds her unconscious and is then knocked out. When Dante comes to, Lulu has disappeared. When Dante finds Lulu at Cassadine compound in Greece, she is cryogenically frozen thanks to Stavros Cassadine (Robert Kelker-Kelly) who has developed an obsession with Lulu. Though they are able to free her, Lulu has no recollection of her past and believes she is married to Stavros. Upon their return to Port Charles, Lulu escapes the hospital and hides out with her old friend, Milo.

Reception
Though some critics and viewers disapproved of the character's decision, the show was applauded for being brave enough to focus on the issue, despite most of the genre shying away from the subject. Writer Stephanie Dray saw Lulu as the perfect character to feature in the storyline. Dray argued that having Lulu just consider the option, and at the last minute, change her mind, similar to what the show id with Lulu's older cousin, Carly Corinthos (Sarah Brown) when she was in the same situation, would not really shed any light on the topic. Dray also discussed the reality that millions of women were having abortions, and that the topic deserved to be explored. Dray urged the writers to have Lulu go through with the abortion, giving women who believed in their right to have an abortion a voice within Daytime television, and allowing viewers to form opinions about the character, based on her actions. Lulu's 2006 abortion storyline along with Berman's portrayal of Lulu during Genie Francis's 2006 return garnered Berman her very first Daytime Emmy nomination in the Outstanding Younger Actress category in 2007. She was nominated alongside her new co-stars, Francis and Anthony Geary who plays Luke. The storyline also showcased Berman's range as an actress from making Lulu appear very driven and determined and at the same time, to vulnerable and scared.

In 2009, Berman received her second nomination in the category, along with co-star Kirsten Storms who portrayed Lulu's best "frenemy," Maxie Jones, for her work in 2008 when Lulu accidentally kills her ex-boyfriend which leads to the character having a mental breakdown. Billed by the academy as the "Sanity Shakened Lulu Spencer", Berman picked up her first Daytime Emmy. Berman joined the likes of her on-screen parents, Genie Francis and Anthony Geary, as well as her on-screen brother Jonathan Jackson who originated the role of Lucky, giving every family member an Emmy win. In 2010, Berman earned her third nomination and picked up her second Emmy win for her portrayal of Lulu who breaks up with another boyfriend following her previous boyfriend's murder.

Recast
During an interview with Soaps In Depth Berman acknowledged her disappointment in her final scenes because it was clear the role was being recast. Omar Nobles of TVSource said Rylan's casting was "Awesome news!" and describing Rylan as a "dynamic" and being "more than capable of playing Lulu's complexities." However, Nobles hoped that she would share chemistry with Dominic Zamprogna not wanting Lulu's marriage to end because of a lack of chemistry. Michael Fairman referred to Rylan's first storyline as an "intriguing" way to usher her in, considering Berman was so beloved.