On September 7, 2024, Kristina Wagner celebrated 40 years as General Hospital's Felicia Cummings Jones Scorpio, one of Port Charles's most beloved citizens. While Felicia has come and gone through the years, she has never been far from fans' hearts.
Felicia's royal General Hospital beginnings
When Felicia first appeared on the Port Charles scene in 1984, she was disguised as a young man trying to find a royal Aztec treasure that was also a family heirloom.
Frisco Jones was unknowingly in possession of that treasure, which brought him into contact with Felicia. The character was soon revealed to be an Aztec princess, and she settled down in Port Charles and inevitably fell for Frisco.
Tragedy for Jack and Kristina Wagner
Frisco and Felicia married in 1986 while Wagner, who was known as Kristina Malandro at the time, fell for Jack Wagner, who played Frisco. The performers also married in 1993 but divorced in 2006. In 2022, tragedy struck when the Wagners' younger son, Harrison, died from a drug overdose at 27 years old.
In memory of their son, Jack and Kristina Wagner opened a scholarship fund for the New Life House, a California-based sober living community for young men.
Wagner looks back...and forward
In 2024, as Wagner celebrates 40 years with GH, Felicia is at the forefront of story once again after the soap signed the actress to a contract again in 2022. Her longevity as a GH favorite has not been lost on her, but she admits that moving to Los Angeles and becoming a soap star was a bit of a culture shock.
"It was so hard because I didn’t know what I was getting myself into, I didn’t know what the [soap] world was like. I didn’t know how to navigate being on a stage with five cameras," Wagner told Soap Opera Digest. "I didn’t know anything! I didn’t even pronounce words properly because I was an Indiana girl...But I just kept going and tried to pay attention and when I messed up, I learned from it. And it was nice to have Gloria believe in us, you know? She really wanted [Frisco and Felicia] to work."
Now, four decades later, Wagner sees herself differently, as we all grow and change through the years.
"Like any human, a lot has happened in my life and a lot of hardships have happened in my life," Wagner said. "And it’s easier to say today that I sit here in gratitude for having weathered a lot of things, and to sit here and be able to find joy, newfound joy, with all the stuff that’s coming my way at work, in my personal life. I think I’ve evolved and I like me better today than I did that girl then. But that girl then, I mean, she was on her way! She was finding her way. She messed up a lot as I do now, but she stood back up, and she was very resilient."
Felicia has also been on a journey along with Wagner. Her marriage to Frisco ended years ago, and while Felicia still has an adventurous side, she's now a patient advocate at GH. The character also found love and marriage again with Mac Scorpio, and fans look forward to more Mac and Felicia stories to come.
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