Leslie Charleson

Monica Quartermaine

August 1977 - Present

Ms Charleson was born in Kansas City, Missouri on February 22.  She began her television career as a regular on another ABC daytime series, A Time for Us. She also spent two-and-a-half years on the CBS daytime series, Love is a Many Splendored Thing, where she garnered her first Emmy nomination for the role of Iris Donelly Garrison.

A veteran of television commercials, Leslie credits Pearl Drops for getting her a part in the movie, Day of the Dolphin, directed by Mike Nichols, co-starring with George C. Scott. She then went on to perform in a David Merrick play called One Night Stand, opposite Tony Curtis.

Leslie moved to Hollywood, going on to guest-star on more than twenty TV series, including Adam 12, Barnaby Jones, The Streets of San Francisco, Medical Center, The FBI, Marcus Welby, M.D., Ironside, Kung Fu, Wild Wild West, Emergency, Baa Baa Black Sheep, Cannon and The Rockford Files. It was on Happy Days that Leslie gave Ron Howard his first on-screen kiss. She also co-starred with Deidre Hall in the movie for television, Woman on the Ledge, and also made a guest appearance on CBS' Diagnosis Murder.

She joined the GH cast in the role of Dr. Monica Quartermaine in August,1977, taking over for the original Monica, Patsy Rahn.  She has received numerous Emmy and Soap Opera Digest award nominations, her most recent being in 1995 during her portrayal of Monica’s battle with breast cancer.

Leslie is an active celebrity spokesperson for many causes, including breast cancer, cystic fibrosis and AIDS-related charities. She also proudly owns an Andalusian horse named Andarra that she rides and exhibits.