This little vixen
has done just about everything including stealing her birth mother's husband
and hiding the truth about her son's true paternity!
Growing up with her
adoptive parents, Carly Benson - or Caroline, as is her real name - never much
liked who she was. She had been abandoned as a newborn, given up for adoption
by a mother that she always assumed never wanted her and never gave her a
second thought. She was wrong; Nurse Bobbie Jones thought every day about the
little girl she left behind when she was a teenager on the streets. But Carly
couldn't know that, just as she couldn't know how it would feel to like
herself. At least, not until she fell in love with Bobbie's husband, Dr. Tony
Jones. In his arms, she liked who she was - the woman he loved!
When Carly arrived
in Port Charles, she made it her life's work to ingratiate herself to everyone
who crossed her path. Her Ms. Nice Guy routine worked wonders on everyone -
except for Nurse Amy Vining. An old pro at spotting people with two faces, Amy knew
from the start that there was more to General Hospital's new physical therapist
than met the eye.
Carly made a special
point to get close to Bobbie and her husband, Tony. Unbeknownst to Bobbie,
Carly was the daughter that she bore and gave up for adoption when she was a
teenage prostitute some 20 years ago. With their encouragement, Carly decided
to study nursing.
Unfortunately, Carly
wasn't a crackerjack student and to pass the entry test, she stole the exam.
Carly's personal life wasn't a model one either. Even as brain-damaged Jason
Morgan was falling in love with Robin Scorpio, he carried on a secret sexual
relationship with Carly.
At the same time,
Carly was developing strong feelings for Tony. Although she had come to town
intent on evening the score with her mother, she had found something special in
Tony. For the first time in her life, she felt cared for.
For her part, Carly
made Tony, who had shut down emotionally following the death of his daughter,
B.J., feel alive. In 1996, their fondness for one another gave way to passion,
and they began an affair.
The same day that
Bobbie walked in on the lovers, her brother, Luke, discovered that Carly was
the long-lost daughter that Bobbie had been searching for. To spare Bobbie any
further pain, he told her that her child had died - And he told Carly to get
out of Dodge.
But stubborn Carly
stuck it out in Port Charles, and soon, she and Tony were the talk of the town
- and living together. His continued feelings for Bobbie, even after she
married Stefan Cassadine, infuriated Carly, In a fit of pique, she made love
with a drunken A.J. Quartermaine. Tony and Carly managed to patch things up and
Carly learned that she was pregnant. The only question that remained was
whether AJ or Tony was the baby's father. Carly was desperate to hang on to
Tony and became concerned when A.J. started to remember events from the night
they had slept together. Carly drugged A.J. to make it seem that he had fallen
off the wagon. A.J. was ready to leave Port Charles permanently and check
himself into a clinic, but Keesha helped him piece together the events
surrounding his black out. AJ discovered Carly's deception and learned that
they had slept together and that he may be the father of her baby. After
further unsuccessful attempts by Carly to fool AJ about the paternity of her
baby, A.J. washed his hands of her, but made it clear that he was going to have
a paternity test done when her baby was born.
Eventually, Tony
discovered more of Carly's lies and deception and decided to break up with her
and sue for sole custody of her baby. Carly learned what Tony was doing and
told him that Jason was the father of the baby. Jason agreed to go along with
Carly's scheme, but made it clear that he would not lie if asked about the true
paternity of the baby.
Carly gave birth to
a baby boy and Tony learned that the baby's blood type ruled him out as the
father. To the surprise of both Jason and Carly, AJ incorrectly concluded that
Jason was the father of the baby. Carly then decided to leave town for a while
and left Jason in charge of raising her son. While Carly was away, Jason had
the baby baptized and named him Michael, after Sonny.When Carly returned to
Port Charles, Bobbie was concerned that Carly was not bonding with her son and
helped her bond with her baby. Bobbie's help and her emotional account of why
she had given Carly up for adoption made Bobbie and Carly closer. An emotional
Carly was moved to tell Bobbie that she was her daughter Caroline.
Bobbie was shocked
to learn that Carly had known all along that she was her daughter and how Carly
had plotted to ruin her life. A livid Bobbie then cut off all ties with Carly.
Virginia Benson, Carly's adoptive mother, arrived in Port Charles and was
sickened when she learned about all of Carly's dirty deeds and was upset that
Carly never told her about Michael. The stress of the confrontation caused
Virginia to suffer a stroke and die.
Carly later returned
to Florida with Jason and made peace with her past and her mother's memory.
When Jason and Carly returned home, Carly invited herself into his bed and
tried to make love to him. Jason rejected Carly and made it clear that he was
still in love with Robin and only wanted to remain friends with Carly.
The rift between
Bobbie and Carly quickly closed when Michael was kidnapped by Tony. The two
rekindled their bond and Bobbie stood by Carly during Tony's kidnapping trial.
When Tony got off virtually scott-free for his crimes, an emotional Carly shot
him. Even when Carly was sent away to Shadybrook Psychiatric Center for tests,
Bobbie never left her daughter's side.
Carly could not get
beyond her love for Jason Morgan, even though it was discovered that he was not
Michael's father, his brother AJ was. AJ proposed to Carly in an attempt to
make her fall in love with him and prove to the Quartermaines that he could be
in a successful marriage to a beautiful woman.
Carly reluctantly
agreed, but only to secure the life and financial security of her son Michael.
Carly and AJ tried to make it work, but she was always being pulled to Jason,
and AJ couldn't take it.
Upset about Jason's
closeness with Elizabeth Webber, Carly sought comfort in the arms of Sonny and
got pregnant. After an unsuccessful attempt to seduce AJ so she could pass the
baby off as his, Sonny figured out that Carly was carrying his child. He freed
Carly of AJ and the Quartermaines, got her a quickie divorce, and moved her
from the Quartermaine mansion to his penthouse.
Sonny and Carly's
happiness was shattered when Carly lost her unborn baby after falling down the
stairs at the Quartermaine mansion while arguing with AJ. Sonny and Carly were
both devastated by their loss.
Carly and Sonny
continued to grieve for their baby, but eventually bonded over their loss.
Carly wanted Sonny to take revenge against AJ and came up with a plot of her
own when he refused. To that end, Carly secretly took a gun to the Nurses Ball
and planned on killing AJ. Sonny stopped Carly before she shot AJ, who merely
laughed in the face of death. Carly was falling apart emotionally and Sonny
took her and Michael to his island paradise for some relaxation. The trip
worked wonders for Carly and she and Sonny became lovers again.
Carly was hopeful
for a future with Sonny, but became heartbroken when she overheard Sonny refer
to her and Michael as being obligations. Carly wanted Sonny to be with her
because he wanted to, not because he thought he had to. To that end, Carly
surprised Sonny when she announced that she and Michael were moving into the brownstone.
Neither Sonny nor Carly really wanted to change their living arrangement, but
both were too stubborn to admit their true feelings. Carly remained at the
brownstone for the time being and she and Sonny missed many opportunities to
connect.
During this time,
Mike racked up a huge gambling debt with Sorel and turned to Carly for help.
Against her own better judgement, Carly went to Sonny and asked for money
claiming it was for a down payment on a house. Sonny believed Carly's story and
gave her the money. A short time later, Sorel contacted Sonny and told him
about Mike's debt and Sonny agreed to a meeting. Carly, however, was under the
impression that Mike would be meeting with Sorel and she tipped the police as
to what was going down. Carly then went to the meeting place and hid in the
closet with a tape recorder. Carly was then stunned when Sonny arrived for the
meeting and even more shocked when the police arrived and arrested her and
Sonny! Sonny told Carly that she and Michael were moving into the penthouse
immediately and although Carly wanted to move back, this wasn't how she wanted
it to happen. Alexis then explained to Sonny that Carly would be the
prosecutions star witness and both Alexis and Sonny knew that Carly would be a
loose cannon on the stand. Sonny was then shocked when Alexis said he had to
marry Carly to prevent her from testifying.
Carly was stunned
when Sonny announced that the only way to keep her off the witness stand was
for them to get married. Jason offered Sonny an alternative to marrying Carly
and said he would take her and Michael out of the country. Carly, who truly did
have feelings for Sonny, realized she couldn't run away with Jason. Carly then
agreed to marry Sonny, who promised they would try to make a happy home
together. Carly and Sonny were then married as planned and Sonny was thrown
when Jason explained that Sonny was the man Carly loved.
Sonny and Carly
began to warm up to each other and later shared a passionate kiss. Afraid of
being rejected, however, Carly asked Sonny if they could take things slowly.
Shortly thereafter, Sonny confronted Mike, who ended up hitting Sonny in a
moment of fury. Sonny retreated into his own private pain and pushed Carly
away. Sonny then shocked Carly when he said he was going to have their marriage
annulled.
Sonny and Carly
continued to dance around their true feelings for one another. Slowly, Sonny
and Carly started to make a real connection and when Sonny learned that Mike
was missing, he allowed Carly to help him deal with his pain. Sonny learned
that the charges against him had been dropped and that there wouldn't be a
trial after all, but he and Carly mutually agreed to stay married. Sonny, Carly
and Michael had actually formed a happy little family!