Emily Quartermaine is a fictional character from the ABC soap opera General Hospital. The role was originated on January 20, 1995 by Amber Tamblyn, who portrayed the role until July 11, 2001. Natalia Livingston subsequently played Emily from April 1, 2003 until May 7, 2008, despite the character's death in November 2007. Livingston also appeared for two episodes in 2009, last appearing on June 23. Livingston made a surprise return for the show's 50th anniversary, appearing on April 2, 2013. She returned in 2014 for two subsequent guest appearances: on March 18 and April 1, respectively. In 2005, Livingston won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her portrayal of Emily.
Storylines
1995–2001
Monica Quartermaine meets Emily's mother Paige Bowen while the two women are undergoing treatment for breast cancer. After Paige dies, Monica and her husband, Alan Quartermaine, become Emily's guardians. Initially resistant to being adopted by the couple, Emily runs away with Lucky Spencer in search of her estranged aunt. The two return, and Emily agrees to let the Quartermaines adopt her.
When Monica has an affair with Dr. Pierce Dorman, Emily turns to drugs with her new friend Matt Reynolds. Pierce sues Monica for sexual harassment. Emily's cousin Ned Ashton discovers Emily's addiction. After Matt overdoses, Pierce is revealed to be the drug supplier and is soon murdered. Initially considered a suspect, Emily is eventually cleared and embarks on a new career in modeling. Emily finds herself the subject of a blackmail attempt, when she receives a photograph of her head photoshopped onto the body of a nude model. She enlists the help of Lucky, his half brother Nikolas Cassadine, and their mutual friend Elizabeth Webber. They discover the culprit is photographer Tom Baker, also responsible for raping Elizabeth. He is prosecuted, and sent to prison for blackmailing Emily. Due to lack of evidence, he cannot be prosecuted for raping Elizabeth.
In June 1999, Emily met Juan Santiago, a teenager from Puerto Rico. Juan believes local mobster Sonny Corinthos is his biological father. The two learn singer Miguel Morez is his father instead. Emily, who had harbored romantic feelings for Nikolas, begins dating Juan, despite disapproval from Monica and Alan. Juan eventually receives permission from his family to stay in Port Charles. Alan and Monica grow to accept the relationship. Wanting to follow in his father's footsteps as a singer, Juan secures a recording contract at L&B Records, run by Ned and his ex-wife Lois Cerullo and her friend Brenda Barrett. Emily's grandfather, Edward Quartermaine, attempts to sabotage a performance by Ned in order to lure Ned back to ELQ, the family business. Emily is overjoyed when Juan is well received as Ned's opening act, a ploy to buy more time while Ned is being located.
While attending a rave with their friends, Juan and Emily get into a fight, leading to Juan kissing socialite Alison Barrington. Emily spies the kiss, and accepts a drugged beer from a stranger. She strikes up a conversation with a man named Ted. She is later stunned when she awakes the next morning to find herself naked in a bed next to Ted, who has been murdered. Elizabeth, Lucky, and Nikolas agree to help, and hide Ted's body in a freezer at Wyndemere, Nikolas' family estate on Spoon Island. Emily is then blackmailed by Gia Campbell who knows Emily was with Ted before he died. Gia claims she is innocent in regards to Emily's blackmail. Emily's guilt grows when she learns Ted was an undercover police officer. She begins to push Juan away, and her friends learn Gia was actually attempting to blackmail Emily over her drug usage at the rave, not Ted's murder. The friends convince Gia to help them track down Ted's killer. She points them in the direction of drug dealer Zander Smith. They place Ted's body in Zander's trunk. Gia's brother Detective Marcus Taggert attempts to arrest Zander.
Zander takes Emily hostage. The two flee from the police. Emily learns Zander had been working for unethical mob boss Joseph Sorel, who placed a hit on Zander for the problems he had created. When she starts to develop romantic feelings for Zander, Emily chooses to stay with him rather than escape. He reveals Sorel is responsible for Ted's murder. Emily and Zander are tracked to the Canada–US border by her brother Jason Morgan, a mafia enforcer who works for Sorel's rival Sonny Corinthos. Emily convinces him to let Zander cross the border without interference.
Emily returns to Port Charles and the Quartermaines, and is stunned when Zander arrives at her window asking her to run away with him. She declines. Over the objections of her family, Emily continues to spend time with him. She also breaks up with Juan, who later leaves town. With the condition he testifies against Sorel, Sonny agrees to pay his bail and hires Nikolas' aunt, Alexis Davis, to represent Zander. When Zander is freed, he and Emily, Sonny, and Alexis find themselves the target of a gunman outside the Port Charles Police Department. Though Zander was wounded attempting to protect Emily, the Quartermaines decide to send her to boarding school to protect her. Zander finds Emily at her school. The two run away together, before returning to Port Charles.
When Edward learns the two have returned, he has Zander arrested. Alexis bails him out and has him move in with her. Emily leaves the Quartermaine mansion and moves into the boarding house above Kelly's Restaurant. Zander successfully testifies against Sorel, but finds himself in trouble with the law again after Edward is mugged and indicates Zander was the culprit. In exchange for Edward dropping the charges, Emily agrees to break up with Zander.
Zander attempts to return to his roots as a drug dealer, but realizes how much he loves Emily. The two reunite, and have sex for the first time on her prom night. Emily is then shocked when Skye Chandler arrives in Port Charles and reveals that Skye is Alan's illegitimate daughter from a dalliance with Dr. Rae Cummings, making Skye the eldest Quartermaine child. Due to Sorel's threats, Emily and Zander decide to leave town. Skye, jealous of Alan's relationship with Emily, agrees to give them money. Zander and Emily leave by train, but when the train is involved in an accident, Emily is paralyzed from the waist down. To be safe from Sorel while she recovers, Emily leaves for a rehabilitation center far from Port Charles in July, 2001.
2003–07 In spring 2003, Emily, recovered from her injuries, returns to Port Charles, hiding she has developed breast cancer. She decides to forgo chemotherapy, believing it killed her mother, and opts for an herbal protocol. Emily tells only Monica and Alan about her diagnosis. To hide her prognosis from Zander and believing she is going to die, Emily asks an initially reluctant Nikolas to pretend to fake a romantic relationship with her in order to push Zander away and spare Zander watching her die. Nikolas says no at first, but seeing his friend's turmoil and wanting to help, he relents and agrees to the fake romance. At the same time, Nikolas' uncle, Stefan Cassadine, begins pressuring him into marrying Lydia Karenin, a wealthy heiress who can save his family from losing their fortune. Nikolas is suspicious of their motives and happily makes Emily his focus of attention. Nikolas is steadfast in his friendship and support for Emily during this time and takes her to her chemo treatments, runs interference with Zander and Stefan and even threatens to tell Zander the truth if Emily doesn't attend a support group meeting. Monica thanks him for support and mentions it seems like his and Emily's fake romance is the real deal. Although he never states it, Nikolas has begun falling in love with Emily for real. Not knowing Nikolas, her first romantic crush from her teen years, is falling in love with her, Emily tells Zander she and Nikolas are engaged in order to stop Zander from trying to be with her. Although Nikolas is surprised by the announcement, he willingly goes along with it. A skeptical Zander and a desperate Stefan are appalled at the engagement and Stefan tries to insist Nikolas break it off. Nikolas tells Stefan he can either support their engagement or leave town. Stefan relents and offers to throw an engagement party for them as a token of good will, although he is secretly plotting to have Emily killed that evening. On the night of their engagement party, a hitman hired by Stefan accidentally throws Summer Holloway, Lucky's girlfriend, over a cliff to her death in an attempt to murder Emily.
After the support group, Emily is so mad at Nikolas that it fires her up and she starts to feel alive again. She goes to "confront" Nikolas about his manipulation of her and thanks him for giving her everything she needed to fight. While thanking him, she kisses him on the cheek and then they begin to kiss passionately. Immediately afterward, Lydia tells Emily she is hurting Nikolas by marrying him because it will cause him to go bankrupt and Lydia is the one who needs to marry Nikolas to save their fortunes. Emily decides to tell Zander the truth in part because she now believes he won't have to watch her die and in part to set Nikolas free to save his family fortune. When she goes to tell Nikolas she is going to tell Zander the truth, he does not fight it though he clearly is upset at the turn of events. Emily and Zander reunite and Nikolas and Lydia become engaged. Emily begins an aggressive chemotherapy treatment. After these events, Emily overhears Nikolas tell Lydia he may be marrying her, but Emily has his heart and always will. Stunned, Emily runs home and Nikolas follows. They confess their love for one another and kiss, but Emily refuses to treat Zander so badly and tells Nikolas they can't be together. Although they part as "just friends" it is clear they both want to be with each other. Believing Emily is beyond his reach, Nikolas marries Lydia to Stefan's delight and Nikolas' misery.
Monica tells Emily her chemotherapy is destroying her immune system. Emily is forced to stop treatment. Although she loves Zander and he is supportive, it is Nikolas to whom Emily turns with the devastating news of her treatment. Nikolas gets Emily to rally and promise not to give up fighting. She goes on a second chemo treatment and seems to be doing well, but the tests show she isn't faring well and her immune system is waning to the point that she has to be hospitalized. She develops meningitis and believes she is going to die. On her deathbed in her hospital room, Emily marries Zander as a last gift to him. Nikolas watches the ceremony from outside the room. Shortly after, she lapses into unconsciousness. Nikolas doesn't want to leave her during this stage. Alan and Monica permit him to be in the room next to hers overnight. Zander stays with Emily and while she is unconscious she dreams of kissing Nikolas and at the same time, Nikolas dreams of kissing her and bringing her back to life. Buoyed by her dream, Emily recovers to the relief and joy of her family and friends. As Emily recovers and starts married life with Zander, she fights her attraction to Nikolas, attempting to make her marriage work. On Halloween night, Emily confesses her love to Nikolas and they begin kissing only to be interrupted by Zander who lets her have it for all the lies she's told him and the heartache she's put him through. She ends things with Zander and he leaves. Although Nikolas is now divorced, he wants to be sure Emily won't regret her decision so he suggests they call it a night, but Emily insists she won't regret it and they have sex.