Tracy Quartermaine

Casting

The role of Tracy Quartermaine was originated by actress Jane Elliot in June 1978. After two years with the series, Eliot left the role in June 1980. The actress later reflected on the decision to leave, citing an insult from executive producer Gloria Monty over a salary dispute as the reason for her departure. In December 1988, after months of rumors, it was announced that Elliot would reprise the role of Tracy. She returned on March 17, 1989. Later that year, Elliot went on maternity leave, and veteran soap opera actress, Christine Jones assumed the role of Tracy that November. Jones portrayed the role for about a month, before Elliot's return. Elliot left the series once again in 1993, last appearing on June 16. She briefly returned to the series from July 26 to October 7, 1996. Later in 1996, it was announced that Elliot would bring the role of Tracy to fellow ABC soap opera, The City. Elliot debuted on the October 7, 1996, episode of The City. The decision was an attempt to garner interest in the series, after the departure of lead actress Morgan Fairchild. Elliot remarked, "It was all the network's idea. Morgan was leaving and it was a very big loss for the show. It was already in the works that I was returning to General Hospital for a while". The City was canceled in 1997, to make room for the General Hospital spin-off, Port Charles. Elliot remained with the series through its finale on March 28, 1997.

In 2003, it was announced that Elliot would once again be reprising the role on General Hospital. She returned on April 15, 2003. In March 2017, Daytime Confidential and other media outlets broke reports that Elliot would be leaving General Hospital at the end of her current deal with the serial; she last appeared on May 4, 2017. In November 2019, Entertainment Weekly reported that Elliot will be returning to the show. She appeared from December 23, 2019, to February 4 of the following year. In November 2020, it was announced Elliot would again reprise the role, she returned from November 30 to January 29, 2021. Elliot then made a surprise return on January 3, 2022. She departed again on February 2 of that year.

On January 11, 2023, at ABC's Television Critics Association panel, it was announced Elliot would return for the soap's 60th anniversary. Soap Opera Digest reported Elliot's return would be a "long-term stay". She was set to make her return during the April 17, 2023, episode; however, due to a preemption, her return date was pushed back to April 18.

Storylines

Backstory

Tracy Angelica Quartermaine is born on Southampton, New York on April 6, 1949, as the youngest child of Edward and Lila Quartermaine. Tracy was introduced onscreen in 1978, as a divorcée and neglectful mother. Backstory established that she had married young to Lord Lawrence "Larry" Ashton and had a son, Ned Ashton. When she divorced Larry Ashton, her son Ned spent a great deal of time with his grandparents or at boarding school while his mother focused on travel or her social life. In addition to Lord Ashton, it was mentioned that she had been married three other times, although Larry was the only one ever seen on screen.

1978–1980

Tracy arrived in Port Charles in 1978 as the scheming daughter of Edward and Lila Quartermaine for Alan and Monica's wedding. A divorcee with a young son, Ned (off in boarding school), Tracy felt Monica was beneath them although she did grow to respect Monica as a physician. Determined to always be the center of attention at social functions, Tracy flirted with many of the men she met, although most of them were already involved in other relationships. Edward and Lila shed light on their daughter's character to Monica at a Thanksgiving gathering, warning her that Tracy would be ruthless in her attempts to hold onto her grandfather's trust fund for her son. Despite often friendly encounters with Monica, Tracy was determined to prevent any male children of Monica's from getting their hands on the trust fund. This was fueled by her discovery that Monica was having an affair with Monica's first love, Rick Webber. Her mission was to determine that Monica's unborn child was indeed not a Quartermaine heir, but rather a Webber heir. This was a problem as both Monica and Rick were married to other people at the time, Monica to Alan, and Rick to Lesley Williams. When Monica was injured falling down the stairs in the Quartermaine mansion and had to spend the remainder of her pregnancy in bed, Tracy visited her with a peace offering, and told her that she was praying for Monica's unborn child, which she hoped was a girl. But when tests proved otherwise, Tracy's schemes went into high gear, although she was concerned about Monica and the soon to be born baby when Monica was trapped at the mansion during a snowstorm with only Lesley Webber, Gail Baldwin and the Quartermaine housekeeper, Stella Fields, to aide her during labor. But once this crisis was over and Monica returned home, Tracy's schemes to prove that Rick was the father became more aggressive, causing the rivalry between the two women to explode into war.

Tracy had flirtations with Rick Webber and Gary Lansing, but his wife Gina prevented them from getting further involved. Tracy's personal life had taken a hopeful turn when she fell in love with D.A. Mitch Williams, the ambitious politician who had prosecuted Lesley for murder. Little did Tracy know that Mitch was in love with waitress Susan Moore and was only using her for money and position in his attempts to win the state senate race. Mitch's attempts to gather votes by promising to bring down the local mob lead to an assassination attempt on his life, and in November 1979, he was shot at during the middle of his victory party as Tracy watched in horror. His arm was only grazed, but assassin Roy DiLucca was killed. Tracy, who hoped to marry Mitch the next day, went to his suite, and found him in bed with Susan. Refusing to give in to her pride, Tracy ordered Susan out and married Mitch anyway, humiliated in knowing that he loved another woman and was only using her. Even though Edward distrusted Mitch, he had put money up for Mitch's campaign. In 1980, Edward, tried to test her loyalty by pretending to have a heart attack. When Tracy failed to give her father his heart medication, he disowned her, and she was banished from the Quartermaines. During their marriage, Mitch continued his affair with Susan who would later have an affair with Tracy's brother, Alan. Tracy uses her financial influence with Mitch to get him to end the affair and they relocate to Albany in June 1980 where she presumably lived comfortably but unhappily as a senator's wife. However, the marriage quickly falls apart and Tracy divorces Mitch and goes off to Europe.

1989–1993

Tracy returned to Port Charles in 1989, just a year after her son, Ned Ashton, arrived. Prior to her arrival, her first husband Lord Lawrence Ashton was introduced to the scene with his new wife, a much younger woman named Arielle. Tracy, polite but cool towards Ned's girlfriend, Dawn Winthrop, investigated her and discovered that she was really Monica's illegitimate daughter which made her instantly disapprove. She informed Lawrence upon her return that she had discovered that his late parents had not legally been married, and that there was another heir to the Ashton fortune out there, which she intended to keep secret in order to maintain Ned's inheritance from his paternal grandfather. But when Quartermaine mechanic Charlie Prince was discovered to be the missing heir, Lawrence lost everything, and he began to woo Tracy in order to get his hands on some Quartermaine cash. Tracy's other major concern was the impending romance between her brother Alan and his friend Lucy Coe, who became an instant enemy of Tracy's. At the same time that Alan was having an affair with Lucy, Alan's wife Monica was having an affair with Tracy's son Ned. Later that year, Tracy and the rest of the Quartermaines faced tragedy when Edward Quartermaine's jet crashed on a desert island. Everyone grieved including Lila and Tracy, who was determined to find out what had happened to her father. Tracy nearly lost ELQ's fortune when she became involved with the supposedly wealthy and powerful Nicholas Van Buren, who was really an international criminal known as Domino. Immediately after this, Tracy was accused of the murder of David McAllister who was actually killed by his own assistant, Jimmy O'Herlihy. Scott Baldwin was her attorney and later became her romantic flame. They were interrupted during a tryst by a visiting Lee and Gail who were more than stunned by Scotty's involvement with Tracy. At the same time that all of this was happening, both Alan and Tracy were fighting for ownership of ELQ, the family company. As a result of her actions, Alan blackmailed Tracy into resigning from the family company.

In the early 1990s, Tracy and Larry tried to get rid of her sister-in-law, Lucy Coe, whom Tracy disapproved of even more than Monica. It was later revealed by Larry that Lucy was pregnant with the child of Scotty Baldwin, not Alan, and rather than repeat what had happened years ago with Monica, Alan divorced Lucy, although she would remain friends with him and even establish a pleasant acquaintance with both Tracy and Monica, whom Tracy now approved of, and encouraged Alan to remarry. Tracy kicked Larry Ashton out after realizing that he was no good, and he left town permanently. Later on, Tracy became entranced with Paul Hornsby, a young man who was infatuated with Jenny Eckert, a distant cousin of Luke Spencer. Paul, involved with shady characters determined to get their hands on ELQ was forced into marrying Tracy, and Jenny began to date Ned. Tracy found Jenny to be a threat to her happiness with Paul, so she encouraged Ned and Jenny even though she couldn't stand her. She decided to dig up some information on her to keep her away from Paul, and discovered that Jenny, who had claimed to be a virgin, had an abortion when she was only a teenager. However, Paul found out what had been going on and decided to leave Tracy with their newborn son, Dillon Hornsby to marry Jenny whose marriage to Ned was unsuccessful. In a moment of rage, Tracy ran over Jenny with her car, and fled the scene of the accident. Later, Jenny remembered seeing Tracy behind the wheel and blackmailed her into getting a divorce from Paul and sharing custody of Dillon with Paul. Tracy fulfilled most of the terms, but in the end, Edward disowned her once again, and even compassionate words from Lila couldn't change his mind. Distraught over being banished yet again, Tracy was grateful when Monica provided her with emotional support as she prepared to leave town. Tracy was supposed to give Paul joint custody of Dillon, but because she did not like Jenny and what she did to Ned, she took Dillon with her to Europe.

1996–1997

Tracy returned to Port Charles in 1996, with hopes of taking over the company from her son, Ned. At the time, Ned was leading a double life, one as a son and financier at ELQ, and another as a rock star, known as "Eddie Maine". However, Tracy soon fell out of favor with the family again. It was during this brief visit that Tracy encountered Luke Spencer at Kelly's while Ned was performing. After Edward kicked her out once again, she blackmailed her old acquaintance Sydney Chase (Morgan Fairchild) into selling her the building located at 212 Greene Street, in the SoHo section of New York City, and joined the series The City. Living briefly with Dillon in the building's penthouse, she became involved with ailing mafioso boss, Gino Soleito and in December 1996, Gino gets her to agree to marriage. Tracy immediately clashes with Gino's daughter, Carla who believes she is after Gino's money. Gino and Tracy wed in late February 1997 and on the wedding night she pretends to be sick to avoid consummating the marriage. In early March, Tracy hires a prostitute to pretend to be her when Gino wants to consummate the marriage and he dies. Tracy became—in her words—the crime family's new "godmother". Her new status served as the inspiration for a twisted joke on Thanksgiving Day 1997, when she sent a group of her henchmen to Port Charles to rob her family at gunpoint and pretend to threaten their lives. In the course of the "joke," the prepared food was ruined, continuing a long-running streak of ruined Quartermaine Thanksgiving dinners that resulted in the family ordering take-out pizza.

2003–2006

In 2003, Tracy returned to Port Charles. This time, she came with her son Dillon (now a teenager and using the surname Quartermaine). The first time he met the family, it was apparent to Dillon that they did not approve of him simply because he was Tracy's son. Tracy later blackmailed Skye for $5 Million when she told her about her true parentage. Tracy told Skye how Edward sold her on the Black Market right after she was born. Skye refused to give into her blackmail and ultimately revealed all to the Quartermaines and Tracy's part in it. The entire family got angry with Tracy, and Lila kicked Tracy out of the mansion. When Tracy left town, she left Dillon behind with Edward and Lila.

Tracy returned to Port Charles in 2004, after Dillon was arrested. Since no one else was willing to bail him out of jail, his friend Sage Alcazar decided to call Tracy. By this time, the bond that Tracy and Dillon once shared began to tear and Dillon began to find out the exact kind of person that his mother really was. Also, in 2004, Tracy was devastated by the death of her elderly mother, Lila Quartermaine. Tracy lashed out on the entire family once again before having a heart-to-heart with big brother Alan. Tracy also delivered a kind and caring eulogy at her mother's funeral. At the same time, Tracy begins scheming with the help of Jasper Jacks to take over control of ELQ from Ned. This included proving that Ned was corrupt and that Edward was not of sound mind. Edward, with the help of Luke Spencer and Skye Quartermaine, eluded Tracy and Alan's plots to "take care of Daddy".

Tracy fell victim to a cruel prank at the hand of her son, Dillon Quartermaine, and his girlfriend, Georgie Jones, for Luke Spencer. The plan was to get roughly $15 million he planted in her bank account to bail Helena Cassadine out of extradition. Since Tracy did not want to give him the money, Luke decided to pull the ultimate prank on her. He would have Dillon call Tracy from Las Vegas and tell her that he and Georgie eloped. Knowing this would get Tracy to Vegas, Luke used this as an opportunity to manipulate Tracy's weakness: alcohol. Once Tracy arrived in Vegas, it was too late - Dillon and Georgie were married. This drove Tracy into a drunken fit. Luke offered to buy her a few more drinks and they both proceeded to get more drunk. Since Tracy drank more than Luke did, she was completely incapacitated when Luke proposed marriage and she accepted. The following morning, when she woke up, Luke revealed everything to Tracy and the conditions to ending their marriage from hell. At first her marriage to Luke was platonic, and it continued because of finances, but she had to fight romantic feelings for Luke, who continued to be devoted to his former wife and great love, Laura Spencer, who briefly came out of a catatonic state in late 2006. Tracy had to deal with her son Dillon's entanglement with his stepsister Lulu Spencer. She advised Lulu against having an abortion when she became pregnant by Dillon, feeling Lulu would eventually regret her decision. Tracy revealed to Lulu that she had had an abortion after a brief relationship with a man she was involved after her marriage to Larry Ashton ended. Tracy was supportive when Lulu did abort the baby and was relieved for Dillon's sake that he would not become a father so young. Tracy began to be haunted by a recently deceased Alan, who served as her moral compass, as she doesn't have much of a conscience. As Tracy began to be more supportive of Dillon and Lulu, the ghost of Alan decided it was time for him to move on.

2007–2008

In 2007, Luke and Tracy's marriage has moved more away from platonic and closer to love. Her son, Dillon, and Lulu Spencer find evidence to suggest that Laura did not kill Rick Webber, but Scott Baldwin in fact did. Tracy and Dillon agreed to keep the evidence of the revelation from Luke Spencer, as it will destroy Luke that he caused Laura's physical breakdown. Tracy has also come to care about Lulu. Edward is up to no good and sends Tracy to a mental hospital after she talks to Alan in front of Lainey and also she found out that her only ally was Lulu. Tracy discovered that Lulu's friend, Logan Hayes, was the son of Luke's enemy, Scott Baldwin. She forbade Lulu to see him, but Lulu didn't listen to Tracy's advice. When Tracy decides to crush the family company, her father has no choice but to let Tracy out of the mental house and she is the only person who can get through to her stepdaughter, Lulu Spencer. With Tracy out of Shadybrooke, she could now focus on ruining Lulu's relationship with Logan. The first step was to get Scott Baldwin to admit that Hayes is his son. After receiving iron-clad proof that the two were related, Scott tried to get back into Logan's good graces. As it failed and Tracy was determined to get Luke back home, she offered Logan money to play nice with his father and regain good spirits with Lulu after using her to make Maxie Jones look good. Hayes rejected the offer and suggested to Tracy that Lulu would go back to him when she realized how real their connection was but both were unaware that Lulu already agreed to Scott that she would give Logan a second chance. Upon realizing this, Tracy slapped Scott and resented him more for manipulating Lulu back into Logan's arms. This indicated that Tracy genuinely cared for Lulu's well-being. At the same time, Luke returned in October. Tracy revealed to Luke what happened with his daughter and Scott's son. Lulu at the same time got mixed up with Jason Morgan and Johnny Zacchara. Now, Luke and Tracy were teamed up to protect Lulu and her safety. Tracy has offered her to come back, but she declined. Luke had asked for Tracy's assistance in the matter, and she accepted, despite Ghost Alan warning her against interfering with Luke's events. Though Alan continued to haunt his sister, he still continued to serve as her conscience and sole guardian. A few days before Halloween 2007, the Spencers received an invitation from Nikolas Cassadine to attend a fancy dress Black and White Ball in Alan's honor. While both Tracy and Luke sneered at the thoughts of that function, Tracy reminded him that if they wanted to gain leverage on Baldwin and Hayes, and keep an eye on Logan and Lulu, it would be a good idea to attend. At the function, she came late and did not actually appear at Wyndemere Castle. It was, however, implied that Tracy was expected to be late, by Luke's admission. When she finally arrived at Wyndemere Castle, she was isolated by the burgeoning storm and she stood on the deck by herself for 90 minutes before getting up to Wyndemere. Alfred, the Cassadine family butler, mistakenly scared Tracy, allowing her to lose her balance and fall down an entire flight of stairs. Luke kissed her, thankful that she was alive and did not fall victim to Anthony Zacchara. He, Scott Baldwin, and Cooper Barrett rescued her from the collapse, while Tracy and Luke and Scott barricaded themselves in the master bedroom, where Luke vowed to "nurse her back to health". When Tracy offered for Luke to go search for Zacchara, he told her that he did not want her to be his next victim.

2009–2017

In early 2009, Tracy then bailed Luke and his new friend Ethan Lovett out of jail. Tracy fixed the results of a DNA test to show that Luke was not Ethan's biological father, after Helena Cassadine pointed out how much alike the two were, but Tracy did not know the true outcome. It was later determined that Ethan was, in fact, Luke's son and Tracy's stepson. Tracy struggled with Luke's affections for Ethan's biological mother Holly Sutton who eventually left town again. Luke took off for the summer, and Tracy did not go after him. When he returned they began to get closer. Luke, Ethan and Lulu spent Thanksgiving with the Quartermaine's, and Tracy spent Christmas Eve with the Spencers. In 2010, Tracy has been there for Luke in the problems his children have been having. She has tried to protect Ethan from working with Johnny, and his problems with Kristina Davis. She bailed him out after he was arrested. When Tracy becomes suspicious of Elizabeth baby's paternity Helena has her kidnapped. Luke comes to rescue and they are both held captive in Greece in Helena's dungeon. Tracy becomes deathly ill and Helena refuses to give her medical attention. Luke comes up with a story claiming that their marriage isn't really legal and Tracy is angry enough to regain her strength. Luke reveals that the story was fake and they are legally married, but she doesn't believe him. It remains unclear if the marriage is legitimate or not. Tracy is furious with Luke, and wants him out of her life. Luke tries several times to win her back, but when all else fails he concocts a scheme where he steals millions of her money and vanishes. He hopes that this will inspire her to retain interest and seek him out. At first she refuses to locate Luke, but later Tracy admits to Lucky that she can't help but miss her "husband." She hires Lucky to find Luke. Lucky pretends to accept her offer, but instead embarks on a secret mission for Interpol in Ireland. Also in 2010, her niece Maya Ward moves into the Quartermaine mansion, and at one point Tracy exposes her granddaughter Brook Lynn Ashton as a con artist. Upon the return of Skye Chandler in Port Charles in 2011, Skye fuels Anthony Zacchara with some background knowledge of Tracy Quartermaine, including facts that she inadvertently invested his dirty money into her family's company back during her marriage to Gino Soleito. With the newfound knowledge, Anthony begins blackmailing Tracy into a romance and eventually a marriage or else he will report her to the SEC and have them arrest her. With her back against a wall, Tracy is forced in an engagement to the mob boss, adding some embarrassment to the situation, Anthony enlists Maxie Jones' help in arranging the wedding. Claiming to first have a cold and then to be superstitious, Tracy gets Anthony to push back the wedding from Friday, January 13. Tracy later becomes jealous of Luke and Anna's bond, and warns Anna about getting involved with Luke.

Reception

Elliot won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 1981. She was nominated for the same award in 1993, and again in 2014.

In 2023, Charlie Mason from Soaps She Knows placed Tracy at number ten on his ranked list of "General Hospital's 40+ Greatest Characters of All Time," commenting: "[U]nlike Port Charles' myriad mobsters and madmen, Jane Elliot's undisputed queen of mean could kill with nothing more than a well-aimed insult. Mind you, she was just covering up the fact that, like anyone else, she had a heart; hers just happened to cost more." Soap Opera Digest named Elliot's return as Tracy as their "Best Return" for General Hospital, citing her return as bringing "welcome color and pizazz to the mansion." The following year, Mason and Richard Simms from Soaps She Knows called the 2023 return of Tracy the "Best Return" in American soap operas of that year, commenting that there is "absolutely nothing that General Hospital‘s Tracy can't make better. The show needs to do whatever it takes to keep Jane Elliot around for as long as she will stay".

In December 2024, as part of their year-end listings, Elliot received an honorable mention on Soap Opera Network's top female performers list. Elliot's work, opposite Francis, was named by TV Insider as their fourth best performance, in ranking their "21 Best Soap Performances of 2024". In the article, editor Michael Maloney wrote: "We saw Laura make the decision to follow Tracy into the hallway at General Hospital after she visited a comatose Lulu. Both women cautiously assessed how the other might be feeling. Tracy didn't want to infringe on Laura's time with her daughter. A vulnerable Laura wanted to reach out to Tracy, who's not always known for her ability to connect emotionally. In a quiet, "small" scene, which soaps are famous for, Laura thanked Tracy for being there for her daughter when she couldn't be."