General Hospital (GH) spoilers reveal that there’s been a lot of talk about Karen Wexler (last played by Marie Wilson) on the show lately, so we’ve got the scoop on this character that was first introduced back in 1992.
That’s when Cari Shayne debuted in the role she would play until 1994. Jennifer Hammon took over the part of Karen in 1997 on Port Charles, GH’s spinoff series. After that, Marie Wilson was the last version of Karen from 1999 to 2003.
When Karen was a high schooler, she was romantically entangled with Jason Quartermaine (Steve Burton), but it was John “Jagger” Cates (then portrayed by Antonio Sabato Jr., now played by Adam Harrington) who truly had her heart.
Once Karen and Jagger finally got together, she struggled with some traumatic memories that she’d previously repressed.
Karen recalled the abuse she had endured at the hands of her drunk mom’s boyfriend, who was named Ray Conway (Stephen Burleigh).
After those memories flooded back, Karen began to spin out and ultimately met Stone Cates (Michael Sutton) – though she didn’t know Stone was Jagger’s younger brother at that point.
Stone was the one who got Karen caught up in Sonny Corinthos’ (Maurice Benard) world.
Sonny put Karen to work as a stripper at The Paradise Lounge – and Karen got addicted to drugs around this time as well.
Karen eventually wound up in Sonny’s bed, so GH fans have heard plenty of complaints from John since he feels like Sonny took advantage of a vulnerable girl and made life worse for her.
Sonny has regrets about how things went down back then, but he’s been adamant about caring for Karen and only ever wanting to help her.
Of course, John isn’t blameless when it comes to the pain Karen endured since he cheated on her once they reunited.
Karen went on to become a doctor, but she relapsed and did a stint in rehab.
Fans of the Port Charles series may recall some of the wild situations Karen landed in due to time travel, vampire invasions and special candles that unleashed dangerous magic.
Karen later got hit by a car and didn’t survive, so General Hospital stuck with that grim fate and let the sad news carry over from her Port Charles role.
General Hospital spoilers say Karen may forever remain a source of contention for John and Sonny, so stick with us for more predictions on their story twists and updates on all the escalating tension.
How do you feel about John’s vendetta against Sonny? Does Sonny deserve to keep paying the price?
