General Hospital Veteran Finola Hughes Celebrates Her Birthday

Anna Devane wants to know who’s out to get her. If only she would let Valentin confide in her about his problems with Charlotte and her dislike of Anna. Actress Finola Hughes, however, has a lot to be happy about.

Happy Birthday, Finola Hughes

That’s because this gifted performer is celebrating her 64th birthday today! She was born in London, England, on October 29, 1959! Hughes gained professional experience with the Northern Ballet after completing his training in dance and performing arts at the Arts Education Schools in London. She created the character of Victoria the White Cat in the West End run of the beloved musical Cats by Andrew Lloyd Webber in 1981.

Following his success on stage, Hughes was cast opposite John Travolta in the musical Staying Alive (1983), which was a follow-up to Saturday Night Fever. Hughes made his television debut as retired super spy Anna Devane when he joined the cast of ABC’s General Hospital two years later.

Anna was initially supposed to be a tease for the highly anticipated Robert Scorpio/Holly Sutton romance, but she ended up opposite Ian Buchanan’s Duke Lavery in a highly acclaimed romance.

After Hughes left the ABC soap opera in 1992, the role was filled by a new actor. Hughes had won a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in 1991. Hughes afterwards consented to come back for a single episode in which Anna was probably blown up by an explosion.

Hughes later appeared on numerous primetime shows, such as Burke’s Law and Dream On, and starred in the ABC primetime drama series Jack’s Place. She also played significant roles in the supernatural WB series Charmed, the Aaron Spelling serial Pacific Palisades, and Blossom.

Hughes made her daytime television debut in 1999, this time on ABC’s All My Children, where she played the role of Alex, Anna’s previously unidentified identical twin. Hughes played that part on the soap opera until 2001, when she returned to the show as Anna. Up until 2003, Hughes played Anna in the cast of All My Children.

Hughes returned the character of Anna to General Hospital, initially for a brief stint in 2006. In 2012, following numerous guest-starring roles, she returned to the show as a contracted cast member.

Happy birthday, Finola Hughes! Soap Hub wishes you a very happy birthday as well; just click the Twitter link below to join in.