# Finola Hughes

Finola Hughes (born 29 October 1959) is a British actress, best known for her role as Anna Devane on the ABC soap operas General Hospital and All My Children, and her portrayal of Laura in the 1983 film Staying Alive.
She is also known for her portrayal of Anna Devane's identical twin, Alexandra "Alex" Devane on All My Children and Patty Halliwell on the supernatural series, Charmed. She also portrayed Carol on the final season of the NBC sitcom Blossom. Hughes has also appeared in the films, Aspen Extreme, Above Suspicion and Like Crazy.

## Career

Hughes trained in dance and performing arts at the Arts Educational Schools London. In 1981, she originated the role of Victoria the White Cat in the London production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Cats. In 1983, Hughes starred with John Travolta in the musical film Staying Alive, a sequel to Saturday Night Fever. She played the role of Laura, an English dancer who is the romantic interest of Travolta's character Tony Manero. Hughes also appeared on the sitcom Blossom, and as the X-Men character Emma Frost in the television movie Generation X (1996).
In 1997, Hughes starred in Aaron Spelling's short-lived primetime soap opera Pacific Palisades. She was a frequent guest star on the television series Charmed, playing the mother of the Halliwell girls, Patricia "Patty" Halliwell. She provided the voice of Lara, Kal-El's biological mother in Superman: The Animated Series. Another voice-over role she had was Miss Robertson on an episode of Fox's animated comedy series Life with Louie.
From 1985 to 1992, she played Anna Devane on General Hospital. Hughes won a Daytime Emmy in 1991, for Outstanding Lead Actress on General Hospital. She was nominated for the same category in 1990 for Anna, in 2000 for All My Children as Alex, and, in 2002, as Anna. After establishing herself as a daytime television star, Hughes shot a feature film cameo as a soap opera actress who loses an award to Sally Field in the satirical film Soapdish (1991). Two years later, she played a leading role in the film Aspen Extreme (1993). It was announced in April 2006 that Hughes would be returning to GH. In May 2006, as part of the May Sweeps period, three GH veterans would return. Finola Hughes would be reunited with Tristan Rogers (Robert Scorpio) and Emma Samms (Holly Sutton). Following a rise in ratings from her sweeps return, Hughes returned to General Hospital for a limited run through August 2006. She returned the following year on 13 July 2007 and once again on 15 April 2008.
In September 2008, Hughes guest-starred in the General Hospital spinoff series General Hospital: Night Shift. It has been said that Hughes would return to GH in early 2012 as character Anna Devane to be with her daughter, Robin Scorpio, and help her through her toughest year. She is a recurring character but Anna Devane is front and center and staying in Port Charles awhile. In 2010, Finola also appeared in the CSI: NY, Make It or Break It and Melissa & Joey. Finola made a permanent return to General Hospital in 2012.
In 2013, Hughes made her feature-film directing debut with indie comedy-drama The Bet. She later starred with Kathryn McCormick in the dance movie Platinum the Dance Movie. In 2015, Hughes directed her second film, Byrd and the Bees a romantic comedy starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Tracy Spiridakos.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1980 | The Apple | Dancer | |
| 1981 | Clash of the Titans | Dancer | |
| 1982 | Nutcracker | Nadia Gargarin | |
| 1983 | Staying Alive | Laura | |
| 1984 | The Master of Ballantrae | Alison Graeme | |
| 1987 | Haunted by Her Past | Megan McGuire | |
| 1990 | The Bride in Black | Cybil Cobb | |
| 1991 | Soapdish | All My Trials Actress | |
| 1993 | Aspen Extreme | Bryce Kellogg | |
| 1994 | Dark Side of Genius | Jennifer Cole | |
| 1995 | Above Suspicion | Iris | |
| 1996 | Generation X | Emma Frost / White Queen | |
| 1996 | The Crying Child | Jo Parker | |
| 1997 | Prison of Secrets | Angie | |
| 1997 | The Corporate Ladder | Dr. Woodward | Voice |
| 1998 | Jekyll Island | Ronnie Fredericks | |
| 1998 | Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World | Queen Anne | Voice |
| 1998 | 12 Bucks | Classy | |
| 1999 | Rockin' Good Times | Ginger | |
| 2000 | Intrepid | Katherine Jessel | |
| 2000 | Tycus | Amy Lowe | |
| 2009 | Killer Hair | Josette Radford | |
| 2010 | Disarmed | Lilian | |
| 2011 | Driving by Braille | Beth Allen | |
| 2011 | Like Crazy | Liz | |
| 2011 | All-Star Superman | Lilo | Voice |
| 2011 | Scooby-Doo! Legend of the Phantosaur | Professor Svankmajer | Voice |
| 2013 | The Bet | | Director and executive producer |
| 2014 | Dance-Off | JoAnn | Original title: Platinum the Dance Movie |
| 2017 | Byrd and the Bees | | Director and executive producer |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1982 | The Kenny Everett Television Show | Various | |
| 1983 | The Hot Shoe Show | Dancer | |
| 1987 | L.A. Law | Lauren Sevilla | 3 episodes |
| 1985–present | General Hospital | Anna Devane / Dr. Liesl Obrecht / Alex Devane | 1985–92, 1995, 2006–08, 2012–present (Anna); 2013 (Liesl); 2017, 2019 (Alex) |
| 1992–93 | Jack's Place | Chelsea Duffy | 18 episodes |
| 1994 | Burke's Law | Rhonda Bentley | Episode: "Who Killed Romeo?" |
| 1994 | Dream On | Laura North | Episode: "Tis Pity She's a Neighbor" |
| 1993–95 | Blossom | Carol | 28 episodes |
| 1996 | Superman: The Animated Series | Lara Lor-Van | Voice, episode: "The Last Son of Krypton" |
| 1997 | Pacific Palisades | Kate Russo | 13 episodes |
| 1997 | Sunset Beach | Helena Greer | 3 episodes |
| 1997 | Life with Louie | Miss Robertson | Voice |
| 1998 | The Love Boat: The Next Wave | Alison Townsend / Hart-Williams | Episode: "Affairs to Remember" |
| 1999 | Tracey Takes On... | Josie | Episode: "Obsession" |
| 1999–2003 | All My Children | Alex Devane Marick and Anna Devane | 1999–2001 (Alex); 2001–03 (Anna) |
| 2004 | Hope & Faith | Herself | 2 episodes |
| 1998–2006 | Charmed | Patty Halliwell | 9 episodes |
| 2008 | General Hospital: Night Shift | Anna Devane | 4 episodes |
| 2005–08 | How Do I Look? | Host | |
| 2010 | CSI: NY | Mrs. Christensen | Episode: "Sanguine Love" |
| 2010 | Make It or Break It | Viola Pettinger | Episode: "What Are You Made Of?" |
| 2010 | Melissa & Joey | Herself | Episode: "Dancing with the Stars of Toledo" |
| 2013–2014 | Beware The Batman | Lady Shiva | Voice, 7 episodes |
| 2014–2015 | Granite Flats | Avon Lady / Zelda | 3 episodes |
| 2020 | Good Trouble | | Director; episode: "Daylight" |

## Awards and nominations

List of acting awards and nominations :
| Year | Award | Category | Title | Result |
| 1984 | Golden Raspberry Award | Worst Supporting Actress | Staying Alive | Nominated |
| 1984 | Golden Raspberry Award | Worst New Star | Staying Alive | Nominated |
| 1986 | Soap Opera Digest Award | Outstanding Lead Actress: Daytime | General Hospital | Nominated |
| 1986 | Soap Opera Digest Award | Favorite Super Couple: Daytime (shared with Ian Buchanan) | General Hospital | Nominated |
| 1989 | Soap Opera Digest Award | Favorite Super Couple: Daytime (shared with Ian Buchanan) | General Hospital | Nominated |
| 1989 | Soap Opera Digest Award | Outstanding Heroine: Daytime | General Hospital | Nominated |
| 1990 | Daytime Emmy Award | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series | General Hospital | Nominated |
| 1990 | Soap Opera Digest Award | Outstanding Heroine: Daytime | General Hospital | Won |
| 1991 | Daytime Emmy Award | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series | General Hospital | Won |
| 1991 | Soap Opera Digest Award | Outstanding Lead Actress: Daytime | General Hospital | Won |
| 1992 | Soap Opera Digest Award | Best Wedding (shared with Tristan Rogers) | General Hospital | Nominated |
| 1992 | Soap Opera Digest Award | Outstanding Lead Actress: Daytime | General Hospital | Nominated |
| 2000 | Daytime Emmy Award | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series | All My Children | Nominated |
| 2000 | Soap Opera Digest Award | Favorite Return | All My Children | Won |
| 2002 | Daytime Emmy Award | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series | All My Children | Nominated |
| 2013 | LA Femme Filmmaker Award | Best Feature (Director) | The Bet | Won |
| 2015 | Daytime Emmy Award | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series | General Hospital | Nominated |
| 2016 | Daytime Emmy Award | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series | General Hospital | Nominated |
| 2017 | Daytime Emmy Award | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series | General Hospital | Nominated |
| 2020 | Daytime Emmy Award | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series | General Hospital | Nominated |
| 2021 | Daytime Emmy Award | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series | General Hospital | Nominated |
| 2023 | Daytime Emmy Award | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series | General Hospital | Nominated |