Charlotte Cassadine

Scarlett Fernandez as Charlotte Cassadine

**Charlotte Honor Cassadine** is a fictional character on the ABC soap opera *General Hospital*. She is the daughter of Valentin Cassadine and Lulu Spencer via IVF and was carried by Claudette Beaulieu.

## Casting

Charlotte made her first appearance in a picture on September 21, 2016.

The casting of Scarlett Fernandez as Charlotte was announced in an issue of *Soaps In Depth*.

Fernandez made her first appearance on October 13, 2016.

On March 17, 2021, it was revealed that Fernandez will return to *GH* as Charlotte. She returned on March 24, 2021.

On May 26, 2021, Fernandez revealed she had surgery after breaking both arms and would be offscreen for a while.

On October 8, 2021, it was revealed that Fernandez is returning to *GH* soon. On October 9, Fernandez posted a picture on the GH film lot so Charlotte should return sometime in late October-early November 2021. She returned (for what would turn out to be her final appearance) on October 29, 2021.

On December 21, 2021, it was revealed that Fernandez will exit *GH* and the role of Charlotte will be SORASed and recast with another actress. Amelie McLain appeared as Charlotte beginning on December 21, 2021.

On April 15, 2022, Soaps.com revealed that the character of Charlotte was being shipped off to boarding school so McLain will be exiting *GH*. Her final air-date was on February 10, 2022.

On October 27, 2022, *Soap Opera News* revealed that McLain will return to *GH* as Charlotte during the week of October 31. She returned for only one episode on October 31, 2022.

On December 12, 2022, it was revealed that McLain would be heading back to the *GH* studio to film new scenes. She returned on January 25, 2023. Her final episode was January 30, 2023.

On April 10, 2023, AnaSofia Bianchi took over the role of Charlotte. She only appeared in one episode.

On July 28, 2023, Scarlett Fernandez returned to the role of Charlotte.

## Background

Charlotte is the daughter of Valentin Cassadine and Lulu Spencer via IVF and was carried by Claudette Beaulieu. For the first eight years of her life, Charlotte believed her mother was Claudette Beaulieu.

On September 21, 2016, Claudette revealed to Nathan that she had given birth to a daughter, whom she named Charlotte, soon after their relationship ended. Claudette believed Nathan was Charlotte's father, as they never used protection, but knew there was a small chance her former lover, Griffin Munro could be the father. Immediately after getting this news, Nathan tells his fiancée, Amelia Jones, who encourages him to get a paternity test done. Claudette had a lock of Charlotte's hair in a necklace and they used it to conduct the DNA test. Nathan sent the samples to a private lab. On September 29, the DNA test showed that Nathan is Charlotte's father. Nathan wants to see his "daughter" as soon as possible, but Claudette is afraid to reveal "their" daughter's whereabouts. When pushed, Claudette tells Nathan that she is trying to protect her daughter and herself from Valentin Cassadine, with whom she had a prior romantic entanglement. After things went south between Claudette and Valentin, she claims that he began threatening her and Charlotte, so they went into hiding.

On November 9, 2016, it was revealed that Charlotte was hiding with Claudette's mom, Amelia and it was also revealed that Valentin is actually her true father. On December 8-9, it was revealed Claudette was just the surrogate and that Lulu Spencer is her biological mother.

In late 2016, Charlotte became the Cassadine heir right after her papa, when it's revealed through her late grandfather Mikkos' hidden will that he left all of the Cassadine Estate to the eldest living son; with Stavros and Stefan dead, Valentin is the only living son and hence sole heir to the Cassadine Empire.

On January 11, 2017, it was revealed that Claudette is dead and Valentin tells Charlotte on January 13. With Claudette dead, Valentin becomes her sole legal parent and the only person she trusts. She has begun to get close to her now former stepmother Nina and has apparently begun to trust her. Unlike her biological mother, Lulu, whom she hated after being told during her grief for Claudette that she is her real mother. After her first supervised visit with her mother, Charlotte starts to soften and slowly began to see her as her mother. She really likes her half-brother, Rocco and her former stepfather, Dante. In addition, she has befriended Emma Scorpio-Drake, and a girl from her class named Bailey Caldwell. She is belittled by her cousin Spencer for what her father did to his father, Nikolas. She is in the same class with her cousin Aiden.

In March 2017, Valentin (and Nina) and Lulu (and Dante) started a custody battle with both wanting sole custody and joint custody not being on the table. After many months of conflict, in October, it was revealed that Valentin and Lulu now have shared custody.

In June 2018, her step-father, Dante left Port Charles to go on a WSB mission, leaving Lulu to take care of her and Rocco with shared custody with her papa. Dante later returned in March 2019 but had to leave again due to suffering from severe PTSD.

In late 2018, Charlotte became a bully towards her cousin, Aiden. She sees herself as "Ms. Perfect" and didn't care about other kids' feelings. Her parents and her teacher, Ms. Willow Tait, see Nina as the cause of Charlotte's behavior, since she's hasn't been providing any discipline to her.

On August 26, 2019, it was revealed that there might be a codicil to Mikkos' will which could prove that Valentin (and Charlotte by extension) is not the rightful heir. On February 13, it's confirmed that her father Valentin isn't Mikkos' son but is actually Helena's son. On February 14, Helena's ghost revealed that Charlotte was always meant to be Valentin's daughter with Lulu, she was not about giving Stavros and Lulu a child but giving Helena an heir with Luke’s genetic line.

In early 2020, Charlotte starts to hold deep resentment towards Sasha Gilmore, Ava Cassadine, Nikolas Cassadine, and Jasper Jacks, as she blames them for her, her papa, and Nina not being a family. After witnessing her papa throw Ava off of a parapet at Wyndemere, she began to exhibit some of his cunning and sinister methods. Valentin is shocked and shaken by this revelation, asking her grandmother Laura to instill goodness in her, as he believes he cannot. He even admits he would give Lulu sole custody if requested.

## Storylines

* 2016
* 2017
* 2018-Present

On October 13, Charlotte arrived in town with her "mother" and finally got to meet her "father" at the PCPD. She also met her "father's" fiancée (now wife), Amelia. Amelia still had her doubts about Charlotte's paternity and unbeknownst to Nathan or Claudette, ordered a second DNA test, using a juice box Charlotte drank out of as a sample for comparison to Nathan. On October 18, the second DNA test returned and proved that Nathan is not Charlotte's father, which means the first test was tampered with somehow. Nathan was shocked at this news, but Amelia was not surprised that Claudette lied. Later on, Nathan gets Claudette to admit that she used his mother's hair for the DNA test and that Griffin is in fact the father. Afterwards, Charlotte meets her "real" father.

On November 7, it was later revealed that Valentin Cassadine is actually her father. Valentin revealed to Anna and Griffin a copy of her birth certificate, on which he was listed as the father and her name was listed as Charlotte Cassadine. Charlotte was finally reunited with her father after so long. During the custody battle, Charlotte reveals she only called Griffin "daddy" because Claudette told her to and that she knew all along that Valentin was her "papa" and that she adores and loves her papa Valentin more than anyone. In the end, Valentin eventually wins custody of Charlotte and they move into Wyndemere Castle on Spoon Island. Soon they start hanging out with Nina.

In December, Charlotte sees Santa Claus and tells him that the only thing she wants is her mom. Afterwards she meets Lulu and Rocco and Lulu feels a very deep connection to her. On December 8, it was revealed that Claudette was just the surrogate. Lulu and Amelia are caught after they find the paperwork that proves Claudette was just the surrogate. Dr. Bellamy calls Valentin, who later arrives just before Dante and Nathan. Valentin confirms to the group that Lulu is Charlotte's biological mother.

He explains that Helena promised Stavros a child with Lulu, but after Helena discovered that Stavros could not father a child, she sent Daphne to seduce Valentin and recover a sample. Daphne brought Valentin's sample to Helena, and by the time Valentin figured out what had happened, the embryo had already been created, so he stole it from Helena and recruited Claudette to carry it. However after giving birth, she betrayed Valentin and kidnapped Charlotte from him. On December 14, Lulu received DNA results that prove she is Charlotte's mother.

On December 19, after receiving permission from Valentin to take Charlotte to the Christmas Tree lighting, Lulu remarks that Charlotte has Nikolas' eyes. She also meets and befriends Emma Scorpio-Drake. She soon meets her grandma Laura and Charlotte spent Christmas with her papa Valentin, Nina, Lulu, Rocco and Emma.

In January 2017, Valentin and Nina tell Charlotte that they got married and Charlotte at first appeared emotionless on the news and then surprises Nina with how happy that she is. She also watches the two exchange wedding rings. A little while later, Valentin tells Charlotte that Claudette is dead, she mourns for the only mother she has ever known and in a few short moments she suggests that maybe Nina can be her new mommy. On January 17, 2017, Charlotte is seen at Nathan and Amelia's wedding with her papa and stepmother.

On January 19, 2017, after Charlotte runs off, Lulu goes after her and finds out that she misses Claudette so Lulu tells her, against Valentin's wishes, that she is her real mommy. To which she reacts very badly too and accidentally locks Lulu in a linen closet. Charlotte runs over to Nina and relays what Lulu said. Nina tells her not to worry about it. Valentin joins them and Charlotte tells him Griffin says he killed her mom. Valentin says that’s a lie and vows to her that he would never harm anyone that she loved. Also she told him what Lulu told her, and he told her not to think about it for it's unimportant, and promises to explain the matter to her when she gets older and when he figures out a way to explain it properly.

Charlotte is later seen at the *Crimson* offices as she came to work with Nina. When Nina is called away Amelia calls Lulu, who comes by and she hangs out with Charlotte. She gets upset at Lulu for touching her drawing and goes off on her. She gets traumatized by this confrontation to the point that she detests Lulu. In March 2017, Valentin (and Nina) with their lawyer Nora Buchanan and Lulu (and Dante) with their lawyer Diane Miller started a custody battle with both wanting sole custody and joint custody not being on the table. The battle ended with Valentin getting sole custody and Lulu supervised visitation (one hour a week) to ensure a smooth transition for Charlotte to accepting Lulu as her mother, for it was believed through the evaluation of Charlotte done by Dr. Andre Maddox that Charlotte will be severely traumatized if she was taken from her papa and put in an environment that she felt uncomfortable in. It was also mentioned that in 6 months custody will be revisited.

In March 21, Nelle Benson was hired as Charlotte's new nanny. During her first visit with Lulu, the two have fun making scones, going on an Easter egg hunt, seeing bunnies and they also agree to have a tea party during their next visit. It is clearly seen that Charlotte is starting to soften towards Lulu. Later on at the Metro Court with her papa, Charlotte expresses that she misses Claudette and how confused she is about how Lulu is mother. Valentin explains that she was created in a very special way and that he and Nina will explain it to her when they get home. Charlotte also tells her papa that she had fun with Lulu but feels guilty because it's not fair to her mommy, Claudette, her papa or Nina. Valentin tells Charlotte that although he and Lulu don't get along, he wants Charlotte to form her own opinion of Lulu.

In May, Charlotte is seen at the park with Nelle, Michael and Avery. A few days later, Charlotte is left at school by Nelle and they couldn't get a hold of her papa so they called her mother and Charlotte ended up spending the night at the Falconeri house. She also sees Griffin at the Metro Court. Charlotte is later seen with her mother, brother and stepfather playing memory and then Dante reads everyone a story, which she and Rocco fall asleep during. The next morning the Falconeri's have a family pancake breakfast and then Valentin shows up and apologizes to Charlotte. Later on, Dante takes her and Rocco to school.

During the 2017 Nurses Ball, Emma asked Charlotte to help be an assistant to Jake in his magic act. Later when they were performing after the ball, the magic act was put to a halt after Jake was revealed to be in possession of the chimera virus, her papa and Anna Devane had her and Emma removed from the stage and they went back to her mother's house with her (Lulu) and Laura. She spent the night at her mother's house, and the next day her papa arrives at the house to pick up Charlotte. Lulu warns him that he’s about to be arrested and urges him to make sure she has secondary custody before he leaves the country. She leaves for a moment and when she returns, Valentin and their daughter are gone. Valentin and Charlotte are in a garage and he tells her they are going somewhere special.

In June, Nina revealed that Valentin probably took Charlotte to Niagara Falls. Soon after Lulu calls Charlotte and then Dante, Lulu and Anna find Charlotte and unknowing to Charlotte, Valentin gives her up and let's Dante and Lulu take her as he was about to be arrested. It was later revealed that Charlotte knows nothing about whats going on and will continue to be kept in the dark. In June 2017, Dante and Lulu were granted temporary custody of Charlotte, since her father was going to prison.

A few days later, Lulu picks up Charlotte from Lila's kids camp and brings her home where Nina and Anna are waiting with surprises. Nina surprises her with a dress that she (Charlotte) designed and tells her that she's happy that Charlotte is with her family but that she won't be seeing her very much. Next, Anna surprises her with message from her father, which both her and Nina listen too. In June, Charlotte is seen with her mother's family. She gets even closer to her half-brother Rocco and her step-father Dante. She reveals to her mother, that despite the fact she loves being with her mother and her family, she misses her papa and Nina. She has been alienated by her cousin Spencer for what her father did to his father, as well as taking his entire inheritance, despite not being his in the first place. Later on, the family does put together the puzzle and then they hug.

In June 2017, her papa and Nina got divorced. On June 28, Charlotte met Dante's mom, Olivia for the first time and was told to call her Nonna. Later on, Olivia asked her to be the flower girl at her and Ned's wedding and Charlotte happily accepts. On July 7, Charlotte is seen walking down the aisle (as the flower girl) with Rocco and Leo (who are co-ring bearers) at her Nonna and Ned's wedding. She even danced with her step-father Dante as well watched the fireworks with her grandmother Laura.

In July 11, Charlotte was reunited with her father Valentin after he was released from prison. He came to her after the wedding was over and hugged her deeply. Lulu took Charlotte to get some lemonade, while Valentin made it clear to Dante and Anna that he plans to have Charlotte come home with him soon. He told Charlotte that he will see her soon and that he will prepare Wyndemere for her return. Lulu revealed that Charlotte entered Lila's camping class.

In July 17, Charlotte encounters her father in Lila's camping class. Soon after, Spencer tells her that her father killed his. She doesn't believe it and she runs to her father. Spencer tries to make Valentin confess but he tells Charlotte to go and play. Charlotte continues to not believe it and believes Spencer was trying to upset her. On July 18, it was revealed that Valentin has temporary visitation. On September 20, Valentin and Lulu take Charlotte to visit her friend Bailey Caldwell, who is suffering from scoliosis just like her father did long ago, at Shriners Hospitals for Children. In October, it was revealed that Valentin and Lulu now have shared custody for Charlotte's sake. On December, when she was preparing for Christmas, Charlotte found a ballet related to the 2014 Mayoral Election, and when she showed it to her mother this led to events that caused the end of Janice Lomax's position as Mayor of Port Charles.

On May 2018, her papa Valentin and her step-mother Nina became separated and on June, her step-father Dante left town to join the WSB in their hunt of the man that tried to kill her mother two years ago.

In November, Charlotte has been bullying her cousin Aiden. Her attitude and abusive behavior continued to grow. Her teacher Willow Tate contacted her parents and informed them of their situation. In December 5, Lulu realized that Nina has been spoiling her daughter to the point that she believes she is above everyone else and no else matters. Lulu declares that she can’t trust Nina with her daughter as her behavior will cause her to get expelled from her school.