Britt Westbourne

Kelly Thiebaud as Britt Westbourne

**Dr. Britta "Britt" Westbourne, MD** is a fictional character and main antagonist on the ABC soap opera *General Hospital*. She is the daughter of supervillains, the late Cesar Faison and Dr. Liesl Obrecht.

She has been portrayed by actress Kelly Thiebaud in varying stints since 2012.

Det. Nathan West is her brother (it was revealed in 2018, that Britt and Nathan were full siblings) and Amelia Jones is her sister-in-law. It was also revealed in 2018, that she has a half-brother named Henrik Faison.

Brad Cooper is her best friend.

## Casting and creation

Actress Kelly Thiebaud first auditioned for an unspecified contract role, but the producers of *General Hospital* felt that she wasn't right for the part. However, they were impressed by her and decided to give her the part of a recurring character that they were in the process of writing, who they characterized as a "bitchy" doctor. Thiebaud described the casting process as a "surprise". She debuted as Dr. Britt Westbourne on September 19, 2012. Thiebaud previously had minor acting credits on the NBC Daytime soap opera *Days of Our Lives* and primetime series *Criminal Minds*. Apart from her acting work, she also modeled and appeared in four music videos for French disc jockey David Guetta.

A month into filming, Thiebaud received news that she had been placed on contract. During an interview with Star Pulse, she confessed that she was shocked, because she felt that she wasn't doing well in the role due to nerves, in addition to the fast-paced nature of the genre. In February 2013, *Soap Opera Digest* confirmed that the actress had been upgraded to a contract status. In early 2013, Thiebaud fractured her femur and was forced to sport crutches. Instead of resting the character, head writer Ron Carlivati wrote it into the script as Britt suffering a fall in the hospital parking lot at the possible hands of Frisco Jones (Jack Wagner), the father of Maxie Jones, whom Britt blackmailed. Thiebaud thanked Carlivati and executive producer Frank Valentini for letting her "crutch on TV".

On November 10, 2014, it was reported that Thiebaud had been placed on recurring status following the conclusion of her two-year contract, in order to pursue other acting opportunities. However, it later appeared that Thiebaud would be exiting the series, and her last scenes aired on December 8, with Britt leaving town. Her departure was not confirmed until this date.

Upon the airing of her final scenes, the actress revealed on Instagram,

"I decided not to [re-sign] my contract because I would like to book other roles on prime time shows and film", and described her experience on the soap as "(sic) a fun and challenging adventure".
From April 30-May 1, 2015, Kelly Thiebaud reprised her role as Britt for the 2015 Nurses Ball. She said that "It was just a case of getting used to that [taping] speed again", and is open to future appearances.

On November 17, 2017, *Soap Opera Digest* announced that Thiebaud would be reprising her role as Britt in December 2017. She appeared from December 8-19, 2017 (for a total of 4 episodes).

On September 29, 2018, it was announced that Thiebaud will return to GH first appearing sometime in the coming months. It is unknown if this is a guest appearance, a recurring stint or a return to contract. Thiebaud returned on October 29, 2018 and left on November 29, 2018.

On March 4, 2020, it was revealed that Thiebaud would return to *GH* and was back in the studio filming new scenes. She returned at the end of the episode on March 11, 2020. She made her last appearance on April 1, 2020.

On August 23, 2020, *Soap Opera Digest* announced that Thiebaud would be reprising her role as Britt for a longer stint this time. She returned on September 11, 2020.

On April 15, 2021, it was revealed that Thiebaud had a false positive on her Covid-19 test and will not be able to return to the studio for ten days. She will be on hiatus for 10 days and will not be recast.

On May 1, 2021, it was confirmed that Thiebaud will temporarily be off-screen for the next few weeks.

## Development

* Personality
* Redemption

Britt's manipulative untruthful personality has led her to be nicknamed the "Britch" or "Dr. Britch" in the show's dialogue and social media.

Despite the character being initially viewed as a pointless role who would be removed from the show quickly, Britt's unfolding storyline—that revealed her to be the daughter of super villains, Cesar Faison and Dr. Liesl Obrecht—has garnered both her and Thiebaud praise for making her nastiness believable, with Zap2it calling her a "natural". Though she loves playing the nasty side of Britt, Thiebaud is pleased to show the character's many layers.

Thiebaud has stated:

"I love going to work and getting to play someone that I am not. It’s really fun to do." She has expressed her pleasure in playing a "bad" character. Although, despite the fact that she "loves playing a villain", she stated: "I would really love for my character to fall in love, [and] have a romance", wanting Britt to "redeem herself". Thiebaud also hoped that audiences would fall for the character and understand her more. Head writer Ron Carlivati characterized Britt during an interview with *Soap Opera Digest* as "villainous", while *On-Air On-Soaps* refers to her as an "evil Britch". Luke Kerr of the entertainment website Zap2it described her as "Britchtastic", while also acknowledging her "human side".
"Playing Britt has just been a good time. Something you can't do as an actor is judge your character, but it's very easy to do that. At times I'd catch myself [saying] 'I can't understand why Patrick would want to be with me! I'm a horrible person!' But she's so fun. I'm so blessed to play someone so interesting and so layered and so expressive."
—Thiebaud, on playing Britt (2013)

Britt's "nefarious" behavior is attributed to her "manipulative mother and psycho father," being the daughter of Cesar Faison and Dr. Liesl Obrecht; who was involved in the presumed death and kidnapping of Robin Scorpio. Upon the reveal that Dr. Obrecht was Britt's mother, Thiebaud stated: "Recently, my mother got revealed and that was probably something that I'd been waiting for since I got on a contract [...] I wanted to show the audience something other than this kind of bitchy, mean, selfish, conniving person and I'm really glad that slowly these layers are being shown." During an episode of the series, Britt ends up confiding in one of her enemies (and Sabrina's best friend) Felix DuBois, informing him that she is a caring person though she has developed an "unlikable personality" due to her "super-villain parents", after he calls her a "Britch" to her face. Thiebaud did not "want to play this one layer of her just being a shark and a bitch" and was pleased that the character's back-story explained her "lack of love, and lack of empathy from other people, and kind of not knowing how to deal with and interact with people". She noted that "No one is just a bitch. There are always reasons behind that." Upon the character's exit in December 2014, *On-Air On-Soaps* wrote, "Britt was truly a bad girl, a very bad girl, only she ended up humanized along the way."

Although Britt was written to be a heartless villain, Britt was proven to be popular among fans and critics with some even disliking Britt's enemy, the "good girl", Sabrina Santiago, claiming she is "too immature". In late summer 2013, viewers started to notice a "change" in a character, after she begins a friendship with *GH* character, Nikolas Cassadine. Britt confides in Nikolas quoting, *"...I should have been an adult and realized the truth and cut my losses. Instead I dug in. I tried harder to win him over. Emma too.[...] But Emma didn't let me from the start, and she's even more stubborn than Patrick. [...] After every gift fell flat and every outing ended with attitude, I lost my temper and acted like a child. [...] It's not something I'm proud of."*

Since losing Ben/Rocco and Nikolas after all her secrets had been revealed, Britt has been trying to redeem herself. She delivers Patrick and Sabrina's pre-mature son on the side of the road and continues to care for the baby at the hospital. She even comforts Patrick and Sabrina, apologizing to both of them for her lies and behavior.
## Storylines

* 2012-2013
* 2014
* Returns

Britt Westbourne and Sabrina Santiago start at GH on the same day. They both get a crush on Dr. Patrick Drake. One day, Dr. Britt Westbourne comes and pulls Patrick away to talk to him. While talking, she asks Patrick out on a date, to which he agrees. Britt notices that Sabrina Santiago has a crush on Patrick, though doesn't view her as a threat. She manages to strong-arm Sabrina into babysitting for Patrick's daughter, Emma.

On the date, things don't go as planned when Sabrina calls and tells Britt that the babysitting isn't going well. Britt tries to tell Sabrina to deal with it, but Sabrina calls back so Patrick and Britt have to go home. After this incident, Britt begins to worry if Sabrina will be a threat. Britt is disgusted when she finds out Sabrina and Patrick almost kissed at midnight on New Year's Eve. Britt confronts Sabrina and tells her to stay away from Patrick and to never babysit again. Patrick agrees to this idea and tells Emma to say goodbye to Sabrina, upsetting Emma.

Later in that month, things take a turn for the worse for Britt. After getting disrespected by Emma many times, Britt breaks down and tells Emma "she doesn't like her". This upsets Emma, which causes her to run away. Sabrina then finds Emma who reveals everything that happened with Britt to Sabrina, who she had formed a sisterly bond with. Sabrina then tells Patrick this and he dumps Britt. Britt, angry, vows to get back at Sabrina.

After lying about the true parents of Maxie Jones' unborn baby girl, Britt blackmails Maxie into helping her ruin Sabrina. This ends however when Maxie's father, Frisco, confronts her and causes Britt to break her leg.

Sabrina is then shocked when she finds out she didn't graduate nursing school. Patrick finds out about this and accuses Britt of changing the results of Sabrina's test. After finding out Sabrina was framed for cheating, everyone lashes out when they find out Britt did it. No charges were pressed and Britt got a warning.

In March 2013, it was revealed Britt is the daughter of Dr. Liesl Obrecht, the woman who has been helping hold Patrick's wife, Robin, hostage. Liesl tries to convince Britt to get Patrick back. Later it was revealed that Liesl had an affair with her "partner-in-crime" Cesar Faison and that is how Britt was conceived.

Britt and her mother's master plan is revealed when Britt takes the stage at the revived Nurses' Ball and shocks everyone in the audience including Patrick, Sabrina, and Emma, that she is pregnant with his child. Britt told Patrick that she was going to have an abortion. She and Patrick went to the abortion clinic where he convinced her not to have the abortion even though she never intended on getting one in the first place.

Britt then schemes again and claims she has severe morning sickness (hyperemesis gravidarum). When the tests are done, it is revealed she does in fact have this. It is then learned Britt's new friend and lab technician, Brad Cooper, changed the results for her. Due to this sickness, Britt is put on bed rest and convinces Patrick to let her move in with him. However, Patrick eventually gets smart and realizes Britt can't stay with him. Sabrina offers to move Britt in with her, to which Patrick reluctantly agrees, and, later, so does Britt, as she has no other option.

Britt soon starts a bond with Nikolas Cassadine, who helps her deal with Patrick not loving her. When her mother returns to town, Britt tells her she is done trying to get Patrick back. Her mother refuses to stop the schemes, even after it is revealed Patrick isn't the baby's real father.

Britt soon covers for her mother when Liesl accidentally poisons Duke Lavery, while she was attempting to poison Anna Devane instead. With the help of Sabrina, Felix DuBois, and computer tech Damian Spinelli, everyone finds out Liesl is Britt's mother. Upon Anna hearing this, she storms into Britt's apartment looking for Liesl. When Anna learns that Britt is lying to her about Liesl's whereabouts, Anna arrests a heavily pregnant Britt.

She is bailed out by Nikolas, and Patrick finds out about Britt's mother and her arrest. Patrick goes over to Wyndemere Castle to confront Britt and says that he will fight Britt for full custody of the baby due to the threat that Britt's mother poses. Britt then states that Patrick will never get full custody because the baby is not his. According to Britt, Brad is the father of her son (via sperm donation).

After Patrick leaves, Sabrina comes by to confront Britt, and the two get into an argument. Britt starts having contractions, and goes into labor. Though Sabrina is initially compelled to leave her, she ends up delivering Britt's baby boy, with Nikolas' help. Britt soons realizes her son, Ben, is sick and needs to get to a hospital because his lungs are filled with fluid. Sabrina ends up having to take him, but Britt's son manages to survive with the help of Dr. Silas Clay.

Britt tries to find a place to stay besides Wyndemere but when Nikolas insists on bringing them home, Britt relents and brings Ben back there. Nikolas leaves for the christening of his “niece”, and Britt soon finds Liesl in Wyndemere with Ben. Dr. Obrecht thinks Britt is trying to make Patrick jealous by staying with Nikolas, but Britt informs her that Patrick is not part of her life anymore because she told him the truth about Ben. Liesl is furious, but Britt won't back down, and tells her mother to leave or she'll call the police. Liesl doesn't think Britt will do it, but Britt says she won't have to, because Nikolas will be home soon, and will discover Liesl there. Soon after, Nikolas comes back and finds Britt unconscious and Ben gone.

Britt becomes overwrought with worry when she realizes that her mother took "her" son. Though Nikolas gets Anna involved, she leaves in the midst of the investigation to go to Switzerland. Britt, meanwhile, is worried about her son. Nikolas asks Britt why Dr. Obrecht would take her son, and Britt figures out that she took him to Faison, and admits to Nikolas that Faison is her father.

She receives a video message from her mother soon after, of Dr. Obrecht with Ben, claiming they'll be a happy family soon. Nikolas sees the video, and recognizes where Dr. Obrecht is: his family estate on Cassadine Island. Soon after Britt and Nikolas board a plane and head to Athens. Once they land, Nik calls Anna and tells her that Obrecht is on Cassadine Island. Despite Anna's warning to stay off the island, Nikolas and Britt still charter a boat.

When they arrive, they learn from the guards that Obrecht and Jerry Jacks are currently residing on the island. Nikolas heads off to confront Jerry and warns Britt to stay put. But soon after, she became restless and headed off in search of Ben. She ran into her mother and demanded to know where her son was. Obrecht told Britt that Ben was upstairs and tried to warn her of something else, but Britt pushed her away. Obrecht fell, hitting her head on the coffee table and becoming unconscious.

Britt hurries upstairs and finds her son in the arms of her father, Faison. Faison claims he's going to raise Ben as his heir, but Britt claims that Ben isn't even her son, therefore not related to Faison either. Faison thinks she's lying, and threatens her, but Nikolas shows up and helps her out. Soon after, Britt finds out that Robin is alive, having been held hostage by Britt's parents. Faison and Obrecht corner the three of them with Ben, and hold them at gunpoint. Then, Jerry shows up and reveals that he's holding Robin's parents, Anna and Robert Scorpio, and will only let them go if Robin creates a cure for his polonium poisoning. Nikolas and Britt say they have to go back to Port Charles, or people will become suspicious. Jerry agrees, but has Faison and Obrecht watch them and Robin to make sure they don't turn against him.

Britt, Nikolas, Robin, and Ben come back held in captivity by Faison and Obrecht on Wyndemere. Britt takes Ben to get checked out at the hospital, and finds out Patrick & Sabrina are engaged. Distressed, Britt nearly tells Patrick about Robin being alive, but holds back when Nikolas tells her to. However, she later lets Robin know, and Robin is upset to hear that her husband has moved on.

When Luke Spencer comes back to town, Robin is anxious to get his blood sample since he's the one who received the antidote she came up with. Britt & Nikolas manage to pulls strings so Robin can get into the lab unnoticed to analyze the sample. While she's there, though, she's found by Carlos Rivera, Sabrina's ex-boyfriend. Robin thinks she's safe, but Britt lets her know that Carlos knows who she is and has told Sabrina, who refused to believe him.

Britt helps Robin synthesize the antidote, but Anna & Robert show up, having overpowered Jerry and escaped. They find Obrecht holding Duke captive, and Faison holding both Luke and Nikolas captive. They manage to overpower both of them, saving Duke, Nikolas, and Luke. Britt tells Robin to run so she can stop Patrick and Sabrina's wedding. Meanwhile, Britt and Nikolas become close, and eventually decide to be a couple, despite the danger they're in.

Anna and Robert eventually escape, and rescue Britt, Robin, and Nikolas from Obrecht and Faison. Britt and Nikolas become closer, and decide to be a couple once Robin goes back to her family, and Obrecht and Faison are both captured. However, soon after, her mother calls her from police custody, warning Britt to help her out or she'll reveal the "truth" about Ben. Britt goes to the police station, where Obrecht tells her to arrange bail or hire a lawyer, or her secret about Ben will be revealed. Britt leaves, and finds Brad at Wyndemere. He tells her that Dante and Lulu Falconeri have discovered their remaining embryos are missing, and they want to question her about them. He warns Dante and Lulu that they'll find out that Britt has their son.

In flashbacks, it's revealed that after Patrick dumped Britt, Obrecht told her to get pregnant in order to get Patrick back. Britt wanted to find a suitable sperm donor, but Obrecht reminded her about the embryos she had fertilized for Dante and Lulu. One was implanted into Maxie, which she ended up miscarrying. Britt had Brad steal the other two, and Obrecht implanted them into Britt. Only one was viable, and it led to Britt becoming pregnant with "her son." Ben is actually Dante and Lulu's biological child. Britt tells Dante she doesn't know what happened to his and Lulu's embryos.

Britt later tells her mother how she's worried that Nikolas will break up with her if he finds out she stole his sister's embryos and that Ben is actually Lulu's son. Though she wants to tell the truth, she's afraid to say anything out of fear of losing Nikolas. Britt tests Lulu to see about trying surrogacy again but learns that Lulu has no viable eggs and therefore will likely never be able to have her own child.

Britt spends New Years with Nikolas. On February 14th, Elizabeth tells Britt that she ran a DNA test on Ben and Dante and that she knows that they are father and son.

When Britt and Nikolas leave the Falconeri Loft, Nikolas proposes to Britt once again, which she accepts. On March 12, Britt and her mother have a heart to heart and Obrecht promises to keep the secret about Ben. Britt feels so guilty about keeping Lulu from her son that she writes a letter at the hospital confessing everything. But as she's about to go home and burn it, Elizabeth and Cameron walk in and Britt puts the letter down. When she goes to pick it up, she takes the wrong one and burns it. Cameron made a heart for Emma out of Britt’s letter and Elizabeth finds the letter. She tells Lulu during Britt and Nikolas’ engagement party.

On March 25, Britt finally admits the the truth about Ben. After her mother kidnaps Ben, Dante arrests Britt for stealing Lulu's child. In police custody, Britt contacts her mother and tells her that she eluded the police and that she wants to be family with her and Ben. On April 4, Obrecht contacts Britt and tells her where Ben is. After some thinking, Britt decides to do the right thing and tells Dante and Lulu where Ben is. She decides to help the police get Ben back to Dante and Lulu by going along with her mother's plan to come get Ben. On April 8, after Britt gets Ben in her arms, the police come in and she gives Ben to Dante. The next day Britt says goodbye to Ben.

On the same day it is revealed that Dr. Obrecht is Nathan West's mother, and thus Nathan is Britt's biological brother. Britt meets Nathan on that same day at the bar. Together the two find some common ground and they take a liking to each other after Nathan tells Britt that he knows exactly who she is.

After getting drunk the two go home together and plan to do more than talk. However Nathan stops from kissing her and admits he doesn't want to take advantage of her. Britt doesn't want to take advantage of him either which leads them to almost kissing, but they are interrupted by a confused Maxie. At this moment, the two have no clue they are siblings. Obrecht worries greatly they will have a one night stand.

On April 24-25, Britt comes upon Patrick, Sabrina and Emma after a car accident and she delivers Sabrina's baby. It is revealed that Britt is living with Brad. After delivering Patrick and Sabrina's baby boy she returns to the hospital to work around the clock to give the baby the best possible care. Anna Devane believes that Britt was responsible for the crash because Emma said that Britt appeared out of nowhere, but Nathan eventually clears her when the tire marks at the scene don't match Britt's car.

During their conversation, Nathan tells Britt that they are siblings but before they can get to know each other, Britt says she needs to check on the baby. Britt offers support to Patrick and promises that she will do everything she can to help his son. She gives him a hug, and once again she apologizes to Sabrina for the way she treated her. Britt noticed the way Sabrina connected to Patrick and Emma from the beginning and was jealous. Sabrina forgave her and breaks down because she is scared of losing her son, but Britt comforts her.

In June, Britt must tell Patrick and Sabrina that their son is going to die. After weeks of being ignored or told off by Nikolas and watching him and Elizabeth get close, Britt decides to go back to her old way as the "Britch" and bring in her mother on her plan. She persuades her mother to rehire Elizabeth.

In July, Britt teams up with Spencer to reunite Britt with Nikolas. As a part of their plan, Britt spends the 4th of July with Nikolas and Spencer, and volunteer's at Lila's Kids. Also as a part of their plan, Spencer runs away to bring Britt and Nikolas closer. Britt was suppose to "find" Spencer and bring him home but Elizabeth beats her to the punch.

During the time Spencer was away, Britt had comforted Nikolas and the two of them had gotten close again. Later, Nikolas and Spencer ask Britt to move back in with them.

In November, a WSB agent turned up at Wyndemere and told Britt that they believe Anna and Robert had murdered Faison. They asked for Britt's help to expose Anna, but Britt refused. However, Obrecht told Britt that if she didn't help in the investigation then Obrecht would tell Nikolas everything about Spencer's disappearance.

On Thanksgiving, Britt was stunned to see Faison at Wyndemere. She threatened to turn him in, until Obrecht threatened to ruin her happiness with Nikolas. After Faison left, Nikolas overheard Britt telling Obrecht she won't let her destroy her happiness with Nikolas. Britt and Obrecht did their best to deflect, but when Nikolas started questioning Spencer, Britt decided to come clean.

Nikolas was furious with Britt and vowed to press charges. Obrecht convinced Britt to skip town with her and Faison. Britt and Obrecht arrive on the docks ready to leave and Faison shows up shortly after. They are all set to leave when they find out from Faison that Nathan was shot. Britt says that she wants to stay with Nathan but Obrecht agrees to stay with him instead. Britt will be prosecuted if she doesn’t leave the country. Britt shares an emotional goodbye with her mother before getting on a boat with her father.

In 2015, Britt reunites with her best friend, Brad, when she comes out of hiding to watch the Nurses' Ball red carpet show with him like they did last year. It is also revealed that she and Faison have bonded as father and daughter and she calls him "papa". She tells Brad that Faison arranged for her to come back to Port Charles. Britt is also reunited with her mother.

Later on, while Britt and Brad watch the red carpet show together, she finds out what happened to Spencer. Later, she goes to see him and they talk. She also convinces Spencer to go to the Ball.

Britt returned on December 8, 2017 and is seen with Jason Morgan and Sonny Corinthos. After telling Sonny and Jason everything she knows about Faison and finding out how Ben (Rocco) is doing, Britt turns herself into the police as she is done running. On December 12, while in custody, she reunites with Nathan and finds out he's going to be a father. She also gives him advice on how to handle their mother. Afterwards, she's taken to a jail cell.

She then reunites with her mother again and promises not to turn in Faison (who will hurt her if she does) even though it could get her a reduced sentence. They end up talking about Nathan, Maxie, and the baby. She also promises that she will be back someday.

On March 12, 2018, Anna tells Griffin that Liesl told her she is relieved that Britt's Huntington's test came back negative.

On October 29, 2018, Britt is next seen when Anna and Finn go visit her in Pentonville and ofter her a “get out of jail free” card if she helps catch her mother.

While out of prison, Britt met her half-brother, Peter August.

On November 6, she reunited with Brad and they spent some time catching up before he confided in her that the baby he was raising was actually Michael Corinthos' son with Nelle Benson. The real baby had died. He confessed that he and Nelle switched babies, so Britt comforted him and gave him advice, while also saying that Wiley was much better off with him and Lucas. Eventually she also reunited with Spencer for the first time in three years.

On November 29, after her mom was brought back to Port Charles, Britt leaves her a note telling Liesl that she has left Port Charles and is starting a new life.

On March 11, 2020, Britt returned to Port Charles and showed up at Brad's arraignment after he had been arrested for stealing Michael's baby and passing him off as the baby he and Lucas adopted. She stood by Brad and insisted that they were not going to let Nelle win. She was shocked that he plead guilty. Britt learned that Julian Jerome was involved with the baby switch and was initially helping Brad but then turned against him. She commended Brad for not throwing Julian under the bus for Lucas' sake and said that that was real love. However she said she would have ratted Julian out, Lucas or no Lucas. Eventually, Brad was taken into custody and transferred to Pentonville.

Britt eventually went to Charlie's pub where she officially met Julian in person. They shared a few drinks together and Britt told Julian that she knows he was involved in helping Brad with the baby switch. She also learned that Brad had been blackmailing Julian for a while too. She confessed that even though she had to go see her mother in jail the next morning that tonight she wanted to let loose. Eventually, she and Julian went upstairs into his living quarters and slept together.

The next morning, Britt and Julian woke up and then as they got dressed, Britt was surprised to learn that she told Julian she had to go see her mother in jail and that she apparently had too much to drink the night before. When Julian asked for her number, Britt said she knew where to find him and then Julian asked if he'll see her around. Britt teased him by saying maybe or maybe not.

Later on, Britt visited her mom in jail and asked if she did the things she is being accused of. Obrecht insisted that she was innocent and that Peter August was setting her up. Britt heard her out and believed her but said that she couldn't be involved since she is putting her life back together. Britt ended up leaving while Obrecht pleaded with her for support.