Since 1997, General Hospital’s Constance Towers has struck terror in the hearts of Port Charles residents, and even her own family, as the evil Helena Cassadine. Although the role was originated by Elizabeth Taylor, Towers brilliantly filled her shoes and showed that even death can’t keep the grand dame of the Cassadine clan down. But long before she took up residence in PC as Helena and began plotting the demise of all who stood in her way, Towers was a fresh faced Irish beauty from Montana.
Born Constance Mary Towers, she was the child of Irish immigrants. She was a talented singer and starred on radio shows as a child performer. She was even offered a movie deal by Paramount at the tender age of 11, but her parents turned it down and instead moved with their talented daughter to New York so she could study at Julliard and pursue her dream of becoming an opera singer. But Connie, as she likes to be called, was soon drawn to musical theater and the silver screen.
Connie starred alongside John Wayne and made several well-reviewed movies, but movie fame ultimately eluded her. She returned to the stage, her first love, where she appeared in a number of highly successful runs on Broadway, always playing a clean cut innocent. She played a missionary in Guys and Dolls, played Princess Anastasia in Anya and Maria in The Sound of Music. She then enjoyed an extended run playing Anna opposite Yul Brynner in 800 performances of The King and I.
Aside from playing sugar and spice on Broadway, Connie also appeared in guest spots on many iconic TV shows of the 70s and 80s including The Rockford Files, Perry Mason, Baywatch, Frasier, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, LA Law and Hawaii Five-O. She even did a stint on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. And before coming to GH, Connie also starred on other soaps where she was a sweetie. On Capitol, a DC-centric political soap in the mid-80s, she played a kindly matriarch who cared for her brood.
She also enjoyed a turn on the Young & the Restless as Audrey North, John Abbott’s smitten secretary. Yet despite her lengthy resume of kindly stage and screen roles, Connie has made her biggest impression as the rotten-to-the-core Helena Cassadine. Who doesn’t get a little shiver when they see her regal profile wrapped in one of her ice-white furs explaining to Nicolas that she’s killing (again) all to protect her little prince?
Never one to let death be an obstacle to what she wants from life, Helena survived being shot by Luke Spencer in 2013. Son Stavros Cassadine put his mommy dearest in life-saving stasis and later held Robin Scorpio-Drake captive until she found a way to revive Helena. Thankfully, she did and everybody’s favorite big bad is back and making trouble around Port Charles again, most recently plotting with Fluke to blow up the Haunted Star and take out the Who’s Who of PC.
Screen work aside, Connie has a heart of gold as a devoted mom of four and a grandma. She’s been married for 32 years to John Gavin, a former actor himself who served as the US Ambassador to Mexico. She founded Project Connie that helps pair orphaned children in Central America with adoptive parents and assists with disaster relief in the region. She also volunteers with the Children’s Bureau of California, the Red Cross and the National Health Foundation.
We may love to hate Helena Cassadine, but you’ve got to just plain love the woman who plays her – Constance Mary Towers.
