Alexis Davis (General Hospital)

Alexis Davis is a fictional character on the ABC soap opera, General Hospital. Nancy Lee Grahn originated the role on September 26, 1996. She is the daughter of Mikkos Cassadine and Kristin Bergman. She is also the mother of Sam McCall, Kristina Davis and Molly Lansing.

Nancy Lee Grahn, known for her Emmy winning portrayal of Julia Wainwright on Santa Barbara, made her first appearance as Alexis on September 26, 1996, on a recurring basis. In 1997, Grahn was put on contract with the series due to her popularity among fans. Susan Diol temporarily played the role from November 2001 to March 2002, when Grahn's father died. In 2010, Grahn announced she had renewed her contract for an additional four years. On April 8, 2021, Gable Swanlund portrayed the role of a younger Alexis in flashbacks during a special episode centred on Alexis. Stephanie Erb portrayed the role temporarily in 2022 when Grahn was recovering from surgery.

Alexis is the daughter of Mikkos Cassadine, a Greco-Russian prince, and his mistress Kristin Bergman, a Swedish opera singer. Mikkos' wife Helena Cassadine slit Kristin's throat in front of young Alexis, who then developed partial amnesia and forgot her true identity. Alexis was taken into Mikkos' house to be raised as a poor relative with the last name Davidovitch, while her infant sister Kristina disappeared. Alexis' half-brother Stavros Cassadine tormented her, but her other half-brother Stefan Cassadine (who believed at the time Alexis was his cousin) protected her, gaining her loyalty. While attending Briarton Griggs Academy, a boarding school in New Hampshire, Alexis at 16 sees an opportunity to reinvent herself. She dresses up, sneaks out of boarding school and goes to a bar, where she meets Julian Jerome. The two have a one-night stand and she became pregnant. Her father, Mikkos Cassadine took the baby, and gave her up for adoption. Alexis graduated from Yale University as an undergraduate and earned a J.D. from Yale Law School.

In 1996, Stefan, who has instructed Alexis to change her last name to Davis, brings her to town for legal aid. Alexis is protective of Stefan, and tries to make him believe his lover Katherine Bell is his half-sister Natasha. Luke Spencer helps Alexis discover that she is actually the real Natasha. Helena uses this to force Alexis to help her gain control of the Cassadine empire. By doing so, Alexis receives her princess birthright, a title she later gives up. In an attempt to avenge her mother's death, she teams up with Luke to kill Helena, and mistakenly pushes Katherine off a parapet instead. Katherine is presumed dead and Stefan is put on trial; Alexis defends him and gets the charges dropped. Meanwhile, Alexis begins dating Ned Ashton. In 1999, in a complicated scheme to help Chloe Morgan save her company, Ned marries Chloe and Alexis marries Jasper Jacks. Chloe eventually loses her company, and the couples divorce. Ned then proposes to Alexis, but she developed cold feet and leaves Ned at the altar. In 2000, Alexis teams up with mob boss Sonny Corinthos to defend troubled teen Zander Smith, which leads to Alexis reluctantly becoming the full-time lawyer for Sonny and his enforcer Jason Morgan. Meanwhile, in 2001, Jax helps Alexis find her presumed dead sister Kristina Carter. By 2002, Alexis and Sonny have continued to bond, which leads to a one-night stand witnessed by Carly Corinthos, Sonny's estranged wife at the time. Alexis learns she is pregnant, but does not tell Sonny due to his dangerous lifestyle. Ned, who is dating her sister Kristina, agrees to claim to be the father. Kristina dies in a warehouse explosion meant for Sonny and set up by Luis Alcazar. At Kristina's memorial service, Alexis berates Sonny, blaming him for her death. Alexis gives birth to a girl she names Kristina after her sister.

Alexis confronts Luis Alcazar about her sister's death, to which Alcazar threatens Alexis and she accidentally pushes him to his death. In 2003, she fakes dissociative identity disorder to avoid jail time, while Ned is given custody of Kristina and brings her to live with the Quartermaine family. Alexis disguises herself as a man named Dobson and begins working at the Quartermaine mansion to be closer to her daughter. With the help of psychiatrist Cameron Lewis, Alexis eventually regains full custody of Kristina.

When Kristina is diagnosed with aplastic anemia and needs bone marrow, Alexis is forced to tell Sonny the truth. Kristina's only hope is from stem cells from the unborn child of Sonny and his former lover Sam McCall. Alexis desperately attempts to convince Sam to induce labor two weeks early. However, Sam collapses while they're arguing, and her baby is stillborn. Kristina gets the stem cells she needs, and recovers. Alexis gets involved with Sonny's half-brother, Ric Lansing. Both actors were excited about the pairing, as Grahn told TV Guide, "They're a match. When Alexis gives, Ric can give it right back." The two marry and get pregnant. Alexis comes close to death giving birth to Molly during a train wreck caused by Manny Ruiz, a dangerous criminal. Alexis becomes the court-appointed defense lawyer for Manny, and gets him acquitted despite everyone's warnings about him going free.

During the encephalitis epidemic, Alexis receives the last antidote over Sam's brother Danny McCall. Danny dies, which increases Sam's animosity towards Alexis. When she recovers, Alexis decides to find the daughter that she was forced to give up for adoption as a teenager. She is led to believe the girl died, but Jason tells Alexis that her daughter is none other than Sam. When Sam is nearly killed by Manny, Alexis pressures Jason to break up with Sam for her safety. Furious with Alexis' meddling and Jason's choice, Sam gets drunk and sleeps with Ric. Alexis and Jason both witness this. Before she can confront them, Alexis is diagnosed with second-stage lung cancer, and has to undergo chemotherapy. She recovers, and files for divorce from Ric. Knowing Alexis used medical marijuana to counter her chemotherapy, Ric gets full custody of Molly. However, when his father, Zacchara mob lawyer Trevor Lansing, threatens to take Molly away, Ric gives Molly back to Alexis. Sam and Alexis also repair their relationship, and start to bond. Alexis becomes the District Attorney and befriends Sonny's new attorney Diane Miller.

When Alexis charges Mayor Floyd with the murder of his mistress, he reveals that they slept together years before when Alexis had cancer. Alexis has to deal with the resulting fallout from the scandal, as well as a teenage Kristina, rebellious and headstrong. Though Sam tells Alexis her concerns about Kristina, Alexis blames Sonny's son, Michael, for Kristina's troubles. She is faced with the reality of Kristina's situation when Alexis' car is proven to have run Claudia Zacchara off the road, leading to the death of her unborn child. Alexis realizes Kristina was responsible, and confesses to protect her daughter. She's also accused of murdering the mayor's mistress. With the help of her nephew, Nikolas Cassadine, and Diane, Alexis gets a light sentence, though she's forced to resign as the District Attorney. Kristina's problems do not end there, though, and she is hospitalized after being beaten up by her boyfriend, Kiefer Bauer. While driving Kristina to the hospital, Alexis ends up running over Kiefer, killing him. She is not prosecuted, infuriating Kiefer's father, Warren. He continually tries to get Alexis prosecuted, and when his attempts fail, he becomes deranged and opens fire inside General Hospital. He tries to kill Kristina, but he is shot and killed by Mac Scorpio before he can. Kristina and Molly try to set up Alexis with Mac, and though they go on a few dates, Alexis decides she's not interested in Mac.