Heather Webber (General Hospital)

Heather Webber is a fictional character and a main antagonist from General Hospital, an American soap opera on the ABC network. The character was introduced in the summer of 1976. Though played by several actresses, soap veteran Robin Mattson, who stepped into the role in 1980, is most recognized for her portrayal of Heather until 2016. In 2022, Alley Mills assumed the role; she departed in 2024.

Mattson received three Soapy Awards as Best Villainess for the role and a nomination as Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for a Daytime Emmy Award in 1983.

Georganne LaPiere originated the role of Heather Grant on July 29, 1976. In August 1977, it was reported that after a year with the series, instead of renewing her initial 48-week contract, LaPiere vacated the role of Heather to try to become a movie star like her half-sister Cher. She was quickly replaced by Mary O'Brien in September 1977. O'Brien vacated the role in July 1979 when Heather overdosed on LSD. O'Brien was offered the chance to reprise the role in 1980 but refused. On September 17, 1980, Robin Mattson, known for her role as Hope Bauer on Guiding Light joined the cast as Heather Webber. Mattson departed from the series indefinitely on September 13, 1983. Mattson reprised the role for a brief six-month stint which started on June 25, 2004, and concluded on December 3, 2004. In February 2012, it was announced Mattson would again reprise the role, and made her onscreen return on April 2, 2012. After some speculation Mattson might be done with the show, she was again seen on-screen in September 2012, making sporadic returns as Heather's various storyline arcs dictated over the next year and a half. In October 2014, Mattson reprised her role as Heather again, airing into early 2015. In 2016, Mattson reprised her role as Heather on May 11, 2016, July 1, 2016, July 25, 2016, August 26 to 29, 2016, September 27, 2016, October 18, 2016 and on December 21, 2016.

In October 2022, Soap Opera Digest broke the news that Alley Mills, recognized for her role on The Bold and The Beautiful as Pamela Douglas, had joined the cast of General Hospital in a mysterious role. Mills appeared on October 28 as Heather Webber. Mattson disclosed she was unable to reprise the role for medical reasons. On February 27, 2023, she exited the role. On April 27 of the same year, Mills announced her return to the role. Mills exited the role a second time when Heather moved to Sedona, Arizona.

The 19-year-old Heather Grant is first introduced in the summer of 1976. Local nurse, Diana Taylor hires Heather as the nanny of her young daughter, Martha. Desperately wanting the job, Heather gives Diana a forged letter of recommendation. She soon sets her sights on Dr. Monica Webber's husband, Dr. Jeff Webber. After Jeff and Monica have a fight, Heather comforts him and they have sex. When Jeff suddenly disappears, Heather learns she is pregnant. After Jeff attempts suicide, he is shocked to learn Heather is pregnant. Heather fakes a suicide attempt hoping to win Jeff's affections. However, because Jeff refuses to leave Monica, Heather decides she doesn't want the child. Instead of aborting her child at Jeff's request, she sells the newborn to Diana and her husband, Peter for ten thousand dollars. In 1977, after giving birth to Steven Lars, Heather takes five hundred dollars from Jeff and goes to New York City in hopes of becoming a famous model. Her landlady, Mrs. Hadley, arranges for the Taylors to adopt her son while concealing Heather's identity from the Taylors. However, after Hadley and a lawyer take their cut, Heather is left with only eighteen hundred of the ten thousand dollars. Instead of coming clean, Heather tells Jeff the baby was stillborn. To make up for her loss, Jeff proposes marriage. The two return to Port Charles where Heather gets a job as a nanny to the Taylors' new son, Peter "PJ" Taylor, Jr, who is actually her biological son.

In 1978, Heather gets a little carried away with the amount of attention she gives to PJ. The Taylors let her go, believing her obsession is unhealthy. Heather continues seeing her son in secret. Meanwhile, Heather and Jeff finally marry but they see very little of each other as Jeff is working long hours to get his medical license. Though Heather learns she is pregnant again, she is still miserable. Ironically, Jeff wants to name their new child "Steven Lars" if it's a boy. After suffering a miscarriage right before Thanksgiving, Heather vows to get Steven Lars back once and for all. In 1979, Heather begins her next scheme, attempting to drive Diana Taylor insane in hopes of gaining custody of her son. Due to Heather's manipulations, Diana grows even more dependent on Heather to help with PJ. Heather purchases LSD and puts it in Diana's drinking glass. However, little PJ mixes up the glasses. Heather unknowingly drinks the drug. When Heather begins hallucinating, Jeff is forced to have her committed to Pine Circle Sanitarium in July 1979. With Heather away, Alice takes over her daughter's manipulations. Diana realizes she will lose PJ if she doesn't marry Jeff.

In the fall of 1980, Heather emerges from her delusional state, fakes catatonia and escapes from Forest Hills Sanitarium. She goes to see Jeff but discovers he is now in love with Anne Logan. Eventually, she is officially released from Forest Hills. In 1981, Heather fakes hysteria and convinces Jeff's brother and sister-in-law Rick and Lesley to send her back to Forest Hills. From there, Heather sets her plan in motion to kill Diana Taylor and frame Anne for the murder. She escapes with a gun, only to find Jeff in bed with Diana. Appearing to kill Diana, Heather writes Anne's name in blood next to Diana's body. Jeff helps Anne clear herself by revealing that she feared Jeff had killed Diana. When Heather begins getting day passes to leave the sanatarium and shows up at Diana's funeral, Jeff decides it's time to protect their son from his unstable mother. Jeff prepares to leave town with Steven Lars, but Heather shows up that day, asking for one last moment with her son which Jeff reluctantly grants. Heather continues to feign her being sane thanks to the naive assistance of her new friend, Amy Vining, and pointedly tells Anne that she will win Jeff back because of her son, leaving Anne fearing for her safety because of her continued presence in everybody's life. Now living in Carson City Nevada, Jeff files for divorce while Police Chief Burt Ramsey discovers another gun killed Diana, pointing the finger at Heather. Heather's new admirer, Joe Kelly, had initially believed that Heather was guilty, but after other evidence arises, refuses to believe that she actually killed Diana. It is soon revealed Alice accidentally killed Diana in an attempt to keep Diana from killing Heather.

After Heather was cleared of Diana's murder, the judge sentenced Heather to probation for six months, allowing her psychiatrist, Dr. Seymour Katz, to decide if Heather would go free, go to jail or be sentenced to an institution. For a while, Heather's therapy with Dr. Katz went fine, and she was even given a job in the hospital admissions office. However, as Heather began to scheme to get Joe to marry her after getting her divorce decree from Jeff, Dr. Katz began to see Heather for who she really was. Heather discovered that Dr. Katz had left his previous employer under bizarre circumstances, and found one of his patients, a young woman named Cynthia Elliott, who had accused Dr. Katz of making improper advances towards her. It turned out that Dr. Katz was innocent, but Cynthia was unstable, and in front of the hospital staff, accused him of having tried to molest her. He wanted to help her, and was certain that Heather was behind the entire situation. Around the same time, Heather presented evidence against surgeon Dr. Arthur Bradshaw that proved that her long-time rival Anne Logan had not stolen evidence against Dr. Bradshaw in the death of a patient, and Dr. Katz realized that Heather had only turned it in to make herself appear to be cured. In everybody else's mind, she had, and when Anne and Jeremy departed Port Charles, Heather was there to bid her farewell. Shortly after this, Heather set up a frantic Cynthia Elliott in a waterfront cheap hotel and arranged Dr. Katz to find her there, leading to Cynthia shooting him. She was found catatonic after Dr. Katz was rushed into surgery, and after recovering, Dr. Katz simply decided to resign from General Hospital, warning Heather that he may return, and Cynthia may recover. To Heather's horror, Dr. Katz referred to her as his one failure.