Madeline Reeves

Madeline Reeves is a fictional character on the long-running ABC daytime soap opera General Hospital, portrayed by Donna Mills, who made her appearance on March 14, 2014. The casting was announced in January 2014. Madeline was introduced as the estranged mother-in-law of Dr. Silas Clay (Michael Easton) and mother of Silas' comatose wife Nina Reeves (Michelle Stafford) and, biological aunt of Nathan West (Ryan Paevey) — whom she raised as her own. Madeline is also revealed to be the estranged sister of established character Dr. Liesl Obrecht (Kathleen Gati) having remade herself. Mills wrapped her initial stint in May 2014. Though the character was supposed to be short-term, Mills reprised the role of Madeline from October 2014 to January 2015. The character once again resurfaced in May 2015. Her returns have centered on Madeline's attempts to get back in her son's good graces and get her hands on the family fortune.

The character was created by head writer Ron Carlivati and patterned after Mills' iconic Knots Landing character, Abby Cunningham. The casting was very well received despite her character's name and backstory remaining a secret until her debut. On-Air On-Soaps referred to the news as "bombshell", while Jamey Giddens of Daytime Confidential raved about the casting choice and said Mills' character would definitely make for "must see" TV. Mills won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Guest Performer in a Drama Series in 2015.

Madeline comes to Port Charles in March 2014 demanding that Silas Clay (Michael Easton) sign over his claim to her comatose daughter's estate. Madeline is soon revealed to be the mother of Nathan West (Ryan Paevey), the man investigating Nina's 20-year-old attempted murder case. Madeline claims that Nina has recently died from pneumonia and a devastated Silas finally signs the papers. When Nathan sets a trap to catch Nina's killer, Madeline herself falls into the trap. She admits to overdosing Nina to kill her unborn child because said child would have inherited Nina's estate. While in jail, Madeline reunites with her estranged sister Liesl Obrecht (Kathleen Gati) and she is forced to reveal that Liesl is actually Nathan's biological mother after he nearly sleeps with Liesl's daughter Britt Westbourne (Kelly Thiebaud). Just before she is extradited to New York to stand trial, Madeline informs Nathan that Nina (Michelle Stafford) is very much alive.

Having avoided conviction, Madeline returns in October 2014 and reveals to Nathan and Liesl that Nina has been faking her injuries and that Nina also secretly controls the family estate. Madeline explains that Nina has been unstable since she was a child and is prone to violence. Nina confronts Madeline and threatens her until Madeline agrees to help her kidnap Ava Jerome (Maura West)'s newborn baby. They manage to get away only for Nina to double cross Madeline knocking her unconscious. She is discovered and sent to the hospital where she is immediately placed under arrest. As Madeline is transferred to prison, she is stunned when Nathan claims Victor Cassadine (Thaao Penghlis) as his father. Madeline then blackmails Liesl threatening to expose Nathan's true paternity unless she agrees to testify on Nina's behalf to keep her out of prison. Madeline is used as a diversion when Ava and several others prisoners escape.

In June 2015, Madeline is still in prison due to the belief that she was involved in the previous prison break. It is revealed that she is conspiring with attorney Ric Lansing (Rick Hearst) to get released and gain access to the family's money. After Ric's unsuccessful attempt to double cross Madeline by revealing that he has married Nina, Madeline orders him to secure her release. Upon her release, Madeline claims that she no longer cares about the money and hides the fact that Ric is working for her. Madeleine and Ric begin sleeping together as he succeeds in obtaining Nina's power of attorney, and tricking her into getting herself committed by leading her to believe she kidnapped Ava's daughter again. Meanwhile, Madeline clashes with Nathan's girlfriend Maxie Jones (Kirsten Storms). On August 31, Madeline is revealed to be Silas' killer and Ric tricks her into confessing when he wears a wire. Madeline is devastated to learn Nathan is behind her arrest and tries to sway Nina to her side in a last ditch effort to save herself. Nina disowns Madeline for her greed and tells her she hates her as she is sent off to prison. However, Madeline warns Nina that she will return.

It was initially rumored that Shirley Jones would play the mystery role but Jones's appearance on the series turned out to be a bit role. On January 17, 2014, executive producer Frank Valentini teased "major casting news" on Twitter. Shortly after, Entertainment Weekly exclusively confirmed that Donna Mills known for her legendary role as Abby Cunningham on Knots Landing had joined the cast of General Hospital in a mystery role. Mills first airdate was slated for late February 2014. Mills later revealed that Valentini had asked her to keep the details of her character private. On February 25, Mills announced her first airdate on Twitter. Valentini told Soaps In Depth that the show's head writer Ron Carlivati suggested Mills specifically. "I am thrilled out of my mind" Carlivati said of the casting decision. The writer admitted that it was just wishful thinking on his part and Valentini told him he'd look into it. Valentini and Carlivati contacted Mills' agent and offered her the role. Though she was flattered to have been handpicked for the role, Mills was hesitant to take the job. She revealed that she had been approached by CBS Daytime drama The Young and the Restless years earlier but turned down the role because she felt the timing was off. Mills wanted to speak with them directly about the character. "And if Donna Mills says, 'Let's get on the phone,' you get on the phone" Valentini said." Thanks to the phone conversation, Mills agreed to the role. She said "they really did a sell job on me!" Mills explained, "They got on the phone and they did their magic. It sounded like it would be fun." Valentini stressed that only Mills could play the part so she agreed despite not knowing much about the character. Mills spoke with her former Knots Landing co-stars Ted Shackelford and Joan Van Ark about their experiences in daytime. Mills also admitted "I could do GH now because my daughter is in college." The actress later said "I'm missing my daughter terribly, so it really helps to have GH to keep my mind busy." The job brought Mills back to her roots. Mills started out acting in the 1960s in the daytime soaps, The Secret Storm and Love Is a Many Splendored Thing. Mills was also reunited with her former Splendored Thing co-star Leslie Charleson who joined the soap in 1977 as Monica Quartermaine. Ironically, legendary GH producer Gloria Monty had cast Mills in the role of "Rocket" on The Secret Storm.

In an interview featured in Nelson Branco's Soap Opera Uncensored, Mills explained that she was initially contracted to do 12 episodes but she was definitely open to the possibility of doing more. However, head writer Ron Carlivati said "she can stay as long as she wants." "It's not a way that I'm used to working" Mills said of her experience on set. "There's no time for anything. You just do it and it's done" she said of the rapid production style. Mills compared the experience to her prime time work and said "GH is like a runaway train! They do nine episodes a week! On Knots we shot, oh, maybe 10 pages a day at most -- and that was a really heavy day for us. On GH, they're shooting 150 a day, every day. To tell you the truth, I'm kind of in shock." During a television interview with ABC 7 News, Mills expressed her disdain for the rapid pace. "I hate the pace! Are you kidding me? Who would like this? No, it's terrible! You have no chance to rehearse and feel it." Mills revealed to Soaps In Depth that the quick pacing made it difficult for her but the show had agreed to accommodate her by allowing her to work a certain number of days and film a certain number of scenes whenever she returned. It made it easier for her to say yes to the returns. After she finished her second arc, Mills said the work had become more manageable because she had gotten rid of her nerves and "I am a little more familiar with it... I know how to pace myself a little better." In May 2015 Mills said of her multiple returns, "When you play a fun character like this, you get hooked."

"Power, privilege, ruthless, scheming, secrets... fair warning Port Charles! Nobody does it like Donna Mills!"